“The word high performance gets thrown around a lot.”
High performance and Nathan MacKinnon go together like Batman and Robin or Tom Cruise and running.
However, high performance is something that the Colorado Avalanche superstar takes incredibly seriously. So seriously that, over the past decade, he has had a strength and conditioning coach.
And Andy O’Brien, Chief Performance Officer, Cizzle Brands, NHL Health & Performance Expert, and High-Performance Consultant for the Florida Panthers, was the one MacKinnon wanted to partner with.
“Sometimes it just gets attached to somebody who's performing at a really high level,” O’Brien told The Hockey News. But for him, high performance means something else entirely.
“But to me, the word high performance is the level of detail and commitment you have to every small thing,” O’Brien said. “It really does take a lot of commitment.”
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According to O’Brien, MacKinnon has that detail and commitment in spades.
“I think we've been working together for about 15 years now,” O’Brien revealed. “So it's been a long time, and he is just a phenomenal athlete. He's extremely dedicated to his craft…and his attention to detail in everything he does.”
The Energy That Goes Into Being Elite
There are a lot of details that casual observers don’t see, or even realize. O’Brien broke down some of the details that may not even cross the minds of hockey fans.
“I think a lot of fans think the players just throw their skates on and go out there,” O’Brien told The Hockey News. “But, it's actually hours and hours of long, tedious work on things that can give you 1% advantage that compound over time.”
“For an athlete, if it gives you a 1% advantage over the course of 365 days – compounded over 10 years – that's a 10% advantage. Which is a massive margin in a sport like hockey.”
O’Brien revealed some choices that hockey players make that contribute to that one percent advantage.
“(It) can be the type of water that you're drinking,” O’Brien said, “to anything you're putting in your body. From a hydration, nutrition standpoint, supplementation, to how you live, how you recover.”
“What's going on with your mind? Some players are into meditation. Some players are using different technology and whatnot to try to calm their nervous system and create recovery. I think that's the part that you don't see behind the scenes.”
MacKinnon Connects With O'Brien On Supplement Brands
This attention to detail by MacKinnon has resulted in him joining O’Brien in the creation of sports supplements.
“He's been involved in some of the supplement brands that I've been involved in,” O’Brien said. “Cwench, being our hydration product, and Spoken being our sports nutrition line.”
“And so it was really neat to be able to get involved in that with Nate and get his insight on formulations and experiences and the types of supplements that you know are needed to be to compete at a high level in hockey.”
For O’Brien and MacKinnon, high performance isn’t a one time thing, it’s an everyday thing. And in O’Brien’s eyes, that’s what separates MacKinnon from everyone else.
“I think it's just the continued everyday dedication and effort to your craft that's something that really makes Nate stand out.”
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