For the second consecutive year, Schneider worked with a personal trainer this past summer.

�I think that�s going to be the trend guys start to go with,� said Schneider, who this year trained in New York City under the watchful eye of Pat Manochia.

Schneider�s fitness level during the summer took on added importance this year. Instead of just gearing up for the Leafs� camp in September, Schneider had to be ready a month earlier because he was a member of the (eventual winning) United States entry in the World Cup of Hockey.

In 1995, Schneider had enlisted the services of California-based trainer T.R. Goodman, whose NHL client list includes Chris Chelios, Rick Tocchet, Michel Petit and Valeri Bure.

�I think basically the whole philosophy behind hiring a trainer is you just can�t push yourself the way someone else can,� said Schneider. �When you go on the ice for a practice you have a coach pushing you all the time. In the summer when you�re training by yourself, it�s easy to slack off if you�re not really being pushed.�

Schneider, an eight-year NHL veteran, is the first pro athlete Manochia has trained. Another client is New York Rangers� GM Neil Smith. Manochia, who is the latest beau for actress Julia Roberts, has also worked with several other celebrities including Madonna and Susan Sarandon.

World Cup preparation

With Schneider, Manochia found it was a battle against time as the World Cup was fast approaching. �We weren�t just getting him ready for an NHL training camp,� Manochia said. �We were preparing him for an elite level of international competition.�

The pair worked together for eight weeks. �When he left, he was almost in optimum condition,� said Manochia, who has known Schneider since the two played summer hockey together in their teens. �With 10-12 weeks, he would have been in mid-season shape.�

After some initial tests, Schneider and Manochia got down to some serious sweating. Manochia determined the rearguard, who has also played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders during his career, had to increase his oxygen capacity and decrease his body fat.

Manochia is especially pleased that during their time together, Schneider�s body fat went from 14.5% to 12%. �That�s a big drop in eight weeks,� said Manochia, a center who played for Brown University before briefly playing some pro hockey in Spain.

Manochia though refuses to take credit for whipping Schneider (�he did all the work�) into shape. �When I started, I was training twice a day for about six weeks,� Schneider said. �Because of the World Cup, there wasn�t a whole lot of time to get ready for it. And then the better shape I got in, we�d do one workout a day and combine everything.�

Besides running about five miles per day, Schneider usually took part in aerobic and weight-training workouts.

Winning made it worthwhile

�It certainly took a lot of dedication,� he said. �It took away a lot of my summer, but after winning the World Cup, I think it was all worthwhile.�

The 27-year-old Schneider admits there were times he wondered, �why bother?�

�The thing is there were a lot of days that I didn�t want to show up,� he said. �And there were times when I�d run and then not want to work out in the afternoon. But because (Pat) was there, he always forced me to keep going and push myself harder.�

Although there won�t be a World Cup to prepare for during the next few years, Schneider said he will continue to work with a trainer, whether it�s Manochia or somebody else.

�I�m not sure where I�m going to end up next summer,� he said. �But I�m a firm believer now (in a trainer). With the amount of money that�s at stake these days and the pressures we play under to win every year, it�s worth it to show up in camp in better and better shape. The game has really changed over the past 8-10 years. Before, training camp was to get into shape and the summer was vacation. Now I think everyone has a good summer of training.�

�Your career is so short � 10 years is considered a long career. To dedicate your summer to training during those years I really think is not giving up that much. Sure it�s a long season, especially playing in a city like Toronto where the pressure is so great. But it�s important to really try to get any sort of advantage you can.�

Schneider said a team�s fitness level could translate into some more wins early on.

Early points

�At the start of the season, if you�re in better shape, you�re going to get those points maybe you wouldn�t have had,� he said. �And coming down the stretch when we�re trying to make the playoffs, those points are going to be valuable.�

Besides working with Manochia, the Leafs had also given Schneider a summer training program. There were no conflicting matters.

�Toronto had a very extensive program,� he said. �It was basically a guideline to follow if you�re training on your own. This is my third team and it�s more intensive than any program that I�ve seen from any NHL team. But again, doing it on your own it makes it tough and it�s easy to take days off when there�s not somebody there to push you.�

Schneider added though methods have changed, the goals of training remain the same.

�Training has become so high-tech these days,� he said. �There�s always something new and something better: better ideas, better philosophies and better diets. But you can�t stray too far. No matter how new something is, you�re always following the same guidelines such as having a low-fat diet and having to build your aerobic base.�

Regardless of how much off-ice training one does, Schneider said there�s nothing that compares to being on the ice and skating.

�No matter how high your VO₂ is or how strong you are, there�s always that first week or the first few days of camp where you�re using muscles that you really can�t train unless you�re skating, especially your groin and your hip flexors,� he said. �The only way to really build those is to skate. So no matter what you do in the off-season, it really takes you a week or two weeks of camp to get you into high gear.�

A solid off-season of training, however, certainly doesn�t hurt.