• Overall Efficiency - to be efficient at anything, wasted and counterproductive actions/movements need to be eliminated and correct technique needs to be strengthened and enhanced.  Our video analysis program does a tremendous job at isolating the key parts of an athletes stride so that they understand where they need to either enhance, modify, or eliminate movements.  With the video, we are able to break down each athlete's skating form, stride by stride, and get a detailed analysis of their form.  Letting the athlete sit down and dissect their form in slow motion, outside of the action, is crucial for the understanding and retention of what components to work on.
  

• Body Positioning - whether your accelerating, flying at top speed, turning, stopping, or coasting, your body position dictates whether you are setting yourself up to be efficient or inefficient.  Your body's system of muscles and joints work in very specific actions to allow you to perform work.  How much energy you need to put in, and what you see as a result of your energy input, are all a matter of how you position your body throughout the movement.

• Chest Angle - in any sport, balance plays an enormous role in one's ability to be quick, agile, and keep proper body control.  The angle of your chest while skating plays a huge role in one's balance and body control.  Leaning too far forward creates a center of balance in-front of the body which creates shorter, less powerful strides.  A chest angle that is too upright creates a center of balance behind the body leading one to skate from their heels and lose power and speed while skating. 
  

• Head Position - maintaining proper head position will ensure the athlete "sees" the ice at all times and doesn't create counterproductive "bobbing" or "side-to-side" movements while skating.  We never want the head to be looking down at the ice when skating, but we also don't want the neck under tension looking up if the chest is leaning forward.  A neutral spine while skating is ideal while allowing the eyes to see a full spectrum of the ice and play.
  

• Knee Bend - proper knee bend allows the athlete to improve on three key areas of skating technique.  One, it allows for the proper full extension of the push off leg.  Full extension means the back leg is straight, but how long each stride can be is a product of front knee bend.  Two, it positions the body in the most efficient set up for producing force during the push off portion of the stride.  Three, it allows for balance and control during skating as it lowers the athlete's center of gravity and allows for the proper chest angle when recovering each leg.
  

• Knee Extension - in order to get the most out of each stride's potential, the athlete must finish each stride at the toe of their skate blade.  Cutting the stride's length off early is necessary during initial acceleration, but the finishing point is still the toe of the skate.  A fully extended leg is a straight leg.  How far back this reaches is determined by the front knee bend.
  

• Knee Recovery - upon completion of a fully extended stride, the athlete must recover the leg fully.  This requires the knee and thigh to return under the chest and drive forward forcefully in order to utilize the glide of each stride.  Upon making contact with the ice, the recover skate will dictate where the final energy of the stride is directed.  If the skate peels out to the side immediately, the athlete has lost vital stride length and thus will have to recover quicker to keep the same skating pace.  If the skate holds straight and true upon landing, the athlete will gain extra stride length allowing him/her to take fewer strides to maintain speed and thus create a more efficient stride.
  

• Push Off Angle - we've all heard the physics law that for every action there is an equal/opposite reaction.  This holds true to the application of force when skating.  The direction that you push off into the ice creates momentum in the opposite direction.  If the direction of force is not in the intended direction of movement, your efforts are wasted and you are skating inefficiently.  We teach a push off angle near 30 degrees, which is contrary to the 45 degrees conventional skating instructors have taught.  A 45 degree push off angle creates a side-to-side skating pattern that wastes energy and applies force in the wrong direction.  By utilizing adequate hip rotation and flexibility, one is able to achieve the 30 degree push.  This allows more energy from each stride to be utilized in linear skating.
  

• Arm Action - one of your body's fundamental balance mechanisms is to offset your arms and legs during movements.  When your left foot comes in-front of your body, your right arm will do the same.  This principle applies also to both the rate of movement as well as the direction of movement.  Since we teach a more linear push off angle, we also teach a more linear arm action, even though the body will naturally have the arms mimic the legs.  Side-to-side arm action isn't always taught.  It may be your body balancing out your side-to-side leg action.  Controlling both will ensure an efficient and balanced stride when skating.
  

 

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