Hockey players NEED power skating and skating skills lessons. Starting early with a figure skating coach is one of the best ways to start your hockey player's career off on the right foot, pun intended! Here awesome of the reasons you want to start early with high quality skating skills instruction, with a figure skater..
!. Figure skating coaches spend our whole career perfecting and breaking down skating mechanics.We are masters of looking at the human body and creating the angles balance and posture. We also teach a lot of remedial skating general, as we are generally part of the skating school staff. Hockey coaches have spent most of there lives mastering the sport of hockey: stick and luck handling, shooting, complex drills, team dynamics etc. For some aspects of hockey skating, they are better trained than we are, by a long shot. However, for the fundamentals and mechanical corrections of your fundamentals of skating....hire toepicks!
I personally get a lot of satisfaction from helping a new hockey player get ahead in their hockey career. They start to skate circles (yes pun) around the other kids, rather quickly (oh no another pun).
2. Figure Skaters are accustomed to one on one instruction and the dynamics of that relationship. We establish long term relationships with our athletes, as we help them advance through their careers. That creates something consistent in their Hockey Skating as they move from team to team.
I also recommend developing a good relationship with a strong Hockey Coach, to help guide your athlete as he/she develops. You will need a coach of stick time, drylands and other training. These relationships should be long term and the skater should connect well with the instructors.
"Only a great skater can be a great Hockey Player!”, said someone important.
3. Figure Skaters have to perform and teach extremely complex edge work. I hate to sound like we are arrogant, but the edge work that Hockey players, while difficult in the speed and precision that they use, is not as complex. Breaking down that type of edge work is easy for us relative to what we teach Figure Skaters.
4. Fresh eyes are important in everything we produce. The Coaches who work with the team may be so focused on all the dynamics of the team, shooting, plays, parents, kids, games, etc, that they are not focused on the skating the skaters. They only have a short amount of time to work with your player, during team practice. Your power skating instructor will be laser focused on one thing and one thing only....skating well!
5. Figure skaters are masters of holding individuals to task, in a complex sport. Even though hockey is a team sport, each athlete needs to be the best they can be. If your Hockey Player isn't on top of their skater, they will hold the tam back. No one wants to hold back there team. Hire a coach who will be demanding of your athlete, while building up their confidence and drive.
I hope that this is helpful in your Hockey journey. It is a great game. Your player will not only learn how to play a sport, but evil also learn teamwork, grit, determination, goal setting, confidence and make friends, to name a few things.
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