Advice: Training drills

[sverige]

I started playing hockey last october, and to improve my skating over the summer I skate with a pair of Marsblades almost everyday. I've come up with some drills that I do each time and I'm wondering if these drills really are any good and if I have a good layout for my practises or if I'm missing something. I also would like to have some advice about one or two good back skating drills, one to get me going and one to challange me. I've googled and youtubed but I havn't really found anything.

My practises usually consists of the following drills;

Outside edge drill


Inside edge drill


I have a problem with this drill as I tend to spin around och lose my grip when I do a tight inside turn. Do any of you got any clues on why? Should I turn my shoulders or just my head when I do the turn?

Slalom skating
The site wouldn't allow me to upload more than Three media files, but you know, the drill where you skate slalom.

Tight turns




and jerking around with a green biscuit. Am I missing something, too few drills? I would GREATLY, INCEDIBLY, VASTLY appreciate if someone would take the time to answer my questions. I really want to become a better hockey player and be the best I could be.

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[puckpilot]

I have a problem with this drill as I tend to spin around och lose my grip when I do a tight inside turn. Do any of you got any clues on why? Should I turn my shoulders or just my head when I do the turn?

You should definitely turn your shoulders, too. Your head and shoulders are the rudder. Turn them and the legs and hips should follow. Turn only your head, you may be able to get away with it, but you'll just end up practising doing things the incorrect way, and your basic balance won't be right.

Generally speaking, the drills you have are really good. I watch this guys videos all the time when I'm working on my stuff. I watch videos over and over, because as I improve, I tend to pick up nuances that I missed before.

But drills are only as good as your execution of them. Don't rush the drills or rush into the advanced stuff. Try and really understand the mechanics of what you're trying to do, and IMHO, you'll be better off in the long run. In addition, try not to get ahead of yourself. Nail the basics before you move on to the advanced stuff.

Not that I'm the greatest skater in the world, but there's nothing more painful than watching someone do a drill that they're just not ready for. They may be able execute the drill in a way that approximates what's proper, but in the end they just waste their time learning how to do something incorrectly.

As for recommended videos for backwards skating drills, try this one. It's long and contains LOTS of drills, but the great thing about it is that the guy shows the progression of drills that builds on top of what came before.

The video starts off with forward stuff, but the backwards skating stuff starts at approximately the 11:20 mark. I highly recommend you check out his channel. It has lots of other videos that have great drill progressions.



Oh, one thing I really recommend is work on your basic balance. IMHO, it's one of the most neglected aspects when people start out. I think it's because the drills look really easy, but they can expose a lot of holes if one doesn't do them correctly.

Here are a video on balance drills with a drill progression by the same guy.



Hope this helps.

 

[sverige]

You should definitely turn your shoulders, too. Your head and shoulders are the rudder. Turn them and the legs and hips should follow. Turn only your head, you may be able to get away with it, but you'll just end up practising doing things the incorrect way, and your basic balance won't be right.

Generally speaking, the drills you have are really good. I watch this guys videos all the time when I'm working on my stuff. I watch videos over and over, because as I improve, I tend to pick up nuances that I missed before.

But drills are only as good as your execution of them. Don't rush the drills or rush into the advanced stuff. Try and really understand the mechanics of what you're trying to do, and IMHO, you'll be better off in the long run. In addition, try not to get ahead of yourself. Nail the basics before you move on to the advanced stuff.

Not that I'm the greatest skater in the world, but there's nothing more painful than watching someone do a drill that they're just not ready for. They may be able execute the drill in a way that approximates what's proper, but in the end they just waste their time learning how to do something incorrectly.

As for recommended videos for backwards skating drills, try this one. It's long and contains LOTS of drills, but the great thing about it is that the guy shows the progression of drills that builds on top of what came before.

The video starts off with forward stuff, but the backwards skating stuff starts at approximately the 11:20 mark. I highly recommend you check out his channel. It has lots of other videos that have great drill progressions.



Oh, one thing I really recommend is work on your basic balance. IMHO, it's one of the most neglected aspects when people start out. I think it's because the drills look really easy, but they can expose a lot of holes if one doesn't do them correctly.

Here are a video on balance drills with a drill progression by the same guy.



Hope this helps.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

 

[Andrei79]

I tend to go counter current, meaning I work from my feet and hips up. That means I don't subscribe to the notion of using your upper body to guide the rest.

It's tough to explain without visual support, but I practice many of my drills with my hands behind my back, like figure skaters do sometimes when they start out (that's where I learned it actually). I've noticed much better edge and hip control since and everything from tight turns to forward strides have been that much better. One leg pivots are very easy now, both from the outside and inside edges front and back.