Skill Development - Skating

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Skating is a skill required by every position in hockey. Speed, acceleration, agility and power benefit forwards, defence and goaltenders alike. Without strong fundamental skating skills, players cannot perform to their full ability. As players get older, they should continue to develop and refine their skating skills, though focus may shift to practicing more position-specific skating.

When Learning to Skate...

• A child should possess the FUNdamental movement skills of agility, balance and coordination in order to begin skating, and therefore perform basic skating and hockey skills.
• Basic athletic skills for young children are outlined in the Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) Model. A multisport approach to development enables optimal hockey skill development.

Skating is Foundational to Hockey's Core Skills

Puck handling

• Balance, stance, and agility on feet
• Shifting of weight on feet to enhance dekes and fakes = edge transition
• If you cannot skate well, you cannot handle a puck to your optimal ability

Passing

• Balance, stance, and agility on feet
• Shifting of weight on feet to push puck completely through pass - power via legs = edge transition
• If you cannot skate well, you cannot pass to your optimal ability

Shooting

• Balance, stance, and agility on feet
• Shifting of weight on feet to push puck completely through shot – power via legs = edge transition
• Driving of front foot to net off shot – complimentary direction of motion (bottom and top) = Gliding front foot
• If you cannot skate, you cannot shoot to your optimal ability

Continue to Build the Skating Foundation

Skating skills should continue to be developed throughout a player's career.

• Introduce: Players are introduced to basic skating skills (Discovery, U7, U9).
• Develop: Players add and develop skills to further improve skating (U11, U13, U15).
• Refine: Players have a variety of skating skills they should continue to refine (U18 and beyond).