The Grind Is Real: How the Texas Stars Prepare for a Three-in-Three Weekend

Head athletic trainer Mike DeGaetano (Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

Three professional hockey games in three nights is practically inhumane.

The energy, the mental load, the stress and strain on the body and mind of the athlete and also the army of support staff is extreme.

Since the departure of Houston and San Antonio from the AHL’s Texas Triangle, the Texas Stars have played blessedly few 3-in-3s. When the Stars first moved to Cedar Park, the team played them frequently with Sunday games in San Antonio a schedule staple of the early seasons. Keep in mind as well that the league then had 80 games instead of 72, forcing eight more games into a schedule of nearly the same calendar length as today.

In 2009-10, Texas played eight 3-in-3s. This season, they will only play one, and it starts tonight in Grand Rapids.

Because the Stars only have one this year, they were able to start preparation far in advance

“We take into account that this weekend's coming up and don't wait until today to prepare,” Stars head athletic trainer Mike DeGaetano told 100 Degree Hockey when reached by phone this week. “It's something that we've looked at a month out. We've been adjusting since then what we're doing in the gym, weaning some stuff back, adjusting things there.”

He also adds that this week’s four days off have really helped the club to prepare for the weekend’s trials. “At this point in the season, rest is a weapon. Getting those extra days where we can taper stuff in the gym, taper guys on the ice, that’s the biggest thing.”

DeGaetano is familiar with the grind of a three-in-three, coming from the ECHL previously. Adding extra complexity to this trio of games is the fact that they’re all on the road across two different cities. It also doesn’t help that Texas has to start every single road trip with a commercial plane flight. The staff in Texas has adapted a routine from Dallas this year to head straight to the hotel after landing where assistant trainer Chris Nelson works through yoga and mobility exercises with the players.

“We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from the guys. It is a tough travel day where you're sitting on a plane, some guys are in middle seats, so giving them that hour or two to decompress, to get some mobility going, they feel a lot better that following day.”

Even with the work the team does when they land, the third game is in Chicago at 3 PM CT, which will be a bus trip from Grand Rapids after a 7 PM ET start.

On how the training staff approaches that third game, DeGaetano answers with a laugh: “We hope.”

DeGaetano helps Riley Barber off the ice in a file photo from 2023 (Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

He continues, “By the time you get to that point you make sure everything you do Friday and Saturday prepares them to get onto that bus. Then guys will get there a little earlier on Sunday than they normally would to get the body moving, to get some extra work if they need it, because there's no way you can play Friday and Saturday, get on a bus and not feel stiff.”

This time of year especially, Texas has a lot of younger players on ATOs. Head coach Neil Graham noted last week that there was some tiredness evident in those guys as they played their third game in four days with travel from the east coast. DeGaetano points to the veteran leadership group as a key factor in getting those younger players rapidly into pro recovery and conditioning habits.

“We have a great leadership group, and the younger guys can go to our veteran players and see what they're doing. We encourage them to get with your teammates, talk to the vets, see what they think works for them, what they found in the past works, what doesn't work. Those guys are great assets, great tools to prevent, you know, you from making that same mistake that they may have made in the past.”

The training staff also knows that one size does not fit all and has customized plans and conditioning for all of the players based on their preferences and how their bodies respond. They are ready to move, shift and change based on what’s working. “Communication is the biggest thing with our athletes. That's our biggest asset.”

After playing three games in under 48 hours, the temptation might be to come home and “bury yourself in the couch” in exhaustion. While the team has some passive technology they employ to flush out the muscles, the training staff also encourages players to come home and do anything to get the muscles moving even if not hockey related to continue flushing outside the rink. Even a walk around the grocery store can be helpful. 

DeGaetano helps Oskar Bäck patch up in a file photo from 2023 (Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

DeGaetano also notes that the biggest misconception about three-in-threes that those who’ve never played one don’t understand is that they are as much about the mental challenge as they are about the physical.

“Mentally, you're tired. It's hard for guys to wind down to sleep after a game. So you're maybe not getting a great night's sleep Friday. Then you get on a bus Saturday, you're not getting a great night's sleep Saturday night into Sunday. We’re just trying to do whatever we can to take as much off the guys’ plates and their minds, so that all they need to do is focus on that game.

“I'd say the mental tax that it takes is not often looked at.”

While Texas is certainly not complaining about this being their only three-in-three, the Stars face other challenges with their road trips, including their length in the season. DeGaetano noted that it’s tough to keep guys fresh for a 10- or 14-day trip as opposed to an extra three-in-three in the season.

Regardless, he adds, “I don’t miss them.”

“We're doing whatever we can to help the guys. At the end of the day, if [the staff] is tired, we can be tired. We don't have to go play professional hockey. We’ve got to make sure we do everything to make sure the guys don't look tired, so that we can hopefully come out with three good games.”

Texas opens their only three-in-three of the year this evening in Grand Rapids at 6 PM CT.