Public Skating

Question
Hi
My workplace is organizing some fitness groups that will meet one a week.
The one that interests me the most is hockey.
The plan is to play outside once a week when the outdoor ice season comes.
I can skate OK and I know the basics, but I would like to get some practice in, and the only way in my community is to go to public skating, where stics and pucks are not allowed.
Could you give me a few 'drills' I could do at these sessions to improve my hockey skating?
Thanks so much!


Answer
Hi Susan, that is a great idea and will be a lot of fun. Going to public skating is a good way to work on your skating. Skating in Hockey is very important so you are on the right track. When you play hockey you will need good acceleration, quick stops and the ability to change directions quickly. When you are out at public skating you don't want to go all out because you have to respect the other people. If you get out early and there are not a lot of skaters you can practice stop and starts. An easy way is to just start at one side of the rink (not length wise though) and skate hard to the other side, stop, and skate hard back. This will help you work on acceleration and stopping, remember to stop on both sides!

If there are a lot of people then just work on your stride, make sure you know the proper way to skate, then go nice and slow and work on proper form. You can also practice tight turns, crossovers and skating backwards.

For more hockey tips check out How To Hockey - http://howtohockey.com/