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Ben Kuzma
The Province
Monday, February 17, 2003
It seemed like an ironic
twist of fate.
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Peter Twist
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How could Canucks strength
and conditioning coach Peter Twist -- whose innovative programs have
produced the NHL's fittest team with the fewest man-games lost to injury
-- leave last week to concentrate on family and his own successful
fitness-business venture?
It's like the leader of a marathon calling it quits with the finish line
in sight. However, family comes first for the amiable 29-year-old, who,
with wife Julie, have one- and three-year-old children.
"If I didn't have kids or if they were 20, I'd be happy to stay here for
a longer time," said Twist, who stressed he wasn't pushed aside after 10
seasons with the club. "This is a decision I made back in November, but
I did want to make a commitment and I wasn't just going to jump ship.
"I want the team to be successful and I'm still interested in being a
part of that, but I needed time flexibility. I'll still consult and the
team wants the players to follow the same programs and keep that
continuity.
"I'm appreciative that I can still put my stamp on the program."
In the interim, Mark Morris will help oversee the program. He was fired
as head coach of Clarkson University in November after being accused of
a physical confrontation with a player at the Potsdam, N.Y., school.
Morris is suing the institution for $11 million US for loss of earnings
and wrongful dismissal.
Twist's program for the Canucks stresses nervous-system activation,
deceleration training and movement versus muscle. It employs
conditioning staples like anaerobic sprinting and power training without
weight-stacking machines to help link muscles and joints, mind and body.
And by manipulating massive medicine balls and bouncing on mushroom-cap
shaped balancing contraptions called BOSU [both sides up] balls, Twist
believes the Canucks have a conditioning leg up on their rivals.
"I wasn't going to do it [leave] until I saw that all the players were
on board with this," added the Peterborough, Ont. native. "They're the
best-conditioned team in the NHL and it's a lot different than it was
five years ago.
"Players are doing the right things. ... This team can win a couple of
Stanley Cups and I feel comfortable that I've played my role."
benkuzma@hotmail.com
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