Quickness
Last Updated on Thursday, 16 January 2014 09:59
By Diane Ness
So your power play is in full swing, not to mention the penalty kill, the D zone, neutral ice, and all the Xs and Os are in place. But how do you maintain the skills that got you there?
Although it takes a short time to lose these skills, it takes a long time to regain the quick hands, the high speed cornering, your first three steps and your stride technique. 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, but 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.
Mechanics
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 is overload skating. These are the longer drills done at a slower pace but with an exaggerated knee bend. This also emphasizes 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.
Overload
Rotating these three sets of drills as much as you can during the season should help you at least be able to maintain the skating skills with which you started. Obviously, the time to improve and focus on your skating is during the offseason, but you don’t want to lose all the work you put in during your training months.
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 sharpened throughout the year.
So, throughout the 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.
