| In ice hockey, skating can make or break you. Here | | | | foot straightens. To get maximum thrust, the knee |
| are the 4 fundamentals to becoming a top | | | | of the leg coming forward should be well bent. Be |
| performing ice hockey skater, plus 4 extra | | | | sure you carry this knee forward ahead of the foot. |
| techniques to push you right over the edge! | | | | Then when you place your foot on the ice, you get |
| In ice hockey, skating can make or break you. Here | | | | full muscle power when the knee straightens. |
| are the 4 fundamentals to becoming a top | | | | Top athletes, especially outstanding track stars, |
| performing ice hockey skater, plus 4 extra | | | | recognize the importance of leg power and do |
| techniques to push you right over the edge! | | | | something about it. They use a principle of training |
| 1. A solid, well-balanced stance is basic to any degree | | | | known as over-load. And you can use your own |
| of speed you want to attain. If you will work on | | | | form of it, too. Here are some methods of over- |
| your starts, stops, and turns as described, you will be | | | | loading: |
| well on your way to good balance. | | | | 1. Drive yourself all out as long as you are on the ice |
| 2. In striding, you have better balance if you skate | | | | during scrimmage. Do not just coast around the rink |
| with your feet about shoulder width apart. If your | | | | on skates; they will do most of the work for you if |
| feet are too close together, you are more easily | | | | you let them. |
| knocked off-balance in the heavy going of a game. | | | | 2. Skate in short, hard bursts, gradually building up the |
| 3. The faster you skate, the more you should bend | | | | number of lengths of ice you can do successively. |
| forward from the waist. The comparison here is to | | | | 3. Get a buddy to let you push him up and down the |
| the body-lean of a sprinter doing the 100-yard dash | | | | ice. You are over-loading by the amount he weighs. |
| and the striding form of a two-miler. During the | | | | 4. In testing yourself at top speed, keep up a |
| course of a hockey game, you will be both a sprinter | | | | continual refrain in your mind: "I can go faster yet!" |
| and a strider as the play dictates. But when you | | | | Be sure to warm up well before any all-out test. |
| really want to dig fast, with or without the puck, you | | | | If you study these 4 fundamentals and over-load |
| should lean well into it. | | | | with the 4 techniques above, you will improve your |
| 4. For straight-ahead speed, your power comes from | | | | skating skills dramatically. And that in turn will improve |
| the thrust you get when the knee of the digging | | | | your overall ice hockey performance. |