A player can only follow one plan.
When I lead a club's performance and player-health department, I work directly with players and staff in testing, training and rehab. Each player's plan connects his starting point with your club's vision and game plan.
- Performance
development - Player
health - Hockey
One plan for each player
Each specialist contributes to the player’s plan. I set priorities with input from the staff, make sure the decisions are understood, and follow up on the work each day.
Three lines of work, one plan for each player.
A player’s training, treatment and hockey commitments affect one another. I organize the work around three areas, with the staff in each contributing to the same plan. That gives us a way to discuss different views and agree on what the player needs next.
Performance development
Movement, recovery, nutrition and mindset, connected to what the game asks of each player.
Player health
Prevention, treatment, rehab and return to performance. Back to the demands of hockey, beyond medical clearance.
Hockey
Role, position, style of play, practice and games.
All three lines inform the same decisions about each player.
What I do each day.
I work directly with players and staff in training and rehab, check how each player responds and adjust the plan. I set priorities within my mandate, keep the head coach informed and make sure the next day’s work reflects what we have learned.
See the daily work
I start with the previous day’s handoff, today’s plan and anything that has changed overnight. We clarify questions and responsibilities before the work begins. We adapt the work to each player’s needs and the way the team plays.
- I work alongside the staff in training and rehab, coaching where needed, watching how players move and respond, and adjusting the work with the specialists responsible. Being there helps me see whether the prescribed load is the load the player actually receives, whether he understands the task and whether the session serves his plan. When recommendations conflict, I use my experience across these areas to set priorities and decide the approach within my mandate. That can mean directing a change a specialist would not have chosen. I explain why, make sure staff understand what needs to happen and review the result.
- I make sure staff understand the systems we use and the methods within them, and can apply them consistently where relevant. The physio needs to know the loads S&C is prescribing. S&C needs to understand the purpose of the physio’s work and what it means for training. I work through those connections with the staff and check that they carry into daily practice.
- The head coach and I agree what information he needs and when. The update makes clear who can take part fully, who needs modified work, and the recommended load and restrictions. For game decisions, I bring together the medical and performance assessments, explain any identified risks or remaining uncertainty, and give our recommendation. Before the day ends, I gather the relevant observations so they inform the next day’s plan.
When the findings do not fit
A real example from my work. Identifying details are omitted.
In one case, what the player told me, the incident itself and my own assessment did not fit the initial diagnosis. I raised my concerns privately with the team doctor, who agreed to an MRI.
The scan confirmed the injury I suspected. That changed how we managed it, saved time and helped the next steps move forward more quickly. It also strengthened our working relationship and made future discussions more open.
Is he available, is he capable, and does it show in games?
Being available. Being prepared. Performing in games.
All three areas contribute. The lead depends on the question we need to answer.
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Available
Player health leads.
Can he handle the training and game demands planned for this week?
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Capable
Performance development leads.
Does he have the speed, strength and ability to repeat efforts that his role requires?
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Expressed
Hockey leads.
Can he use those qualities in his role, at game speed, throughout the season?
Testing that guides each player’s development.
I develop the testing protocols around each player’s starting point and the demands of your club’s vision and game plan. We need to understand what he can do now, what needs to develop and which results will change a training or rehab decision. When working as a senior adviser, I help the staff interpret the results they already collect and decide what those results mean for the player's next steps.
Why this approach, for this player, today?
Your staff should be able to explain what they are seeing, why they chose an exercise, treatment or training load, and what response they are looking for. When the answer is uncertain, they should be clear about that too—and explain how they will assess whether the approach is helping.
A force-plate report can inform a decision. It still needs someone who can explain what it means for the player’s training. The head coach and club leadership need a clear recommendation, the relevant uncertainty and a next step.
I work alongside the specialists to develop that understanding, challenge decisions when needed and make sure the reasoning carries through into the daily work.
A complete picture of each player.
Each player has an individual player card that brings together input from the people working with him: S&C and physio test results, relevant injury history, his age, his role on the ice, and observations from training and rehab. Together, these help us understand where he is now, what he needs, and how his development supports the team’s game plan.
We keep the card current as the player progresses. I work with the staff to turn that information into clear priorities, then stay involved in training and rehab to see how he responds and adjust the plan.
Individual attention has to show up in the work.
A young player earning his first-team place and a 35-year-old veteran need different things from the same department. The player card is only useful if those differences show up in the testing, training, rehab and follow-up each player receives.
I work alongside S&C and physio to make that individual attention part of the daily work. Players should understand why we are asking them to do something—and see that we adjust when their needs change.
Why does the same program work for one player and not the next?
The same training can affect players differently.
A training program gives the player a stimulus. His response and readiness for the next session also depend on how he moves, recovers, eats and approaches the work.
- Movement
- Physical preparation covers strength, power, speed, conditioning and movement quality. We develop these qualities in relation to one another, guided by the player's starting point, role and game demands.
- Recovery
- Recovery supports adaptation to the work already done and helps the player manage fatigue before the next practice or game. If recovery falls short, fatigue can carry forward.
- Nutrition
- Fuels the work, and supplies what recovery and adaptation need before, during and after it.
- Mindset
- Shapes intent, understanding and behavior. When a player understands why the work matters, the way he does it changes.
A problem in one area can limit progress in another. That is why we plan them together, even when different specialists are involved.
I lead the day-to-day performance nutrition: fueling, hydration and supplementation for preparation, games and recovery, with anti-doping risk built into the process. Where a case needs clinical or specialist nutrition, it stays with the right professional.
By mindset, I mean helping players understand why the work matters, take responsibility for what they can influence, and build routines they can follow consistently. That includes being open about fatigue or concerns and understanding how their choices affect the team. I do not work as a mental coach. Specialist mental performance and clinical support stay with qualified professionals.
During my time with Brynäs I experienced firsthand his deep understanding of sports performance. He is dedicated to tailoring his approach to every individual.
Ryan GundersonHockey consultant, retired professional, Swiss NLOne winger, one week.
The numbers improve. The game does not.
A winger in his third professional season. His test numbers are up since the summer. In games, his shifts fade in the third period, and that is where the coach needs him. An illustrative example, not a client case.
Tuesday. Player 14, winger.
- The situation
- His shifts are fading late in games and he has reported groin symptoms after the weekend. The coach needs him on the forecheck in the third period.
- Today’s participation
- Modified work under the clinical limits agreed for this example. He is not yet ready for unrestricted team training.
- Load and restrictions
- The physio specifies the movement restrictions. S&C adapts the planned work within those limits. I confirm with the head coach what that means for his participation in today’s practice.
- Friday’s game
- Participation is not yet confirmed. The next review needs to establish whether he can meet the demands of his role, what risks remain and whether any proposed restrictions are workable in a game.
- Recommendation and review
- Continue the agreed modified work. The physio and S&C review his response before Thursday’s practice; I bring their assessments together and update the head coach. New concerns are raised earlier.
- The wider picture
- I check whether other players are showing similar fatigue or groin complaints and discuss the implications with the head coach. I keep the GM or sporting director informed and bring forward any decisions that need their involvement, with a recommendation on what needs reviewing.
The handoff is usually a conversation. The coach needs to know what the player can do, what should be limited and what remains uncertain. I make sure identified risks are explained in practical terms: what the concern is, which demands it relates to and what could change the recommendation. Medical decisions remain with the responsible clinicians. The head coach selects the team within those limits.
The lead changes as the player progresses.
Medical clearance is one part of returning to performance.
The staff leading each stage changes as the player progresses. Everyone stays involved, and we update the shared plan as his needs change.
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Player health leads
Protect the healing, set today’s limits, and keep everything that can safely be trained moving.
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Performance leads
Inside those limits, rebuild the strength, speed and tolerance his role asks for.
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Hockey leads
Contact, team practice, game rhythm, and finally his role at game speed.
The player does not return to a spreadsheet. He returns to forechecks, back pressure, bad ice, travel and a coach who needs him now.
We work to reduce injury risk and prepare players for the demands they will face when they return.
“He took charge of my rehab, pushed and motivated me every day. Against all odds I played 7 months later.”
Joacim Eriksson
Professional player, DEL. First estimate after complex knee surgery: 12 months.
The head coach gets a clear picture. Club leadership stays informed.
The head coach and I stay in close contact about the players and the day’s work. I bring together the staff’s assessments, resolve competing performance recommendations within my mandate, and explain what each player can do, what needs adjusting and what remains uncertain.
I report to the GM or sporting director, keeping them informed of progress, concerns and decisions that need their involvement. They should be able to trust the daily operation without having to manage it themselves. Medical decisions remain with the responsible clinicians; the head coach selects the team within those limits.
Develop the department as well as the daily work.
I listen to the staff about what they are seeing and where they need support. Alongside that, I keep up with research, methods, tools and relevant courses. We decide what is worth learning, share it with the group and follow up how it changes the work.
That can mean developing a method, helping a staff member build a skill or deciding that a proposed purchase would add little. I look at the evidence, our players’ needs and what the staff can realistically put into practice.
What does this tool change for us tomorrow?
Before recommending a tool, I want the provider to explain what problem it solves and how we would use it differently from what we do today. The results may take time. The reason for using it should be clear from day one.
Beyond the first-team training session
Depending on the assignment, this can include aligning academy and first-team development, along with work on nutrition, travel and training conditions. Where it serves the club, it can also mean exchanging knowledge with other clubs and coordinating offseason work when players move between organizations.