Q&A with Garnet Brown, Dinamo Minsk’s conditioning coach

by Alessandro Seren Rosso, staff writer

Garnet Brown is an experienced conditioning coach who works now for Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, as collaborator of head coach Glen Hanlon. But now let’s Garnet himself talk about his career:

“Ever since I was a little kid I have always been involved with sports. I started playing hockey and soccer around the age 4 or 5 and played both into my teenage years.  Most of my sporting success was in Club Rugby and American Football.  I continued coaching both sports for several years after.  I’m a graduate of the University of Alberta in Edmonton Canada, with a Bachelors Degree in Sport Sciences.  I work for the YMCA as Fitness and Sports Director for 4 years and later Sport Performance Coach at a Major High School Sports Academy.  I have had the pleasure to work with outstanding Junior, College and Pro athletes and coaches, and I’m excited to see where this adventure goes from here.”

Why did you decide to accept Dinamo’s offer? Were you searching for a new challenge? The offer was “too good to refuse”?

It’s not every day you have an opportunity to coach at the elite level, but in another nation.  It presented an opportunity of lifetime.  Not only did it present a new challenge professionally, it offered a life experience.  I am always looking for new challenges…I believe it’s the only way we can grow as a person.  I’m happy to have an opportunity to learn about this part of the world.

Will you work only with Dinamo or also with the farm and the junior teams?

My primary role is to work with Dinamo Minsk.  However developing conditioning programs for the farm team in Soligorsk and Junior players is also a very important aspect of my role.  With the Winter Olympics just around the corner, we need to ensure the Belorussian National Team Players are prepared to compete against the world’s best. 

Do you like how’s the life in Minsk? Is it that different from the other cities you experienced earlier?

I think any city is going to offer many unique experiences, regardless if it’s another Canadian city or a city like Minsk on the other side of the world.  There is such a great collection of cafés, restaurants and pubs here, I love it.  I think toughest part for me has been the different language.  I haven’t really been exposed to much Russian before.  I find it a very challenging language to grasp.  I’m very impressed with people who can speak more than one language.  I’m up to about 20 Russian words so far.  I really appreciate the architecture in the city centre.  It really gives the city a sense strength and character. 

Did you have to change your training methods starting working in Europe?

Not at all.  It was our goal to bring hockey specific training to Belarus.  I ran a 6 week camp for the Belorussian National Team players and a group of U20 and U18.  I think the consensus is they really enjoyed the athletic form of training.  The idea is to involve the entire body to deliver strength and power.  It was like taking off-ice training and turning into a sport.

What do you think about KHL players’ conditioning? How would you compare them to North American players?

I think generally speaking that they are on the same level.  Many of the top Russian players are big, strong and fast. As the game continues change, as does our knowledge and experience on how to best train and physically prepare these athletes to perform at an extremely high level. Our training techniques incorporate multi-directional agility, anaerobic energetics and full body rotational power.  Essentially training the body to move athletically and explosively through a wide range of movements.  This is the type of training we have brought to Dinamo Minsk.

Is it true that in North America the conditioning is more trained? If so, may it be because generically they play more games?

I wouldn’t say they are better trained.  I think the significant difference from what I have observed so far is recognizing the major importance nutrition plays for an athlete.  Proper eating for building and recovery is so critical to athletic success.  Many National Team players in the KHL will play just as many games as the North American players.  In Europe the pre-season or training camp is much longer than in the NHL or AHL.  This translates into more games.  There are IIHF breaks for National Team players to compete as well.  Throw in the Olympic Games, KHL playoffs and World Championships….that’s sure a lot of hockey.

Which are the hardest parts of your job?

The most challenging aspects of my role with the team is we have nearly 25 elite athletes that each require specific training in order for them to perform and compete at their very best.  Training the guys becomes almost an art form.  Pin pointing specific exercises during the season so they can continue to improve, yet can recover and play great for games.

Do you work with goalkeepers too or they have a special regime?

I have trained goaltenders in the past, but we currently have a phenomenal Goalie Coach Michael Lerner. We have collaborated a little bit on some exercises that would benefit the goaltenders. He has a very challenging program in place to improve their agility, strength and endurance.  

How much Dinamo players train their conditioning related to their technique and tactics training?

Different players have different needs.  Some players still need to get stronger, put on muscle, get quicker etc.  Players’ programs also change based on the minutes played in a game.  So there are many variables to be considered for each player.

What will you do in order to try to keep the team in good shape throughout the whole year?

It’s a huge challenge no doubt about it.  It’s a difficult balance between improving their level of conditioning, but yet not fatigue them to the point where it will have a negative impact on their performance.  We plan their workouts based on the season schedule.  We even plan training sessions right after a hockey games to get more workouts in and increase recovery times.

Posted by Alessandro Seren Rosso on Oct 1 2009. Filed under International Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.