unracked webinar registration

 

JOIN US FOR A LIVE VIRTUAL EVENT
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026 at 3:00Pm ET / 12:00Pm PT

 

How Pro Hockey Players Actually Train

UNRACKED is a live event series from VALD where top coaches break down the systems, methods, and philosophies that drive elite performance.
 
This month's session features Emma Schmid, Head Strength Coach for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL. Before that she spent nearly five years at EXOS and was the first strength and conditioning intern with the Seattle Kraken. She also runs Strive Strength Lab, where she coaches Spartan racers, general population clients, and youth athletes.

Two professional hockey athletes in the same league can have almost nothing in common Monday through Sunday. Both will have different travel, different recovery and different equipment in the room. We're going to explore the unique challenges and opportunities presented by these constraints and how Emma leverages her creativity to make sure athletes in any condition see progress. All for free.

Register to Attend for Free down

unracked webinar series

This session will cover:

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    Two Leagues, Two Weeks

    Emma walks an in-season week on the men's side, then the same week on the women's side. Travel, recovery, practice load, and the point where the two stop looking alike.

     

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    Force Plates or a Stopwatch

    Some rooms have plates, some have a jump mat, some have a stopwatch and a guess. Emma on what she does when she can't test, and what she knows she's giving up.

     

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    Respected or Just Tolerated

    Every pro room has a line between the coach players trust and the one they put up with. Emma on what you have to earn, and what a player made her unlearn.

     

  4. money-bills

    Monday With No Budget

    Most coaches watching have no staff and no tech. Emma on what she'd do first with nothing, and what a coached eye still catches that no force plate ever will.

     

Can’t attend live? No problem, we’ll send a replay to all registrants!

 
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Emma Schmid

Head Strength Coach

Seattle Torrent (PWHL)

 

Emma Schmid is the owner of Strive Strength Lab and Head Strength Coach for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL. She has coached a wider range of athletes than most coaches see in a career: Spartan race competitors, corporate general population clients, youth athletes, and now professional hockey players and Olympians. Emma earned her exercise science degree at UNC Wilmington, spent nearly five years at EXOS, and was the first strength and conditioning intern with the Seattle Kraken. She is a CSCS, an EXOS Performance Specialist, and an FRC Movement Specialist and Kinstretch instructor, and her approach to training is built on biomechanics and the scientific principles of performance rather than on borrowed programs. Emma believes everyone deserves to perform at their best at every phase of life.

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Cooper Napoli

Host of UNRACKED

VALD

 

Cooper Napoli is a Strength and Conditioning Coach with extensive experience training high school, collegiate, professional, and tactical athletes—including Special Operations personnel, NFL players, UFC fighters, IBJJF competitors, and triathletes. He currently works with leading high school football and lacrosse programs while mentoring coaches around the world. After coaching at Westside Barbell and Equinox, Cooper founded Delta-Five Performance, a coaching business dedicated to helping athletes reach their peak through tailored training, nutrition, and performance strategies. In addition to his coaching practice, he helps educate the VALD coaching community and hosts UNRACKED, a live event series featuring top coaches and the systems that drive elite performance.

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