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FORWARD
STRIDE
Believe it or not, Forward and
Backwards skating are fundamentally the same skill. The ability to
skate efficiently and powerfully, forward and backwards, with and
without the puck, should be every skater’s goal.
Before getting into the forward stride every hockey player must
know the basic Hockey Ready Stance. This is when a player is standing
with two hands on the stick good knee bend and skates shoulder
width apart. Another important thing to remember is the correct
body alignment for the forward stride. A player has the proper
body alignment when their toes, their knees, and their nose are
aligned in a straight line top to bottom, allowing the player to
glide better on a flat edge and get the most out of each push.
Forward skating starts with proper body positioning from head
to toe. When breaking the forward stride down it is important
that you think about the whole body working together as one unit.
Start with the head up and still. Do not shake it side to side
as this will cause the whole body to shake which in turn will
throw your speed side to side as well. Remember: you are not
skating left and right, you are trying to skate straight. Keeping
your head up is also important as this helps the player to see
the ice better, simply known as a players ‘field of vision’. Your torso
must lean out over the toes of your skates with a straight back,
but make sure you do not bend at the waist. Many young players
mistake bending at the waist, instead of the knees, as ‘getting
low’. This is the worst thing a player can do while skating
as it forces you to look at your skates, and not the rest of the
ice, and it severely restricts your skating mobility. Getting low
is accomplished solely bending the knees through the ankles and
is the most important technique to master for maximum power and
speed with the forward stride.
Your lower body is where all of the power and speed come from
in the forward stride. A players leg muscles must be strong and
in great condition to play this game. ‘Knee Bend is Good’
is something you will hear a lot at any RMHS Summer Camps as it
is the core foundation for our beliefs in the perfect forward stride.
It is also the most important term to remember when correcting
a player’s forward stride. If a player skates straight legged
they will get no power from their stride. The forward stride begins
underneath the skaters body, the push is out to the side versus
out the back, and the return is always completed once their foot
returns fully underneath their body (this is called Full Return).
When they push, it is important to note that the stride must extend
as far as the leg will allow, or until it is straight. This is
called Full Extension. The reason behind a Full Return is to ensure
that you are properly balanced on your glide foot in preparation
for the next push, and to ensure all of your body weight is on
the push foot to achieve maximum pushing power, leading to maximum
speed.
Knee bend is the key to everything a player does in the game of
hockey. Power and explosion comes from the amount of knee bend
a player has and those players with deeper knee bend will be able
take their game to the next level quicker than the others. Deep
knee bend provides a lower center of gravity, better balance, more
power in your shot, and most importantly, a longer stride that
creates more power and therefore, more speed. Exploding when body
checking or a starting after a stop is how you will be better able
to create time and space and is also directly related to the amount
of knee bend a player has.
Arm swing is often forgotten in the forward stride and is as
important as knee bend with regards to technique. The reason
being is proper arm swing is a forward and back motion that will
add increased momentum in a linear fashion, i.e. the direction
the player is skating. If a skater has improper arm swing, i.e.
arms swinging left to right, the players’ upper body momentum
will be moving against the grain the lower body is trying to
move in. This will only slow the player down.
Loosening up ones shoulders and arms is the key to increased
momentum when skating both backwards and forwards. The looser
skaters’
arms remain the more fluid and more powerful the skater will be.
When swinging your arms front to back you must drive the forward
arm between the knees with the players palm facing up to continue
the forward lean of the skater. The other arm should be straight
behind the body reaching up to generate more momentum just like
a swing.
Remember when skating to use your body together as one unit and
this will make any skater more efficient and faster in the game
of hockey.
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