Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 March 2014 15:19
By Diane Ness
Throughout a great weekend in high school hockey, you may have noticed how many times skaters are able to use a heel-to-heel skill, specifically the Edina team. For this article, I will give you drills that can be practiced to help acquire this skill.
Heel-to-heel is a position the skater gets in when he/she is on two inside edges with toes facing out and heels together. A skater needs to be flexible for this skill, but with practice this skill can definitely be improved upon. Learning the skill also serves other purposes. Practicing heel-to-heel is one way to help improve the skater’s transitions and/or any pivoting as well because of the footwork involved.
The first drill the skater will perform a tight figure-8 using power turns behind the net. As the skater walks the puck out from behind the net, the skater will use that heel-to-heel movement to get to the front of the net quickly and get a quick shot on net. When using this skill, the skater is able to keep everything in front of him/her and not be committed to just going one direction. It can sometimes be quicker just to open your feet up as opposed to a big sweeping power turn when coming from behind the net to the front of the net.
In the second drill, the skater will do a duck walk around the circle on both inside edges. The skater begins in the heel-to-heel position. He/she wants to shift their weight vertically from their front foot (lead) skate to their back (trailing) skate as they move around the circle. The weight will be towards the ball of the foot in the lead skate to the heel of the foot in the trailing skate. Keep the stick and upper body towards the center of the circle. As the skater comes out of the circle, he/she will perform the arc drill all the way down the ice. For the arc drill, the skater will hold the heel-to-heel position in an arc motion from one side and then switch sides holding a heel-to-heel position the other way.
Finally, the skater will have the puck on the dot. The skater will get in the heel-to-heel position and move on their inside edges all the way around the puck in a tight circle. The skater should focus on keeping toes out while moving on both inside edges. The coach (or another player) can be behind the skater giving token resistance as to simulate puck protection. As the coach moves one direction, the skater moves as well, using his/her body to protect the puck. If the coach quickly stops, the skater will then stop quickly and protect the puck the other way while maintaining the heel-to-heel position. The puck should remain close to the dot, while the body is rotating around the puck.
Diane Ness has been a full-time professional skating coach for over 35 years. She has coached both figure skaters and hockey players alike and is a former U.S. gold medalist in figure skating. She is the Director for the Pro Edge Power hockey camps and the Learn to Skate program at Highland Park Arena. Ness is the skating coach for the New Jersey Devils, the University of Minnesota men’s and women’s hockey teams and the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. She has trained players in the NHL, AHL, NCAA, USHL and NAHL.
