Maintain your skating

By Diane Ness

So your power play is in full swing, not to mention the penalty kill, the D zone, neutral zone, and all the Xs and Os are in place. But how do you mainantain the skills that got you there?

Although it takes a short time to lose skills, it takes a long, long time to get the quick hands back, the high speed cornering, and your crucial first three steps, as well keeping your shot. What is the best way to maintain your skating?

There are three sets of skating drills that are important to review and work on throughout the season. I respect the fact that games take up most of a player’s time. However, how good is a player’s game if the skills aren’t sharp? Keep in mind, I would rotate these three sets of skill practices throughout the season. So, here are some suggestions.

First, you want to run quickness drills. I like to run these early in the practice while the ice is still good. Anything with quick corners and fast starts are my preference. Ten minutes spent on these drills at the beginning of the hour will make a difference.

Second, use drills to work on your mechanics. There is no substitute for going over basic skating maneuvers. It is the reason that Joe Mauer goes back to hitting off a tee. Repeat the basics and do the drills that remind us of how we get from point A to point B at a fast pace. Again, 10 minutes at the beginning of a practice will refresh these skills. You can rotate these with the quickness drills.

The third useful set of drills are overload skating. These are the longer drills done at a slower pace but at an exaggerated knee bend. This also emphazies mechanics, but at a 90-degree knee bend. I like to work on strides and crossovers here. This should happen during the last 10 minutes of practice.

Rotate these three sets of drills as much as you can during the season and you should at least be able to hold onto the skating skills you started with. Obviously, the time to improve and focus on your skating is the summer, but you don’t want to lose all the work you put in during the off season.

Imagine not lifting a weight for five months. It is the same with skating. So try the three sets of skill workups and rotate them throughout your practice. You’ll be surprised how much better the individual skills can be maintained.

So, throughout the long, long season, keep your skating sharp. Remember, the uphill climb is slow; the downhill ride is fast.

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.