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STARTS
Stops
and Starts are the most explosive part of the game and will
take a player to the next level if done properly. Once again,
Balance & Agility are the cornerstones
to stopping and starting efficiently and to be able to get back in
the play quickly.
Executing a proper hockey start will help the player
get back into the play quickly and most importantly, with speed.
In a proper hockey start, a player must, in essence, get up on their
toes and go. What this means is, for a player to get back up to speed
quickly, they must utilize the short, choppy strides inherent in
a forward start and must utilize the inside, toe edges of a skate
in three rapid fire steps. These pushes from your inside, toe edge
must then turn into long strides after just three steps. The TOE,
TOE, GO, philosophy of the forward start, first pioneered and taught
to the pros by Steffany Hanlon of Hanlon Powerskating, forces the
skater to get up on their toes for two quick strides before plunging
into the long strides typical of the forward stride. The reason Ms.
Hanlon insists upon 2 ‘TOES’ instead of say 3 or 4, is
that most elite players should be at full speed by the time they
complete their second ‘TOE’. Now, how does this help
the common man? Simple, as a player is learning and perfecting their
forward starts, they should focus on 3 “TOES” or maybe
even 4. The goal is to be able to get to full speed in two ‘TOES’,
but in the meantime try more until you get it.
V Start
The part of the skate one uses on a proper toe start, sometimes called
a V Start, is the inside edge of each skate with your knees pointing
out. This position is called the V Position and is where each player
wants to begin because it provides the essentials of a good, powerful
start: Two inside edges, good knee bend, and a quiet upper body.
The first two steps should be on your toes. Then the “GO’
is a long stride that begins a player return to the forward stride
technique. The toe starts and Go stride must come from underneath
your body. A player should never start with their feet wide apart
as this will shorten their push length and take speed and power away
from your start. One other key to a good toe start is the motion
of the body during the start. A player does not want to jump up as
this will cause all of the speed generated in the start to go up
instead of out. A player should initiate the V Start with an upper
body lean of around 45 degrees for optimum quickness.
Crossunder Start
A crossunder start is the same thing as a V Start as the final steps
of this technique are in fact a toe start. The difference however,
is based in the initial body positioning (Turned 90 degrees vs. facing
straight on), and an additional two pushes. A crossunder starts with
two additional pushes at a 90 degree angle while the player turns
their body into the alignment of a V Start. The first push is with
the inside edge of the outside skate as it pushes and then crosses
over your opposite leg. After this, the second push begins with your outside
edge of you inside skate driving in the same direction. After these two pushes
your body will open up in the direction of the skater’s choice and go into
the steps discussed above for a proper V Start.
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