Most players can develop good skating technique at slow to medium speeds, but the challenge is to develop efficient good technique at full speeds. In order to overcome this challenge there are many physical parameters that have to be met.

It should be noted that ALL PLAYERS can improve and develop their speed.

Table 6.1 in Peter Twist’s book Complete Conditioning for Ice Hockey outlines the 10 Requisites to High Speed Skating.

Improving speed on the ice involves improving skating technique, including posture and body positioning, maximizing the use of your edges, staying low with a deep knee bend and ankle bend, working on stride power, stride length, and stride frequency. These are all things that we work on and train hard during our camps throughout the year.

Contribute to a player’s balance but more importantly, it will ensure their stability, and improve their power and speed!

Posture and stance are the first things that we work on when teaching skating technique.

HOCKEY/RINGETTE STANCE

1. Ankles flexed and knees bent 90 degrees, knees pressed out over the toes
2. Hips are low and upper body slightly forward, bent from the hips with the back straight
3. Chest and head up
4. Skates hip width apart – not too wide
5. Ankles held up straight with blades on flats – ankles not caving in (pronating) or falling out (supinating)
6. Once skaters have the basic stance we practice the stance with a wide “V” as well so that the inside edges can be used for forward skating and quick starts
7. Stick on the ice and in front

Now You Are READY!

With all the above uses you can imagine how important edges are!  All eight edges must be strong and used effectively.

The upper body is very important – core strength, posture and balance must be perfect.

What is Counter Balance?

The lower body leans with deep edges and deep knee bend. To counter balance this lean the upper body must balance directly over the skates (the centre of gravity).  The skater “counter leans” with the upper body, keeping the shoulders level or even the inside shoulder slightly higher than the outside shoulder.  We work on this posture a lot in our camps.

If you make the mistake of leaning in with your upper body it is easy to lose balance, lose an edge, or be knocked over.  Also, you cannot move laterally if you dip a shoulder because you get “stuck” going in the direction that you are leaning.

It takes many years of training and practice to master balance on all eight edges!

The 8 edges of the skate blades are:

Right and Left Forward Inside
Right and Left Forward Outside
Right and Left Back Inside
Right and Left Back Outside

Typically have two hands on the stick when skating on a tight curve or in traffic and one hand on the stick when skating in open ice without the puck or ring.

With one hand on the stick the free arm should move diagonally back and forth. 

“The wrist should not cross the centre of the body.  The arm should be bent when behind and follow through to more of an extension”.  Barb Aidelbaum Skating Schools

The stick hand moves in front with the rhythm of the stride, palm up.

I could not write this next section any better and I could not agree more so I have quoted it straight from “Play Better Hockey” by Ron Davidson.

“If your arm crosses your centerline at the end of your stride, it will force the heel of your skate off the ice, and you will not be able to use it to push and rock onto the ball of your foot.  This will considerably reduce the thrust you will be able to generate.  Also, players who skate with both hands on their stick and move their hands laterally across their body are not able to use an ankle extension effectively; remember to move your hands in sequence with your stride, back to front.”

Play Better Hockey, Ron Davidson

Most players get their skates sharpened too often. Sometimes out of necessity because of nicks in the blade edges from walking off ice without skate guards.  If you protect your blades off the ice they should stay consistently sharp for several sessions especially if you use a higher ROH.

The radius of hollow (ROH) is the technical term to describe the depth of the hollow between the inside and outside edges of the blade.  When skates are sharpened steel is removed from the centre of the blade.  The ROH determines the sharpness of the blade.  A blade with a small ROH has a deep hollow that gives you more grip but less glide.  This may help with sharper turns and quicker starts.  A blade with a large ROH gives you a shallow hollow, less depth between the edges, less friction, and more glide.  This helps with speed and efficiency.

In choosing ROH you want a balance between glide and maneuverability.  It is personal preference – dependant on your skating ability, how much pressure you can apply to your edges, your playing style, your size, and the ice conditions.

I recommend a 5/8 inch sharpening for most of my younger skatersin the camps because it really helps them to feel their stopping edges better when learning stops both ways and with both edges.  In my experience many beginner skaters have too sharp of blades. (The regular hockey sharpening is ½ inch at most skate shops so you will need to specify the type of sharpening that you want).

Many high level players are now recognizing and appreciating the value of glide for speed and efficiency and using a higher ROH, moving towards 5/8 inch, ¾ inch, and even a 1 inch sharpening now.

The following is quoted from Ron Chisholm’s Skate Sharpening, Radius of Hollow article, salemskates.com

Some examples of ROH used by current and former NHL players are:

If your laces are too long you can either purchase shorter laces next time you are in the skate shop or you can cut your laces the appropriate length and tape the ends.

“It is very important that your skates are flexible enough to allow you to extend your ankles.”

Ron Davidson, Play Better Hockey