SKATING STRIDE

TOPIC
SKATING STRIDE

Today we are going to talk about the skating stride. Skating is by far one of the most important skills in the game of hockey today.

With the game getting faster and faster each season, it’s safe to say that if you can’t skate you can’t keep up with the pace the game is played.

Let’s go over some key points to the skating stride, with an example from one of the best skaters in the game, Nathan MacKinnon.

Key Points:

• Extension

• Recovery 

• Arm Swing 

Let’s take a look at some shots of Nathan MacKinnon skating and talk about some of those “key points” I mentioned above.

EXTENSION

As you can see in the photo above, Nathan MacKinnon’s leg is completely extended and stretched out to the side of his body. If you look closely at either the photo directly above or even the first photo I posted in this newsletter, you can see his toe snapping out giving the extra push in his extension with the flick of his toes.

This is a prime example of a perfect extension.

Another prime example of Connor McDavid is below.

RECOVERY

Okay, everyone, please put your phones down, on “Do Not Disturb”, throw it out the window, whatever you have to do but please, pay attention!

This is going to be the most important section of the skating stride that we discuss.

Too many times, I see players skating on what we coaches call “railroad tracks”. What does that mean exactly? It means that the player does not fully recover the extended leg back underneath the center of their body in order to fully complete the stride.

Below you will see an example of what an improper skating stride and recovery look like.

If you look at the yellow lines where the player’s skates are located, you will notice that he is already beginning the extension of the stride while the other leg is not fully and directly underneath the player’s body. This is a great example of being on the “railroad tracks”.

The player above has an improper skating stride for multiple reasons;

• head facing down causing chest and shoulders to face down

• poor recovery of the leg that has just extended

• little to no arm swing, which we will discuss shortly

Next, we will see what perfect recovery within a skating stride looks like.

As you can see here with Nathan MacKinnon, this is an ideal recovery because the skate is back underneath the center of his body on the recovery of the stride.

Here is another example with Connor McDavid.

So players, and parents of course, if you notice that you or a hockey player you know skates like they are on the railroad tracks, please show them this newsletter so they can hopefully fix it and become a more powerful and efficient skater.

ARM SWING

Last, but certainly not least, we have arm swing. Arm swing is crucial in the skating stride because it allows us to generate momentum as we skate down the ice.

In the photos below I want us to take a look at the forward extension on Nathan MacKinnon. The forward arm swing goes diagonally forward and past the center plane of our body.

Now on the arm going behind, we can see it is also going in a diagonal motion backwards.

With both of these arms working together going back and forth, we are able to generate far more power and momentum with our forward skating stride.

Welp, it looks like we’ve covered all the basics when it comes to the forward skating stride.

Remember skaters, use the time before or after practice to really nail down these mechanics and build those habits. It should be a daily practice in order to really engrain these habits.

See you all soon!

DISCLAIMER
The views, information, or opinions expressed in the Perez Hockey Development newsletter are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of my employers. The primary purpose of this newsletter is to educate and inform.