Hockey Tips
General Skating Tips • Full leg extension with each stride. Bring each leg back to the centre position. • Bring each leg back in a straight line, and as quickly as possible. Do not bring your legs back in a big arc. • You must have proper bend at the knees and ankles; don't tighten the top of your skates too much. As you extend your leg and push off, "snap" your ankle for additional power. • Use "toe starts" to get a quick start. Explode as you take off by "running" a few steps on the front inside edges of your skates. Keep your skates in the "V" position. As you accelerate, move horizontally, not vertically. • Keep only the top hand on the stick as you skate if you are on a breakaway or if you are skating a long stretch without the puck. This allows you to go your fastest. Keep your stick on the ice so that you are ready if the puck should come in your direction.
Proper Technique 1) Forward Stop (90 degrees) • As you get ready to stop, turn your hips 90 degrees from the direction of travel, turning both skates simultaneously • The outside skate slides along the top of the ice on an inside edge, the inside skate trails the outside one sliding on top of the ice but on an outside edge • Keep both feet wide apart from each other • Transfer most of your body weight on the outside skate (if too much weight is on the inside foot, you will fall and loose your balance) • Counterbalance the stop with your upper body, keeping shoulders parallel to the ice 2) Backward Stop (Hips straight / V Position) • As you get ready to stop, keep your hips facing in the direction of travel and begin your slide • Turn your knees outwards and bring heels in under shoulders • There should be snow coming from both inside edges as you begin the slide on the ice • As you begin to feel conformable with the slide, dig inside edges deeper into the ice • Your body weight should be centered evenly on both feet (do not lean to far forward or you might loose your balance) 3) Backward Stop (90 degree hip turn slide) • As you get ready to stop, turn your hips 90 degrees from the direction of travel, with your back foot lifting slightly off the ice, then returning to the ice • Both the inside skate and outside skate slide on top of the ice, with the inside skate trailing the outside skate • Your trailing foot should be in front of your chin, while your back foot should be slightly behind the back of your helmet • Most of your body weight should be distributed to your back skate Tips (Forward and backward stops) • As you get better at stopping, increase skating speed prior to stopping (the key is being able to stop quickly at any speed) • A good knee bend is vital to making good stops • Always keep your eyes forward and your head up • Your back should be as straight as possible • Don't be discouraged if you fall, it's a sign that you are closer to stopping • Remember to shift most of your weight on the outside foot for balance Balance 1. Balance Always have your weight directly over your skates as much as possible for stability and balance (when your knees are bent, your always sitting in the middle of your skates). Proper balance is crucial, especially when turning, stopping and during contact. Focus on your balance and you will spend a lot more time on your skates, rather than falling on the ice.
Tight Turns While crossovers are the best way to gain top speed in turning corners, it is also very important to learn how to turn quickly while keeping both skates close together. Hockey is not a game played skating in a straightforward motion; you must be able to turn quickly and confidently. When wanting to quickly change directions, a quick turn with both skates together will get you going in the desired direction a lot faster. Master the tight turn (pivot) and you'll have a great advantage in many game situations. Proper Technique • Make sure your knees are bent deeply (ahead of your toes), your upper body is straight, your head is up in the center of your shoulders and that your eyes are pointing forward as you enter the turn • As you begin to turn, shift your body weight into the inside leg (the inside hip guides the turn) • Keep the inside shoulder pressing up to remain parallel to the ice surface (try to maintain outside shoulder as parallel to the ice as possible) • Your outside leg glides next to your turning inside leg, and your skates turn simultaneously in the same direction • Once you have turned and are going in the desired direction, execute a sharp crossover and apply the quick start principles to gain top speed Tips • Keep your eyes pointing forward as you turn • Exaggerate the knee bend, as you must be very balanced to turn as quickly as possible • The sharper you want to turn, the more downward body weight you should apply entering the turn • Use your hips as the steering wheel as you execute the turn and keep your legs close together to get a quicker turn • Focus on maintaining as much speed as you can while turning • Keep your stick in front of you (preferably both hands on the stick
Forwards to Backwards Transition drill: skate around the circles, but always face Towards the same end of the arena (skate Both directions around circles) Changing from forwards to backwards skating just takes a lot of practice. You might try leaning a little on your stick if you're having trouble balancing on the transition. If it's still really difficult, perhaps you can balance by holding onto someone. Start by leaning a lot on the other person, and as you get the feel of it, gradually decrease your dependence on the other person. In this drill you skate around the large face-off circles which are painted on the ice, but keep facing towards one end of the ice at all times. This will be very difficult until you get the hang of it. You probably want to just start practicing the transition while skating in a straight line, but if you can get to the point where you can do it while going around the circles, you'll be well on your way to mastering the transition. Once you get really good at it, try doing it with a puck! The way that you skate in this drill simulates how you should keep facing the puck during a game of hockey. Instead of turning your back on the play, practice skating so that the puck never leaves your view. This makes it much easier for teammates to pass you the puck, and for you to always know where the puck is. This drill is called the 6 and 12 drill because you rotate from backwards to forwards at 6:00 and from forwards to backwards at 12:00 (if the circle was a big clock). Practice skating in both directions around the circle, as people often tend to favor crossovers in one direction. Spraying Spraying Tutorial
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