Skating well can be a major challenge for anyone from casual skaters to hockey players and competitive figure skaters. One of the keys to being a successful skating teacher is helping your students get past plateaus. By breaking the process down one step at a time, you can help your student set goals and become a dynamic skater.
Interview and Evaluation
Prior to taking on a student, talk to him thoroughly and learn what he wants to get out of skating. A hockey player may want to improve his balance, mobility and power skating. A competitive figure skater may want to make his routine more dynamic and develop a series of jumps. A more casual skater may just want to skate faster, stop quicker and have more confidence. After the interview, have the skater show what he can do and then come up with a series of lessons that will help the skater reach his goals.
Endurance
Figure skaters and hockey players both need to develop endurance on the ice. A figure skater will be exhausted at the end of her free skating program and a hockey player may be sucking wind late in the third period. Both skaters need to do endurance skating exercises. Have the skaters start at the end line and sprint to the near blue line and back, the center red line and back, the far blue line and back and then the opposite endline and back. After each skater has completed this interval sprint, give her a one-minute break and repeat the set. If there are no lines on the ice, set up cones at the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and the far end to demonstrate how far each skater should go. This drill will help with endurance goals.
Jumping
Performing jumps in a figure skating routine is required for any competitor. In order to do this properly, your student has to do dry-land training as well as work on his technique on the ice. When working on dry land, have the student go to the gym and do squats and lunges with free weights to develop explosive strength. That will help him get higher when jumping on the ice. Have him set a goal of going to the gym and working on strength training three days per week. On the ice, most figure skaters will go in a counter-clockwise direction and the jump has to be landed on the back outside edge. Most figure skaters will start with edge jumps and then move on to the more challenging toe jumps. Let the figure skater know that he must consistently hit his edge jumps before moving on.
Power Skating
The biggest improvement most hockey players make come when they can maximize their skating ability. Players who have to think about each move they make on the ice or each stop and change of direction won't be able to climb the ladder much further as a competitive hockey player. In order for hockey players to get the most out of their skating, make sure that for every left turn they make in practice that they should make a right turn as well. Players may often feel more comfortable turning right and not left or left and not right, so you must work with them that they are comfortable going in either direction. Set a goal of being able to turn properly in either direction without hesitation in order for a player to get the most out of her ability.
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