In the summer of 2011 I had my third operation on my right shoulder. I had two previous key hole surgeries which had not fixed my long term injury so I finally had a full reconstruction on my damaged shoulder. I had been playing with the injury for over 7 years and in particular the last three were very painful and restrictive.

The enormity of what I had put myself through hit me as I awoke and spoke to the surgeon. He warned me that if I didn't  get my shoulder rehab 100% then my hockey career could be over in a couple of seasons maximum. Not only that but I would suffer immensely later on in my every day life. Any sportsmen who hears talk of their career being cut short immediately goes into panic and for a quite a while afterwards my confidence about my hockey career was incredibly low.

 Play Off Champions 2010/11 Season

I was in a sling for 2 months and then had to wait a further month to be able to start any sort of exercise. The hospital had told me that I would be unable to play for 6 months meaning I would miss the first 2 and half months of the season. With just 2 weeks before the start of the season and finally cleared to exercise,my team advised me to go to and see Mark Coles at M10 Fitness. I knew a little about Mark as some of the younger guys in the team had been training with him in throughout the summer and I had heard some very positive feedback. from them Though nothing could prepare me for what I was about to embark on.

The summer sitting around not being able to do much had left me over weight and with the surgeons comments still ringing in my ears I felt extremely low. The first thing that struck me at the M10 Fitness was that it was not a public gym and that many of the machines that were there I had not seen in your normal gym. The first thing Mark asked me was " what do you want out of this?". I said I wanted to get rid of this injury once and for all.  " how about I not only fix your shoulder but I'll make it stronger than ever" he said. I was taken aback by his comments and instantly my confidence suddenly grew.

 Though what really shocked me was that the test he went on to give me wasn't just on my shoulder but my whole body. He checked everything from my flexibility in my hips, to my strength and stabilisation in my knees,to the strength in my back. He took my body fat and asked for a list of a weeks normal diet.

Once the test was done he took a look at my shoulder. As he moved my shoulder around he explained to me what other muscles had also be effected by the surgery and what muscles had previously let me down over the years to allow my shoulder to get in the state it was.

The information really opened up my eyes on how much I had neglected my shoulder but also it started to make me more positive about the rehab as I now started to understand it. Once the consultation was done he asked me again " what do you want out of this?".  This time I said I wanted to be a better player. When I got home Mark had sent me a email with all my body fat results and a complete workout for my shoulder. My body fat was a staggering 25% so he included a diet to decrease it. In 6 days I dropped 2% and also 3 kg in weight. Not only that but after starting the workouts I put on 2 kg of muscle mass in a very short time. In six weeks I have dropped 7.5% in body fat, kept my weight of 95kg and put on 9lbs in lean muscle mass. I've gone from bench pressing 10kg dumb bells to 20kg (3 sets of 12 - 15) an increase of 2kg a week. By the end of the programme I'll be lifting between 30-40kg for lower reps. The range of motion in my shoulder is better than it's has been in 7 years. So much so that I am now back playing two months earlier than the six months I was original told.

My confidence in my shoulder has never been higher and know I am going to continue to work with Mark to see how much more I can get out of myself. It cannot be overstated how much Mark has helped me as he has basically saved my hockey career. Without his help I would be hanging up my skates  possibly after this season. Now I feel I can go on  for another 7-10 years and not only that, but the best years are still ahead of me. The training I receive is exactly what Steve Stamkos,Martin st Louis and all top NHL guys receive. How do I know that? Well that's because Mark spends time learning from their Strength and Conditioning coaches.

In 2-3 years time every hockey player will have these coaches and for us UK players this is your chance to train like every Canadian or Russian youngster across the world. All I ask is for you to meet Mark, then trust me after the first meeting, you'll realise it's the best thing you ever did.

Danny Meyers - Nottingham Panthers Captain & Great Britain