Staff writer

BY JOHN BUSH

Dr. Thomas Jones enjoys a good hockey check as much as any hockey fan.

As the doctor and trainer for Monmouth University's IceHawks club team, Jones gets an extra dose of satisfaction whenever an IceHawks player delivers a big hit.

"One game against Shippensburg University, I was sitting right there when (right wing) Joe Raimondi knocked this guy clear over the boards into the penalty box," Jones said. "It was a home game and everybody went wild. After the game, Joe came up to me and said, "Dr. Jones, I did what you said and I felt great.' He was so excited. He couldn't get over how strong he felt."

Jones' involvement with the IceHawks extends far beyond a typical team trainer role. So much so that the players have presented Jones with an autographed team jersey.

"It was really nice, and completely unexpected," Jones said. "This past season was amazing."

"We consider Dr. Jones a member of the team," forward Jon Grubb said. "He's given us so much, both as individuals and as a team. We couldn't possibly repay him. We figured the best way to show him our appreciation was to present him with a signed team jersey. He's a very important part of our club and has played a significant role in our successes."

A chiropractor and physical therapist, Jones, 33, runs Human Performance Center, an advanced sports performance and chiropractic medicine clinic in Shrewsbury. He became involved with the IceHawks through a mutual acquaintance prior to the 2004-05 season, volunteering his services as both an athletic trainer and a doctor. He has since been training and developing the players both as a group and on an individual basis.

"In hockey, a big part of the game is hitting and being hit," Jones said. "The team learned which muscle groups to contract and drive from in order to hit more effectively and also to take a hit with minimal consequence."

After the team struggled on the ice in 2004-05, the IceHawks showed a marked improvement this past season under new coach Fred Berzolla.

A member of the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference, the IceHawks, who play their home games at Wall Sports Arena, reached the league playoffs and finished 11th in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division III Atlantic rankings.

"I do a lot of sports performance training and off-ice training with them," said Jones, who attended Toms River South and is a professor of human anatomy and physiology at Ocean County College. "I do a lot of injury-prevention work. This year we didn't have anybody who required surgery. I attribute that to the players' conditioning. They're really hard workers.

"When I look at athletes, I don't want to train individual muscles. It's more linking the motor patterns required for the sport. I want to train particular patterns for the sport and develop it in an unconscious manner and try to achieve perfection of movement. It's linking power, strength, agility and coordination, and it makes them more powerful."

The players have certainly been impressed with the results from the training they've received from Jones.

"Doc helped me tremendously," defenseman and team captain Tony Losardo said. "We did a lot of core strengthening and balance training. He taught me how to use and harness energy from different muscle groups. What's really great is that Doc made everything we worked on sport-specific. He related everything to ice hockey. I'm a pretty strong skater, but the balance training made me stronger. The preventative conditioning helped me have my first injury-free season in five or six years."

"Dr. Jones showed me how to hit, how to focus and explode," Raimondi said. "He taught me which muscle groups to use. There was a game against Shippensburg where I was along the boards with a larger player from the other team. I'm not a big guy, but I hit him so hard he literally cart-wheeled over the boards into the bench. There's more to it than just learning how to hit, though. With Doc's training I saw noticeable gains from last year. I'm a much better overall player, stronger, faster and more agile."

During games, it's not unusual for Jones to tend to Monmouth's opponents, keeping in with the competitive yet friendly spirit of a club-level university sport.

"Some games I'm working more on their players than our own," Jones said.

"Some schools can't afford a doctor, I got that covered. They can't afford a trainer, I got that covered."

"It wasn't just about us and our team, you know?" Losardo said.

"Doc was there to help other players, other teams too. It's what he does."

Mostly, though, Jones helps get the IceHawks into peak playing condition.