When searching for a coach that works with hockey students, it’s very important that the coach knows the most important factors that play into a hockey player’s skating. The three most important factors in a hockey player’s skating are power and acceleration, edges, and foot speed. These factors determine good hockey skills during practices and games. There are several techniques and exercises on the ice in which a hockey skater can improve on each skill and achieve greatness. Coach Jill can help a hockey player improve his or her skating during private lessons. Below are some of the skills that coach Jill can help you with:
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Forward Skating
Ice skating in the forward motion should be your first skill to acquire. For a spectator it may seem easy to forward skate, in reality it may take several hours of practice and lessons with a coach. Learning how to skate with the proper technique will help your skating prosper, while giving you the confidence needed to develop into a great ice skater.
Backward Skating
One of the most difficult skating techniques to master, backward skating, takes time and patience. During a hockey game, a strong player spends nearly 20% of the time skating backwards. Therefore, backwards skating is very important in a solid defensive game. With Coach Jill’s help, you can become an excellent backward skater.
Crossovers
Crossovers are a very important aspect of a hockey player’s skill set during a game. Crossovers allow players to accelerate on curves, corners and circles. Strong crossovers enable you to accelerate and out-skate your opponent. Remember to have patience when learning crossovers because this is a difficult skill that is important to master. With coach Jill guiding you on crossovers, you will see a huge improvement with power and maneuvering capability on the ice.
Stops and Starts
A pretty frequent problem that players have when first starting out is learning how to stop. Many people when they first start skating attempt to stop by dragging their feet, doing a 360 or running into the boards. All of these methods for stopping are incorrect. A hockey stop is basically a sideways slide using the edge of the skate. The friction of the blade scraping on the ice will gradually slow you to a halt. Coach Jill will be able to assist you in stopping properly, so when you are skating faster, you will know the correct way of executing a hockey stop.
Understanding your edges
When you skate, turn, and stop you need to use your edges. If a skater does not understand his or her edges on a blade, they will experience problems with turning, stopping, and skating. Coach Jill knows how to teach ice skaters about edges in an easy, understandable way.