Elite Hockey Shooters

Hmmm….interesting you may think…why on a shooting web site would there be information on skating? I have taught  puck control, checking, shooting and skating mechanics for over 30 years and during this time realized that in order to grasp completely this wonderful game, one must take a holistic approach and bring all skills under one umbrella since they must exist together in unison and not as separate entities.

While shooting is ultimately the “Power” skill in the game (no shot, no goal), skating has risen to dominate the game skill department to the point that parents, coaches and players (throw player agents in here as well) spent literally thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of both off ice and on ice lessons to the point that shooting training and practice has become a secondary issue.

Schools have arisen that cover all aspects of the game from checking to scoring, from skating to shooting. This is understandable in that each skill has many intrinsic parts. The real question becomes;  “is better to isolate the parts and then put them back together again in what I call the “humpty-dumpty” approach where one tries to assemble all the pieces in no particular order hoping to make everything perfect?”

I tend to focus on the shared mechanical elements that unify each skill. For example, ankle, knee and hip flexion is critical to all skating fundamentals and as such we tend to take them for granted in a lot of circumstances. Instructors tend to focus on knee and hip flexion and never talk about ankle flexion. Have you ever tried to bend you knees on skates without bending the ankles? It is impossible. I have found that having players focus more on their ankle flexion and extension has improved their skating skills far faster that focusing on just knee and hip flexion angles…but enough for now.

In the pages that follow I will break down the mechanics of skating into a very simple philosophy and as such, due to the vast number of skating instructors out there, stir up a little controversy isolating more of the mechanical nuances that make up and unify each skill.

Introduction

Simply put, skating is in essence the art of “falling and catching”. I realize that this is a very bold statement but let’s analyze walking.  To better grasp the concept of skating (and of instruction) I often ask my students (off ice of course) to teach me how to walk. I stand erect with both feet together and their objective is to verbally instruct me on how to start moving forward (accelerate) and to stop (decelerate).

Their instructions are always amusing (and reactions to what I do) since I follow their commands to the letter. The following is often an example of what happens:

Coach, put your left foot forward to which I respond and I stick my left foot out.

No no, put your foot on the ground to which I swing my foot back and forth but due to the hip joint, this action is not possible.

Ok ok, they respond…bend your knees then put your foot ahead. I then bend my knees put my foot out and place it in front of me…still no forward momentum.

They think a bit and then tell me to push off with the other foot which transfers my weight over the forward foot…I stop.

Ok ok…now lift your other foot off the ground and repeat….and so on.

Well at least we have a basis for understanding .

I then show them a simpler way. I again stand erect and then I transfer my body weight forward and while doing so (I explain that I have to stop from falling on my face) I extend one leg to catch myself. If I step to far ahead, my forward weight transfer is neutralized and if I take a smaller step my forward momentum forces me to move the other foot forward so that I again do not fall. This action of weight transfer and foot placement allows me to either accelerate or decelerate accordingly.

I found that this exercise gave them a better understanding of what forward skating is all about. I then perform the same exercise laterally which in turn forces me to crossover.

I then move this exercise to the ice surface explaining how upper body alignment allows for a more efficient weight transfer and how the manipulation of this alignment either to the side, backwards, or forwards assists in either acceleration, deceleration or even gliding. Actions of “fall and catch” can be directed by the rotation of one’s hips, the position of the blade under the body and the distribution of one’s weight over the blade.

The progression then moves forward from this simple understanding.

I begin with simple weight transfer exercises while standing in basic stance focusing on body position (alignment and distribution of weight). Once players understand how to initiate simple forward and backward movement through weight transfer and opening and closing of the hips,  I then and progress to simple balance exercises on both inside and outside edges with both feet and singularly both frontwards and backwards while gliding and then progress to mechanical efficiency or edge control and body alignment.  I do apologize for the simplification of skating mechanics but this is just a basic introduction to the pages to come and as such my objective is to create a foundation concept from which to build off of.

The objective of this section of my site is to integrate the alignment of the body for skating with the alignment of the body for shooting. Often when instructing shooting mechanics I have to realign upper body alignment as well as lower body ankle, knee and hip flexion angles. I will add videos as we move along.

Regards,

Ron