Skating is the Foundation of a Complete Hockey Player

It was really happenstance that my kids had great "skating" coaches as their first (or near first) hockey coaches.

I wasn't really seeking it.

Wasn't even aware of it's importance in the grand scheme either. Certainly not them.

In fact, I think I was just chasing the "best" team around.

And that's where I learned that better teams frequently had better coaches.

And better coaches make better players.

Better players make better teams.

And so on and so on...

It's all connected.

Blind flash of the obvious, there. Duh.

But as time went on, the coaching kind lost it's lustre or maybe we'd just overstatyed our welcome and we moved on to different coaches, different teams, different leagues, etc.

I've documented all of that on here before -- myriad of reasons for changing your player's course.

It's hard to convince a first time hockey parent that SKATING is everything.

Like I said, it was total coincidence that we landed in that beneficial spot.

So many parents (and coaches) out there trying to get their kid's stick handling or shot to be their top asset while completely ignoring the skating.

"Kid can go forward and backwards...it's all good, right? My kid is already faster than everyone else...let's work on that Bedard release."

For me, I made that same parent mistake with my oldest -- we worked endlessly on trying to get the puck in the air on his off nights so he could "score goals" on the weekends.

It never really worked...and nowadays, if you ask him, he'll say that everything I was teaching him to do was wrong.

Teenagers, am I right?

No, but serisously, his coaches at the mite and squirt levels, for all three of my boys, actually, well, none of their coaches spent a second working on the kids' shots.

Not one.

Stickhandling was the generic stuff, you know, weaving around cones -- that sort of thing -- you know, to give the "appearance" of a hockey practice to the parents watching from the corners.

We did do endless breakout drills for at least an hour per week which, yes, might seem too complex for 6-year olds but it certainly served them well as peewees and bantams as their peers that hadn't had that kind of coaching were completely lost on the concept.

But the main thing they all were forced to work on was their skating.

Simple boring stuff like 5 cones staggered across the ice and having them to a specific transition around them.

Then go back and do it the other direction.

Switch up the transition, demonstrate it, and having them do that one.

Both directions.

Assistant coach -- I was one of them for my middle son -- at every other cone correcting them if they cheated or did it incorrectly.

40 minutes of just skating.

Once they got it, okay, now let's do them all again with a puck.

Every practice.

Game situation stuff, you know, battle drills were minimal. Or, more accurately, lightly sprinkled in for the parents on the glass in the corners to have the impression that "hockey" was being trained.

Today, when watching the practices taking place before my kids take the ice, and it doesn't matter if they're older or younger than my kids, I can't help but notice the lack of skating work done.

They don't practice it. At all.

Zero instruction, zero correction.

Lots of "runners" out there.

An abundance of kids that skate the way penguins walk.

Lots of hippity hoppity cross overs with sticks in the air like flag poles.

There are 15 year olds that skate backwards like my kids did as mites. You know, with that whole "wave with your free hand" and butt wiggle thing going on. Something about keeping your back straight or something is the "message" I overhear in learn to skate and learn to play sessions.

Nah, dude, swing those arms. Skating is a carefully crafted weight shift. Use what you've got.

And there are defenseman that turn around and skate forwards before transitioning to backwards when they need to retreat back into the d-zone.

Midget defenseman. MIDGET?!

I mean, I'm blown away everyday by how few forwards are capable of skating backwards effectively...but how are there defenseman that still can't do it after a decade of skating?!

There are players that think the mohawk is just a dumb drill that isn't useful in a game situation...and you can tell. Cause they don't ever do it. Or find a need to do it.

Now, don't get me wrong, doing a hockey stop on your back leg, outside edge, as you're heading to the bench going for a line change looks super freakin' cool...but there's a lot more to it than that.

But the kids that do that aren't showing off, in fact, most of them don't even realize they're doing it.

They're just heads and tails above the kids that get all clunky and klonky when asked to do ANYTHING involving their outside edges.

It's not totally their fault -- it's just that they were never taught to skate and, worse, never pulled to the side and told, "Hey man, you're doing it wrong."

When I coached -- sure, my primary roll was as a puck pusher between drills but it was also to call kids out... "No, no, that wasn't right. Go back and try it again."

I don't see that very often.

The outside edge "drills" are still my favorite -- nine out of ten high scoring yahoos race down the ice doing regular crossovers...poorly...and no one says anything.

I watch my oldest skate now...and I see it.

I watch my middle one skate now...and I see it.

I watch my youngest skate now...and he's a terrible hockey player...but I see it there too.

You'd be hard pressed to find a better skater at his age that isn't a figure skater first.

And that's gonna pay off for him if he sticks around.

And I look at the kids we skated with as mites and squirts that are still playing that had the same coaching my kids had...

They're all the same -- not one has that wide "riding a horse" skating stance.

Not one is super upright.

Not one is running on the ice.

Not one hippity-hops while doing crossovers.

Not one raises their stick up in the air, over their shoulder, while changing directions.

I guess the point is, their skating is noticably better.

Outside edges are a thing.

A backhand wraparound, like the photo over there, is in the tool belt. For all of them. They're amazing skaters first.

And that's cause of how they all "started" and the coaches they had.

In every scouting report or evaluation I've read on one of my kids, and they're all very different players, the one thing they all seem to have in common is something along the lines of "smooth skater".

That seed was planted when they were 5 years old.

Toe drags don't matter.

They're party tricks for the kids who can't skate.

And something a player can master years down the road in short order.

Skating is the foundation.

If you're not coming out of mite or squirt with a solid stride and total comfort using both edges...you'll be left in the dust from bantam on up.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know -- I love the feedback from all angles!

Chris Rutsch

Hockey Dad

Year round, I spend a significant amount of time and money transporting my three boys to and from freezing cold ice rinks. Not because I expect them to make it to the NHL but because I know the rigorous youth hockey experience will serve them well in the future.