Power Skating for Kids

Like foreign languages or riding a bicycle, the earlier you start learning how to power skate and the more time you spend practicing it, the better you will be at it. Think of “power skating” as a bunch of exercises that, with time and effort, will help you to skate faster, feel sturdier on your skates and ultimately transform you into a more confident and dynamic skater.

  1. The Starting Position

    • As is the case in most sports, mastering an athletic starting position is of the utmost importance. Skating is no different. You must have the starting position down pat before you can power skate, just like you needed to learn to stand before you could walk.

      Hockey coaches sometimes refer to the start position as the toilet position. Really, this is a pretty accurate description. To envision the starting position, imagine you are sitting on an invisible toilet. Line your skates up with your shoulders and turn your skates slightly out from you. Bend your knees and keep your butt low. Pay attention to your knees. They should slightly overhang your toes. To insure proper balance, lean forward to evenly distribute your upper body weight over your skates. This will shift the pressure onto your toes instead of your heels and keep your from becoming flat-footed. Never bend over at the waste. Instead, keep your head up and your chest out.

    Leg Movement

    • To stride, push off from the side of your body, fully extending your leg to get the most out of the stride while gliding on your other skate, and then snap your leg back to the original position. Be sure you are pushing to the side. Do not “run” on the ice or push out behind you.

    Arm Movement

    • Your arms should follow your momentum so swing your arms forward and in time with each stride. Throw your left arm out in front of you like an underhand pitch for each right stride and vice versa. Never swing your arms across your body. Hockey players, keep your stick on the ice with the blade facing away from you. Your stick should be in your off hand (the hand you don’t write with).

    Exercises

    • Power skating gets easier with strong leg muscles and these may simply be muscles you won’t develop for a couple of years. There is however one off-ice exercise in particular that can give you an edge: squats. If you find squats too hard, start with something simpler. Lean your back against a wall and pretend you are sitting in an imaginary chair, with your shins parallel to the wall. See how long you can stay in this position and try to do it for a little longer every day.

    Tips

    • Much of learning to power skate is forcing your body to re-learn how to move. Skating does not come naturally to the human body. Likewise, you may feel silly practicing power skating drills, which is understandable. Power skating drills are drills of overcompensation that train your muscles to remember how to skate correctly. They are supposed to look goofy and they will be uncomfortable.