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Mar 4

Chasing fitness nut Eakins toughest assignment for surging Gulls – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Fitness Comments Off on Chasing fitness nut Eakins toughest assignment for surging Gulls – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Gulls defenseman Jaycob Megna and a teammate hopped in an Uber to visit San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge during an American Hockey League road trip that included a stop in neighboring Stockton.

As they stood on the landmark to soak up the inspiring view, jaws dropped as Coach Dallas Eakins casually ran past.

He just said hey and kept going, Megna said. He ran from the hotel, across the bridge and back. It was like 12 miles. I was like, Are you kidding me?

Thats Eakins, a fitness-obsessed, walk-the-talk coach who has molded the Gulls into the AHLs hottest team not named San Jose and the leagues most health conscious.

The 50-year-old runs to practices on the road. Sometimes, he runs back. He annually pedals through the pain in a 100-mile bike race in Colorado, spending 10.5 hours or more in constant motion at more than 10,000 feet.

Eakins banned creamer at the locker room coffee machine. He booted ice cream from pregame meals, much to the smiling chagrin of General Manager Bob Ferguson. Forget about any cream-based soups.

To Eakins, its not diet dictatorship. Its common sense.

The Gulls strangle the life out of third periods, finding extra gears that helped them win 21 of the last 25, including a blistering 10-2 mark in February the most victories in a month since their San Diego debut in 2015.

When you go to the gas station, what do you do? said Eakins, detailing an annual conversation with players. Would you ever go and take a big (pee) in your gas tank and fill it with that? You wouldnt (pee) in your gas tank, because your car wouldnt go very far.

Why would you do that as an athlete? Why would you put a bunch of junk in your body if its going to bring down performance?

Eakins is a new-age rink thinker, trimming mid-season practices to a half hour or less and advocating for daily naps. Rest and recovery rank near the top of the Gulls preparation list.

Megna said Eakins, who sometimes turns out his office lights at the teams rink in Poway to power nap, drills in the concept with a memorable saying: Work hard and recover harder.

Following a game-day skate Friday morning at the Valley View Casino Center, Eakins pulled out his phone to share fresh information he just forwarded to the entire team.

Eakins noticed on Twitter that a presentation during the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at high-browed MIT in Boston equated lack of sleep to drinking alcohol the night before competition or workouts.

He fished the phone from his pocket to reveal a slide that showed six hours of sleep is like downing two or three beers. Sleeping as little as four hours ramps the comparison up to five or six.

God forbid you double-dipped, said Eakins, whose team currently is second and climbing in the Pacific Division. If you have three or four beers and sleep six hours, now youve got a big problem and performance suffers. I dont want to be a guy who walks in there and says, Eat right, sleep right and Im doing everything the exact opposite.

I dont like beer, but I love red wine. So Im not walking around drinking protein drinks all day or whatever. But Ive always thought the best leaders lead by example.

Just ask Craig Elsten, the Gulls play-by-play announcer.

Elsten recalled a trip to Rockford, Ill., when Eakins stayed after practice to work with players doing extra skating. As they ticked off rink laps, the coach dropped to the ice and used his hockey stick as a base for push-ups and chilly sets of burpees.

It makes it hard to eat that cheeseburger or be lazy around him, Elsten said.

When the Ducks opened the organizations training camp last fall in Anaheim, Eakins picked the most Eakins way to travel. He rode his bike for almost 105 miles. That meant chugging to the coast near Torrey Pines, zig-zagging through Camp Pendleton and San Clemente via a labyrinth of trails and side roads.

Ferguson, the general manager, answered in a fraction of a second when asked if Eakins is the fittest coach in the AHL.

Its not even close, Ferguson said. Even though I havent been around everybody, my moneys on him. It almost shames the players. Theyre like, My fitness better be good.

The mindset runs through the family.

Eakins wife, Canadian actress Ingrid Kavelaars, is training for a half-Ironman. The woman who worked on the Stephen King-based movie Dreamcatcher with Morgan Freeman keeps the hockey coach motivated.

Shes fitter than I am, Eakins said.

Megna mentioned a trip to Tucson when Eakins brought his bike. The team walked outside the arena and into 80-degree heat. The coach had ridden his bike so far and high that he found snow.

The message by osmosis is clear: Treat your body like the Mona Lisa.

You see third periods come along and were fresh and were rolling, Megna said. Its hard for teams to keep up with us.

Makes sense. They got that way trying to keep up with their coach.

bryce.miller@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @Bryce_A_Miller

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Chasing fitness nut Eakins toughest assignment for surging Gulls - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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