What is Maintenance Day in Hockey?

Publish date: 2024-07-01

By Jason Bolton June 26, 2024 06:06

Photo by Jason Franson/CP

The professional hockey season is long, the games are fast, and chances are your body takes a beating after each match. This brings us to the idea of a maintenance day. This comprehensive piece on maintenance days in hockey will take you through the details of it, from what they are and why this exists.

What is a Maintenance Day?

A "maintenance day" in hockey is a scheduled block where players are removed from the regular on-ice routine and instead encouraged to rest, recover, and complete certain activities to keep them healthy and at optimal performance. It gives the players a place to take care of any "bumps and bruises" or more minor injuries and get some rehab going.

Meaning and Significance of Hockey Maintenance Day

Maintenance days are intended to give players additional opportunities for physical and mental recovery and reduce the number of games they will play due to injuries or fatigue. They are deliberately worked into the training schedule so players can regenerate and remain at peak performance all season long for a year after grueling hockey games.

During such a day, players follow several routines and activities to aid recovery and body treatment. This may involve treatment room visits for physio treatments, massages, and management of injuries. Also, there can be low-impact non-ice workouts and audio-active recovery classes like Yoga to help keep athletes in condition.

What are the Benefits of Maintenance Days?

Maintenance days are suitable for the teams and the players. It is also central to injury prevention as it allows a player to work on minor niggles before they become more significant issues. Again, these allocated rest periods help reduce the risk of injuries and long-term health impacts while increasing the ability to stay fit and keep a high-performance level on ice.

Maintenance Days in the Overall Training Plan

Hockey teams can change this every 4-6 weeks and perform similar sorts of maintenance days to include in their training/preparation schedule. These rest periods are carefully planned by coaches and training staff so as not to take away from a player's recovery time but at the same time not harm the players' overall training program. Rest and training occur in perfect balance, allowing teams to maximize the performance of their players while minimizing the risk of injury.

All in all, hockey maintenance days are essential to player preservation and team governance. These days off are the designated periods in which both teams and players can rest, recover, and have time for physical maintenance necessary for the welfare and performance of hockey. Maintenance days are essential in keeping these players physically prepared to compete and are made possible through strategic planning, specialized resources, and a commitment to player care.