Hockey Skating Mechanics - Stance, Extension, Recovery, Arm Swing

Proper Skating Posture is the most important building block for skating success

Knees bent at a 90 Degree angle.
Knees over your toes.
Proper ankle flex.
Upper body tilt at a 45 Degree angle.
Shoulders in line with knees and toes.

All of your pressure and power should be on the balls of your feet.
Why is posture important? It allows you to activate all of the proper muscles that will help you be as powerful as possible while skating.
Download Your Forward Stride Checklist

Stride Extension builds power and gives you ample time to load the glide leg

Extend the stride leg to the side not back. Push through the balls of your feet. Don’t worry about toe picking, by extending your stride and pushing through the balls of our feet you will naturally extend properly. Toe picking will creative friction and reduce glide.

We extend the stride leg fully to build power and load the glide leg so our next push has as much power as we can possibly put into the ice.

Recover the stride leg directly under your body

After fulling extending your leg, bring it back under you body. Your knee should come through and under the body. The shoulders are a good marker. This is very important because again if you get your leg under your body/back to center you can put more force and power into the next stride.

Arm Swing

Make sure that your arms are swinging from side to side to help load the glide leg properly. By swinging from east to west instead of north south you are allowing yourself to put more power and strength into your glide leg for the next push. Shoulder’s should remain square up ice, slight bend at the elbow and head static. Use your upper body properly and you’ll get more out of each stride you take. Make sure you are giving yourself the best chance to win that race.

Download Your Forward Stride Checklist