Photo by: Justin Edmonds
To say that student-athletes look forward to summer workouts would be like saying you liked to eat broccoli and brussel sprouts as a kid.
Waking up early in the morning and running around Wash Park in the summer heat or running up the Magness stairs with weights strapped to your ankles is no one’s idea of fun.
That is why strength and conditioning coach Mike Sanders came up with the idea of having the DU hockey team do a little boxing. Yeah, that is right, jabs, left hooks, knockouts, the whole nine yards. Okay, well maybe not knockouts.
“Last spring instead of doing running, we wanted to try and switch things up, so we started doing boxing, kick boxing and wrestling,” said Sanders.
As with most new things, the change was greeted with some wariness.
“Initially I wasn’t really sure what to think,” said sophomore Brock Trotter. “It seemed like a good team-building activity and was definitely a new experience for a lot of the guys.”
It all started last spring when Sanders and the returning players began to learn the different techniques of boxing and kick boxing, and then practiced some of the moves on their teammates.
This summer, juniors J.P. Testwuide and Julian Marcuzzi and sophomore Matt Glasser loved boxing so much they wanted to get more experience and learn more moves and skills.
That activity included weekly sessions of learning how to jab and shadow box, and techniques working on a 1-2 punch for rounds of 1 or 2 minutes.
“You were dead afterwards. It takes a lot out of your body and it is a great workout,” said senior goaltender Peter Mannino.
A workout that was particularly strange to hear about since there is no fighting allowed in college hockey. A fight in college hockey results in the player’s expulsion from the game and a one-game suspension.
But with 12 new players on the team, it is the perfect activity for team bonding and fun. That is why at the beginning of the school year with the whole team back in town, the coaching staff and Sanders decided it would be an ideal way to help build camaraderie between new and returning players.
“With all the new guys here, it was a nice bonding experience and to see what everybody can do. It was good to see everyone in there having fun,” said Trotter.
Coach Sanders explained why it works: “The reason why we did it is because for whatever reason when you spar against somebody, you have a mutual respect for that person and brings you a little closer with that person.”
The idea led to a crimson versus gold boxing tournament, with half of the team on one side and half on the other. The showdown occurred a couple weeks ago in the workout room in Magness, on nothing more than a couple blue mats and the team surrounding the mats as the rope.
Match-ups included Trotter vs. Mullen, May vs. Vossberg and Mannino vs. Chevrie. There was not much more than bloodied noses, bruises and one popped shoulder.
“It’s interesting to see how guys get in there and take it, some interesting forms,” said Mannino.
“Trust me it was very humorous at first to watch these guys try and figure it out. It is not putting on a pair of gloves and start swinging away, it is a science. It is an art and it is a real challenge and a great work out,” said Head Coach George Gwozdecky.
Boxing will definitely go down as one of the more interesting summer workouts the Pioneer hockey team has ever used. Some of the others include iron-man competitions, carrying teammates up stairs and WashPark and hill runs.
“I definitely have a new found respect for boxers and fighters; it definitely is a very tough sport,” said Trotter.
While there may be no fighting in college hockey, the Pioneers will have a new found toughness – and unity — on the ice this season.
