The 4 Fundamentals Of Top Ice Hockey Skating
By Jon Weaver, Thu Dec 8th

In ice hockey, skating can make or break you. Here are the 4fundamentals to becoming a top performing ice hockey skater,plus 4 extra techniques to push you right over the edge!

1. A solid, well-balanced stance is basic to any degree of speedyou want to attain. If you will work on your starts, stops, andturns as described, you will be well on your way to goodbalance.

2. In striding, you have better balance if you skate with yourfeet about shoulder width apart. If your feet are too closetogether, you are more easily knocked off-balance in the heavygoing of a game.

3. The faster you skate, the more you should bend forward fromthe waist. The comparison here is to the body-lean of a sprinterdoing the 100-yard dash and the striding form of a two-miler.During the course of a hockey game, you will be both a sprinterand a strider as the play dictates. But when you really want todig fast, with or without the puck, you should lean well into it.

4. For straight-ahead speed, your power comes from the thrustyou get when the knee of the digging foot straightens. To getmaximum thrust, the knee of the leg coming forward should bewell bent. Be sure you carry this knee forward ahead of thefoot. Then when you place your foot on the ice, you get fullmuscle power when the knee straightens.

Top athletes, especially outstanding track stars, recognize theimportance of leg power and do something about it. They use aprinciple of training known as over-load.
And you can use yourown form of it, too. Here are some methods of over- loading:

1. Drive yourself all out as long as you are on the ice duringscrimmage. Do not just coast around the rink on skates; theywill do most of the work for you if you let them.

2. Skate in short, hard bursts, gradually building up the numberof lengths of ice you can do successively.

3. Get a buddy to let you push him up and down the ice. You areover-loading by the amount he weighs.

4. In testing yourself at top speed, keep up a continual refrainin your mind: “I can go faster yet!” Be sure to warm up wellbefore any all-out test.

If you study these 4 fundamentals and over-load with the 4techniques above, you will improve your skating skillsdramatically. And that in turn will improve your overall icehockey performance.

About the author:FREE ice hockey training can be found at Sir Jon Weaver’sinformation web site. Discover the secrets to performing at thetop of your game, with a focus on beginners. It’s FREE! Clickhere: http://www.HockeyForBeginners.com

This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 1:12 am and is filed under Hockey Pool. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.