Yukon athletes turn to specialist to boost results

Some athletes in Yukon looking to get an extra competitive edge are turning to a certified strength and conditioning coach.

Ben McPherson, a Whitehorse resident, had a taste of the big leagues when he worked at last year's training camp for the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Redblacks as a strength and conditioning assistant.

He's also worked with some NHL players and the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League.

"After all that, I thought maybe I would want to stick around in pro sports, but my heart was bleeding for the Yukon," said McPherson.

"I was only gone about seven months before I decided I wanted to come back here and help those athletes who have that same drive that I saw in myself, but haven't necessarily had someone channeling them in the right direction," he said.

McPherson was a varsity football player when he was at Bishop's University in Quebec.

"I had the work ethic and I really wanted to train hard, but I didn't necessarily have someone pushing me in the right direction. So, just because I ran sprints until I dropped, doesn't mean I was becoming a better football player," he said.

McPherson focused on courses related to that while at university and then pursued the formal certification in strength and conditioning after that.

He works mainly with athletes, but also advises on workplace aches and pains related to mobility.

A strength and conditioning specialist differs from a personal trainer, he said.

McPherson studies an athlete's sport and then works out which training is best suited to improving the athlete's performance in that sport.

He's been working this summer with hockey players including members of the Yukon Rivermen bantams, Dylan Cozens of the Western Hockey League's Lethbridge Hurricanes, and Bryce Anderson of the B.C. Hockey League's Trail Smoke Eaters.

"We expect these guys to come back bigger, faster, stronger, faster next year, and some of them have different tweaks, different goals they need to work on. So, for a guy like Bryce, we want to make Bryce faster next year," McPherson said.

McPherson and Anderson have been working together for about five years.

Anderson, 17, is hoping this season with the Smoke Eaters will help him earn a hockey scholarship that in turn will pay for his university education.

"It's a big year for me, so we sat down, we went over where I need to grow, where I need to improve, and the weak spots in my body — and we've worked on that," said Anderson.

"I know my times are getting quicker, my weight's going tremendously up, and on the ice I feel way more explosive, way quicker on the ice so just well-rounded. It's been great."

McPherson says the young players are in the first phase of weight training which is focused on preventing injuries.

"I'm not asking them to move the weight back up, they're going down, because that is the range of motion in which most injuries happen," he said.

McPherson said he's also helping instill good habits in the players that will come in handy later on.

They are on a five-day-a-week plan that requires self-discipline at a young age.

"They understand now that if they don't eat well before they come to the gym, then they're not going to perform well, and they understand if they don't perform well in the gym, then they're not going to play well on the ice either," he said.

The younger players, if they continue on, usually have to move away from home.

"Some of these kids are taking online school during the year and prioritizing their school, their job, their girlfriend, whatever, their parents, their meals and their training all together," said McPherson.

"The strength and conditioning is a really good foundation for developing discipline," he said.