Ryan Graves

Twelve-year-old Ryan Graves is a talented young hockey player. He’s been playing in the Mid-Fairfield Hockey Club, the top youth hockey team in the U.S., since 2019. To keep his skills as sharp as his skates, he trains with former NHL hockey player Cristoval “Boo” Nieves, who established a training company, Topline Hockey, after he retired. Boo thought that additional training off the ice would take Ryan to the next level and referred Ryan’s father, James, to Holy Name.

In 2023, Ryan started working with HNH Fitness personal trainer Brett Kornberg to improve his strength and conditioning. Brett says that the biggest differences he sees between training young people and adults is that younger athletes have more energy, less stress in their lives, and can sustain a higher activity level because they require less recovery time.

“Ryan’s sport is quick and explosive, so we perform exercises like sprints, skater jumps, and box jumps,” says Brett. They also work on medicine ball throws and slams, lunges, rows, pushups, and sled pushes and pulls. Brett focuses on movement patterns that relate to the sport instead of training specific muscles.

Every few months, Brett does a thorough assessment of Ryan’s current health, lifestyle, and level of physical fitness. They discuss topics like activity level, stress, nutrition, and sleep habits. Brett also has Ryan perform exercises to gauge his mobility, stability, strength, and conditioning. Through these assessments, James has seen his son gain strength and speed.

“Ryan’s skating has gotten a lot faster,” he says.

James also hopes that getting Ryan into a strength training regimen early will help him avoid common health issues that can come from skating, such as hip injuries. Brett focuses on correct form when working with all of his clients to help prevent injuries and get better results.

Brett enjoys training Ryan and has already seen the results of their training together in his performance.

“[Ryan] gives [his training] 110% but will always do it with a smile on his face,” says Brett. “He knows the perfect balance between working hard and having fun. It’s also super rewarding for both of us to see his hard work in the gym pay off on the ice.”