Back to Skating Unrinked --The Insider's Guide to Outdoor Skating Trails in the San Francisco Bay Area, by Richard Katz (HarperCollins 95)

DOUBLE CLICK THE CLIP TO PLAY AND REPLAY

Back to Hockey Fundamentals Training Video

or

Wristshot Video

or

Go to Frog OJT Home Page

Andre Lacroix demonstrates how to skate. Ice skates, rollerskates, inline skates, it's all the same -- just do it like Andre. Watch this video a few zillion times; go down to the rink or out to the parking lot and emulate him; then have your style checked out by a pro, to make sure you're doing it right. You'll be amazed how much a few seconds with a mentor can do for you, after you've imprinted Andre's excellent technique.

Andre says, "Your body does not go up and down. Your body stays in one position, and you move your arms." He means that you should "... move your arms..." front to back; most of us move our arms side to side. This wastes energy, and doesn't move you forward. It just makes you tired. Move your arms forward and back, forward and back, while you skate.

"Your body does not go up and down," he says. Watch your own shoulders; they should remain at one level. Whatever "pushing off" you do, that perhaps you learned as "powerskating", should never move your shoulders up and down. The idea here is to go forward, with the most grace and the least effort, to achieve the most speed and the least fatigue. You will appear to be moving so much easier, it will be a revelation when you find that you are, in fact, moving forward toward the puck or toward the end of the trail with much less effort and much more enjoyment.

As Andre says, "To be a good hockey player, you must be a good skater." That applies to recreational skating (skating outdoors on trails) as well; to enjoy your time pleasure-skating, sound technique is almost a requirement. You'll be a better skater -- Just Watch.

Back to Skating Unrinked --The Insider's Guide to Outdoor Skating Trails in the San Francisco Bay Area, by Richard Katz (HarperCollins 95)