Read an Excerpt
Eileen Peerless Power Skating Method
The Art of Technique Applied to Hockey Skating
By Eileen Peerless
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2010 Eileen Peerless
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-5113-6
Chapter One
Balance
"Teach the body first and the feet will follow."
Balance is the foundation for skating: the better the balance, the better the skating. Balance means body. Knowing where the body belongs over the feet all of the time is essential. All skating technique needs the body to be properly balanced over the blades of the skates at all times.
The best drills for body placement over the blades are those using the blade edges. Mastery of the use of inside and outside edges is essential to become a complete skater. When you are performing edge drills, make sure the distance traveled on an edge is longer rather than shorter. The arc made by an edge on the ice should be no less than 180 degrees. This will help in getting the utmost in balance and body placement.
Getting acquainted with your Edges
Inside and outside edges are used in almost every skating maneuver. Edges result from a drop of the ankle either inward (for inside edges) or outward (for outside edges). Figure 1-1 shows both an inside and an outside edge. Figure 1-2 shows inside edges. The knee should not drop inward but should be bent forward to line up over the toe. The angle of the edge to the ice is 45 degrees.
Body Positioning
Properly positioning the upper body when doing edge drills helps with balance. To do edge drills properly, the upper body must be lined up over the gliding edge. The upper body does not stay stationary but rotates, depending on the edge. The upper body has a slight lean in the direction of travel in order to keep it lined up over the edge of the gliding skate. This lean keeps the upper torso balanced over the blade.
For example, the shoulders rotate to the left when you are on
a. a left forward outside edge (fig. 1-3);
b. a right forward inside edge;
c. a right backward outside edge;
d. a left backward inside edge.
The shoulders will rotate to the right when you are on a. a right forward outside edge;
b. a left forward inside edge;
c. a left backward outside edge;
d. a right backward inside edge (fig. 1-4).
Free Foot
The position of the free foot (the one off the ice) is important because it helps the upper body achieve the proper position for ultimate balance over the blade edge.
Forward inside edges: the heel of the free foot forms an open V (the heels do not touch) with the gliding skate. This position points the knee outward, not forward.
Backward inside edges: the free foot is close to the gliding foot so the body can be properly balanced over the gliding inside edge. The knee of the free leg is forward.
For backward and forward outside edges, the free skate forms a 90-degree angle with the gliding skate (fig. 1-5). For outside edges, the knee of the free foot is lifted and forms a 90-degree angle to the gliding knee. The higher the lift of the knee of the free leg, the deeper the outside edge. Be sure to keep the knees at a 90-degree angle for outside edges. When on a backward outside edge, the bent knee of the free leg leads the body in the direction it will travel. On a left backward outside edge, the right knee of the free leg is bent and opening toward the right to keep the upper body balanced over the left outside edge. The back, rather than the chest, is parallel to the skate blade.
In all edge work, the free foot should not wander away from the gliding foot, nor should it be behind the gliding foot. These positions will cause the body to be off balance. Always support the body. If the body has no "home" or is not properly balanced over the skate blade, it cannot provide the balance and power needed for skating.
Arms
Arms should not be a factor in balance and should not be used as balancing tools. When doing edge drills, arms should be bent at the elbows to form a 45-degree angle between the lower arm and upper arm. The arms move with the body, not against it. So if you are on a left forward outside edge (fig. 1-6) and your body is turning inward, the right elbow should come slightly forward and the left elbow slightly back.
Edge Balance
To get a feel for inside and outside edges, stand on the ice with your skates directly under the hips, about eight to ten inches apart. Drop the left ankle outward to an outside edge. The blade will form a 45-degree angle with the ice. Balance the body over that edge by lifting the right foot off the ice. Cross the right foot over the left foot and place it on an inside edge, forming a 45-degree angle of the blade with the ice (fig. 1-7). Cross and uncross the right skate to get a feel for the balance on the left outside edge. Repeat the drill with a right outside edge and cross the left skate over the right to an inside edge.
Individual Edge Drills for Balance
1. One-foot glide, forward and backward (flats of blades)
Push and lift: Hold the stick in front with both hands at shoulder height. Give a slight inside edge push to the side with the right inside edge, bend the knee, and raise it to waist height. See how far you can glide on the left foot before repeating the drill with a push and a raise of the left knee. Keep the back straight and head up. Alternate pushing and lifting each leg down the ice (fig. 1-8).
2. One-foot glide, inside edge, forward
For a left inside edge, place the right blade on an inside edge behind the heel of the left skate. Bend the right knee and push the left skate forward, lifting the right skate off the ice as the left skate begins to glide. Drop the ankle of the left skate inward and turn the shoulders in the direction of travel (to the right). The chest should be positioned over the gliding inside edge. To complete the right leg push, extend the pushing leg to a complete extension (straight knee, fig. 1-9).
Return the pushing (right) skate to a V position with the knee bent and turned out slightly (fig. 1-10). The knee of the free leg does not face the same direction as the gliding knee. Repeat using a right push/ extension or stride push and a left inside edge.
Note: A bent knee to a full-length leg extension with a straight knee will be called a push/extend or a stride push (see chapter two). These two terms are used interchangeably.
3. One-foot glide, outside edge, forward
For a left outside edge, place the right blade on an inside edge behind the heel of the left skate. Stride push (push/extend) with the right inside edge. As the skate begins to glide, drop the left ankle outward and turn the shoulders in the direction of travel (to the left). The chest should be positioned over the outside edge of the gliding skate. The toe and the knee of the free leg will turn outward, forming a 90-degree angle with the gliding leg (fig. 1-11). Repeat using a left push/extension and a right outside edge.
4. One-foot glide, inside edge, backward
For a right inside backward edge, push/extend with the left inside edge, transfer all your weight to the right foot, turn the shoulders to the right, and rotate the hips to the right. (fig. 1-12). The right blade will follow the path of the shoulders and hips. Once you have traveled 180 degrees in the glide, push/extend with the right inside edge, transferring all your weight to the left foot and rotating the shoulders and hips to the left.
It is important that your body is always lined up over the blade of the gliding foot. Figure 1-12 shows the body with a slight lean over the gliding skate. The inside edge supports the body throughout the entire 180-degree path. The gliding skate does not push out and away from the body. Pushing out with the inside edge is a common error. This will cause the body to be off balance.
5. One-foot glide, outside edge, backward
For a right outside edge, push/extend the left blade and rotate the upper body to the left with the left knee raised and bent, forming a 90-degree angle with the gliding leg and skate. The body rotates in the direction of travel (to the left). The higher the lift of the free leg (fig. 1-13), the deeper the outside edge of the gliding foot will be. If your body is balanced, your back will be above the outside edge of the skate.
Note: When performing edge drills, the blades should be quiet. There is no need to make a scraping or scratching noise on the ice. If the blade makes such a noise, it means the body is not balanced properly over the gliding foot. If the body is properly aligned over the blade, you will hear only a crunching sound of the blade digging into the ice from the weight of the body.
Balance Drills: Edge Jumps
Jumps are good for balance and can be performed two ways: for power or for agility. (See chapter three for agility.)
For power edge jumps, start with a deep knee bend (fig. 1-14), followed by a hard thrust of both toes down into the ice and full leg extensions, or "knee locks" (fig. 1-15). When you are in the air, there is no bend in the knee. You must get as much power as possible from the toe thrust into the ice to get as high as possible without bending the knees. The ankle will be stretched downward so the toes are pointing toward the ice. When landing, the toes hit the ice first (fig. 1-16). Perform two feet jumps forward and backward.
1. Side to side edge jumps
Side to side edge jumps use a deep inside edge. Jumps are done with the body balanced over the front half of the blade. Place the entire body weight over the front half inside edge of the right foot. The free foot (left) will be lined up behind the right foot, and both knees should be deeply bent (fig. 1-17). Push off (or "throw") from this front half inside edge of the right skate, stretch the left leg out to the side in a full extension (locked knee) (fig. 1-18), and land on the left front inside edge with a deep knee bend. The heel of the blade should not touch down. If there is noise in the landing, the skate has hit the ice with the entire blade, the noise coming from a too shallow edge, or from landing on the flat of the blade with no edge. If the line of travel is down the ice, there will be a slight glide before the push off with the right inside edge back to the left skate. The jump is lateral, not upward. You must reach out and land as far as your leg can reach to the side.
This drill can be done in a stationary position as well as down ice. There is no glide in the stationary jumps.
Note: When doing edge jump drills, it is important that you maintain a deep edge and a very low knee bend; the deeper the knee bend, the deeper the inside edge in the landing.
To perform these drills properly, the front half of the inside edge must make contact with the ice at a 45-degree angle. This angle and edge placement are necessary to provide stability and power and for the body weight to be transferred from blade to blade. Landing on the flat of the blade will cause the skate to skid on the ice, as in a stopping slide, and you will sacrifice balance.
Repeat the same drill backward. Remember that you must always line up your body over the blade that is on the ice (fig. 1-19). Your free foot will be behind the skate and your body will lean slightly to the outside to properly balance over the blade. If your free foot wanders away from the skate that is on the ice or you lean your upper body inward, you will have no balance (or power).
2. Crossover edge jumps, forward
Start with a left outside edge, push with the front half of the blade of the outside edge into the ice, and jump to the right outside edge (fig. 1-21). Alternate these cross-leg jumps forward. There will be a short glide of the landing foot before the next jump.
3. Crossover edge jumps, backward
Repeat the above drill jumping from outside edge to outside edge backward with the foot crossing in back of the skate that is on the ice (fig. 1-22).
Repeat the above drill jumping from outside edge to outside edge backward with the foot crossing in front of the skate that is on the ice. There will always be a slight glide after each jump.
Note: It cannot be emphasized enough that in all the above drills you must use only the front half of the blade and land on a 45-degree angle of the skate blade to the ice. The entire skate blade never lands on the ice. If the skate blade slides or skids on the ice, or you fall out of the landing position, that means the edge of the skate blade is not deep enough and the body is not properly balanced over the blade.
4. Crossover jumps, sideways (side to side)
To use the stepover drill as a power drill, balance your body over the skate that is one the ice and, covering as much distance to the side as possible, land on the ice with an inside edge. The front inside edge is used both for pushing in the take-off and for landing in the crossover.
The power comes from extending each leg (to a knee-lock position) from inside edge jump to inside edge jump. As the right leg crosses over the left, the inside edge of the left skate pulls under the body to "throw" the body sideways to land on the inside edge of the crossover (right) skate. It is important to balance over each landing edge, because the most power can be generated by taking off from an inside edge and landing on an inside edge.
To begin the drill, balance your entire body over the right inside edge and bend your right knee, keeping the left skate behind the right skate. Push hard into the ice with the front inside edge of the right skate, using the weight of your body. Stretch the left leg out to the side, covering as much ice as possible, and drop the front inside edge of the left skate onto the ice, landing with your body balanced totally over that inside edge.
To get a good inside edge grip on the ice, your right knee must be deeply bent and your body totally balanced over the inside edge of the pushing skate. Jumping from inside edge to inside edge is repeated across the ice, covering as much ice as possible in the sideways jumps, and always landing with a deep knee bend and with the body totally balanced over the landing skate.
This drill uses the bend/extend technique, which means that the pushing leg starts with a deep knee bend and fully extends in the push-off. Both legs are fully extended in the jump.
Additional Edge/Balance Drills
1. Heel/toe "cuts" in a circle
Balancing on one foot with your weight on the back half of the blade, make small, repeated heel cuts (like a comma or parenthesis) on the ice. Follow this with a short glide, with your toe gliding in the opposite direction of the heel cut. It is important to keep your body lined up over the skate at all times. Your upper body will have a slight lean to the outside of the blade path. If your body leans to the inside, it will not be balanced properly over the edge. Each time your heel cuts a comma on the ice, your knee will be bent. As you finish the comma and go into a glide, your knee will be straight.
This drill, which is performed in a circle, can be done both forward and backward. Going forward requires weight on the back half of an inside edge (heel area). Going backward requires weight on the front half of the inside edge (big toe). This drill will prepare you for one leg inside/outside edges (the S drill).
2. One leg inside/outside edges (the S drill, forward)
Push off to an inside edge with one foot, flip the blade over to an outside edge, and then flip back to an inside edge, alternating edges down the ice.
When your gliding skate is on an inside edge, the free knee (above the foot that is off the ice) is pointed outward; when the gliding skate is on an outside edge, the free knee is pointed across the front of the gliding leg. This allows the body to line -up with the gliding skate.
Note: Perform a knee bend and a knee extension of the gliding skate with every change of edge. The knee of the free leg forms a V as the edges change. As the skate makes the change from inside to outside edge, the knee of the free leg will drop down to form the bottom of the V. This movement of the free leg helps the gliding leg bend/extend with each edge change.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Eileen Peerless Power Skating Method by Eileen Peerless Copyright © 2010 by Eileen Peerless. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
