Hip abduction P.A.I.L.s and R.A.I.L.s

InGoal Magazine was introduced to performance coach Grace Witthuhn by Dallas Star goalie Jake Oettinger, who raved about their work as part of his rise over the past two seasons.

“Without her I think I would have been injured multiple times,” Oettinger said on Episode 176 of the InGoal Radio Podcast. “All goalies, regardless of age, should be doing this type of stuff.”

So, what exactly is “this type of stuff?”

“When we train joint specific for athletes we are looking to increase the joint’s ability to handle stress in end-range positions or sketchy positions they get their body into during sports performance,” Witthuhn said. “In order to decrease the risk of injury we need to increase that tissue capacity, so when they get into these positions when they are performing the amount of stress that joint is taking on is not more than what it experiences when we are training.”

More important, how can you access it?

Witthuun, who also works with Jack Lafontaine of the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, and has since added fellow InGoal Radio guests and professional goalies Connor Lacouvee and Paris O’Brien as clients, has developed a 16-week mobility program specific to the unique needs of the position. More on that below, because first she shared a seven-minute video example of the type of joint specific strength training that you can try at home.