The Key to Speed Skating

If you are a hockey parent, then there is a very good chance that you want your child to be able to skate quickly.  

The funny thing about “speed skating” is that, despite what you may have heard, there isn’t really some “big secret.” So, before you pay professional coaches hundreds or even thousands of dollars to tell your youth hockey player how to skate fast, memorize this simple tip: speed skating is all about pushing out on the edge of your skate, plain and simple.

Since speed is created by downward force, the harder and stronger you can get your young player to push against the ice with his skates, the faster and more steady he will be. Practice this skill together by going skating and enforcing the rule that your child’s blades always, always must stay in contact with the ice with a downward force.

To make this happen, your player simply needs to load all of his or her power on one leg through bending one knee. While this is happening, the player must send energy or “power” to the opposite leg and then use that leg to push into action. When skating, this transfer of power must happen simply and naturally, so practice it together until it becomes second nature for your child.

If you and your little one can follow this simple tip,  ayour child will know how to handle himself and even more importantly, how to handle himself quickly, on the ice.