Skating Tips for young male and female Players 5 to 12 years of age
Learning to skate is a lot like learning to ride a bicycle. Once you?ve achieved it, it?s never forgotten. Skating requires a very fine sense of balance. Understanding your body?s center of gravity and its tipping point is key.
When this is learned, as to how far you can bend in one direction without falling, it will help you stay in an up-right position, whether on 2 wheels or on 2 very thin skate blades.
Skating has been described as being similar to balancing on a tight rope. You can practice your skating technique and balancing exercises at home by standing on one leg with your shoes on, or in your bare feet.
Make sure your knee is bent/flexed slightly forward; now try to keep your balance.
Experiment to see how far you can bend at the waist: forward, backward and side-to-side without falling. Discover your full range of balance; this knowledge will help both your skating stability and agility for playing hockey.
Skating stance: your feet should be between hip width and shoulder width apart, knees flexed forward all the times, never lock your knee or skate straight legged.
Lift one foot up off the floor about 6 to 10 inches then shift your body weight from one leg to your other leg trying to keep your balance by standing in a semi up-right position on one leg.
N.B. Parents should be close by to prevent your young child from falling.
Practice this every few seconds for a couple of minutes to get the idea of skating, balance and the shifting of your body weight from one leg to the other without falling. This will take some practice for younger kids (5 to 8 years old) to keep their balance. Knees must remain flexed forward at all times.
That's all Skating is, basically shifting your weight from one leg to your other leg while taking short strides or steps at the beginning of the skating stroke, then increasing them to longer strides or steps as you start moving forward or backward.
Practice this pushing outward stroke with one skate and glide forward with the other skate to develop the smooth stroke and glide skating movement.
Push your stroke skate blade's inside edge into the ice, pushing it outward and backward like the letter ?C.? Power comes from your upper leg, down through your knee, then calf and ankle finally pushing outward through the ball of your foot.
You should reach your top skating speed after only 4 skating strokes, no more.
Your other skate, the glide skate, and the one supporting your body weight will glide smoothly forward for a few feet then it becomes the stroking skate.
This stroke and glide foot movement while shifting and balancing your body weight from one leg to the other creates forward or backward motion. The faster you move your feet, the faster you move forward or backward.
Practice and more skating practice will help you develop your stops, starts, strides, turns, breakaway speed and 180-degree pivots from forward to backward or backward to forward. All these skating skills will be required to become a good hockey player.
To become an even better skater or hockey player, I suggest you go general skating every chance you can, or play shinny hockey as often as possible on a frozen river, pond, backyard rink or municipal outdoor rink to develop your skating & hockey skills.
And should you fall learning to skate, and most beginners will, shake it off and get right back up and start over again. I highly recommended you wear a hockey helmet and a thick pair of gloves for added safety when learning to skate on ice.
Some Community arenas have aluminum learn to skate devices that you can hold on to. These will help you from falling and are designed to keep you in an up right skating position. They also provide enough foot room to allow you to stroke and glide properly.
To begin skating from a stop position, turn your skates outward in a "V" position at about a 45-degree angle. Push one skate outward and backward to your legs full extension then it?s the other skates turn to push outward and backward using the inside edges.
Most Coaches consider skating to be the single most important skill to learn and master for all young hockey players if they want to get to the next level.
Practice makes perfect and will improve your skating skills I guarantee it.
When I was young, all the kids in my neighborhood and I would skate and play hockey every day after school and all weekend long on the frozen Bay of the St. Lawrence river. This may not be realistic where you live, but there is no better way to improve your skating than by just doing it and if there is an outdoor rink nearby I suggest you give it a try.
I hope these tips have helped you and if they have, please forward to other hockey parents or young players so they can sign up for our fr*ee Hockey Made Easy complimentary tips.
Best of luck with your skating development and I?m sure with practice, it will improve dramatically.
If you desire other or previous complimentary hockey tips go to www.HockeyMadeEasy.com
Have a continued great and successful hockey season.
Yours in hockey,
John ShoreyHockey Made Easy - Canada's Best Instruction Manual
When this is learned, as to how far you can bend in one direction without falling, it will help you stay in an up-right position, whether on 2 wheels or on 2 very thin skate blades.
Skating has been described as being similar to balancing on a tight rope. You can practice your skating technique and balancing exercises at home by standing on one leg with your shoes on, or in your bare feet.
Make sure your knee is bent/flexed slightly forward; now try to keep your balance.
Experiment to see how far you can bend at the waist: forward, backward and side-to-side without falling. Discover your full range of balance; this knowledge will help both your skating stability and agility for playing hockey.
Skating stance: your feet should be between hip width and shoulder width apart, knees flexed forward all the times, never lock your knee or skate straight legged.
Lift one foot up off the floor about 6 to 10 inches then shift your body weight from one leg to your other leg trying to keep your balance by standing in a semi up-right position on one leg.
N.B. Parents should be close by to prevent your young child from falling.
Practice this every few seconds for a couple of minutes to get the idea of skating, balance and the shifting of your body weight from one leg to the other without falling. This will take some practice for younger kids (5 to 8 years old) to keep their balance. Knees must remain flexed forward at all times.
That's all Skating is, basically shifting your weight from one leg to your other leg while taking short strides or steps at the beginning of the skating stroke, then increasing them to longer strides or steps as you start moving forward or backward.
Practice this pushing outward stroke with one skate and glide forward with the other skate to develop the smooth stroke and glide skating movement.
Push your stroke skate blade's inside edge into the ice, pushing it outward and backward like the letter ?C.? Power comes from your upper leg, down through your knee, then calf and ankle finally pushing outward through the ball of your foot.
You should reach your top skating speed after only 4 skating strokes, no more.
Your other skate, the glide skate, and the one supporting your body weight will glide smoothly forward for a few feet then it becomes the stroking skate.
This stroke and glide foot movement while shifting and balancing your body weight from one leg to the other creates forward or backward motion. The faster you move your feet, the faster you move forward or backward.
Practice and more skating practice will help you develop your stops, starts, strides, turns, breakaway speed and 180-degree pivots from forward to backward or backward to forward. All these skating skills will be required to become a good hockey player.
To become an even better skater or hockey player, I suggest you go general skating every chance you can, or play shinny hockey as often as possible on a frozen river, pond, backyard rink or municipal outdoor rink to develop your skating & hockey skills.
And should you fall learning to skate, and most beginners will, shake it off and get right back up and start over again. I highly recommended you wear a hockey helmet and a thick pair of gloves for added safety when learning to skate on ice.
Some Community arenas have aluminum learn to skate devices that you can hold on to. These will help you from falling and are designed to keep you in an up right skating position. They also provide enough foot room to allow you to stroke and glide properly.
To begin skating from a stop position, turn your skates outward in a "V" position at about a 45-degree angle. Push one skate outward and backward to your legs full extension then it?s the other skates turn to push outward and backward using the inside edges.
Most Coaches consider skating to be the single most important skill to learn and master for all young hockey players if they want to get to the next level.
Practice makes perfect and will improve your skating skills I guarantee it.
When I was young, all the kids in my neighborhood and I would skate and play hockey every day after school and all weekend long on the frozen Bay of the St. Lawrence river. This may not be realistic where you live, but there is no better way to improve your skating than by just doing it and if there is an outdoor rink nearby I suggest you give it a try.
I hope these tips have helped you and if they have, please forward to other hockey parents or young players so they can sign up for our fr*ee Hockey Made Easy complimentary tips.
Best of luck with your skating development and I?m sure with practice, it will improve dramatically.
If you desire other or previous complimentary hockey tips go to www.HockeyMadeEasy.com
Have a continued great and successful hockey season.
Yours in hockey,
John ShoreyHockey Made Easy - Canada's Best Instruction Manual
posted by YMH at
9:14 AM
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