Joel Becker MCoach, MBA, CSCS

Joel Becker is a high-performance coach and skating biomechanics specialist operating at the intersection of speed development, strength and conditioning, and performance engineering in ice hockey. Known for challenging the traditional skating model, Joel has built a reputation as one of the most disruptive and effective voices in hockey performance, working with athletes ranging from elite prospects to NHL and professional players.

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Joel’s foundation is rooted in both elite sport and high-performance environments outside of hockey. As an athlete, he was a World U17 Hockey Champion and transitioned into national-level speed skating, where he trained in true high-performance systems alongside world-class athletes. This experience exposed a critical gap early: hockey was operating decades behind real performance sport in its understanding of speed, mechanics, and transfer.

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Following a career-ending groin injury, Joel transitioned into the corporate world, rising into senior leadership roles in health, safety, and performance systems across oil, gas, mining, and large-scale construction. He led complex operations where failure had real consequences, designing and implementing management systems that drove measurable change at scale. His work included reducing incident rates by over 40 percent, increasing leading performance indicators by 300 percent, and aligning global operations across 23 countries. 

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Despite achieving what most would consider the “dream” career, Joel recognized that his true value was not in corporate systems, but in his ability to understand and develop speed.

During COVID, he began working with a single athlete who had lost access to training. Within weeks, demand grew organically as results spread. Athletes were skating faster, moving more efficiently, and producing performance changes that stood in stark contrast to traditional hockey development.

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That moment marked a full return to high performance sport.

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Joel completed a Master of Coaching from the University of Alberta, specializing in skating biomechanics and speed development, while integrating his background in biological sciences (BSc) and business strategy (MBA). His approach is built on a Performance Engineering Model that integrates biomechanics, force-velocity profiling, strength diagnostics, neuromuscular development, and energy system progression to produce measurable, transferable results on the ice.

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His impact is clear. Athletes in his system consistently demonstrate increases in lean body mass, strength, power, and skating speed, with documented improvements such as +4–7 percent linear speed, +7–15 percent lateral/crossover speed, and significant gains in force production and efficiency. 

Joel’s work extends beyond individual development. He is actively influencing how hockey understands performance, working with organizations and athletes at the highest levels while continuing to challenge a system that has historically relied on tradition over science.

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His philosophy is simple.

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Hockey does not have a skating problem.

It has a performance problem.

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And until that changes, Joel will continue to expose the gap.