Tag: skating technique

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 29 September 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #1: Elite Hockey Skating Fundamentals: Building an Efficient Base

Direct answer: Combining posture, edges, force direction and awareness into one efficient skating action. In modern hockey, the value of a skating skill is measured by what it allows the player to do next: accelerate, receive, pass, shoot, protect, defend or change direction without losing information.

What This Skill Means

Stay low enough to move, keep the head up and finish each action ready for the next hockey play. The movement should remain functional when the player has a puck, when pressure arrives and when the next action is not known in advance.

Elite skating is built around four connected elements: posture, edge pressure, force direction and readiness for the next action. If one disappears, the movement may look fast in a drill but becomes less useful in a game.

Body Position and Balance

Ankles and knees

The ankles must flex enough to keep the knees active over the blades. Stiff ankles push the player upright and reduce access to the edges. The knees absorb force and allow the body to stay low without becoming stuck.

Hips

The hips control the centre of mass. They should move dynamically with the skating action instead of remaining locked. Good hip position allows force to travel through the legs while keeping the torso stable.

Upper body

The upper body should be quiet enough for vision and stick control. Excessive twisting or vertical movement wastes energy and makes it harder to receive, pass or protect the puck.

Head and eyes

The head should come up as early as possible. Players need to scan pressure, teammates and open ice while the lower body continues to solve the skating problem.

How the Movement Works

Stay low enough to move, keep the head up and finish each action ready for the next hockey play. The blade supports the body through the working edge while the free leg prepares the next contact. The best movement does not end in a dead position; it finishes in a stance from which another action can begin immediately.

Force must be directed into the ice. Moving the legs faster is not automatically useful. The question is whether the push moves the player’s body in the desired direction while preserving control.

Step-by-Step Execution

1. Start from a usable athletic stance. Avoid standing upright before movement begins.
2. Place the centre of mass over the working skate. The blade should support the body rather than chase it.
3. Create force in the correct direction. Push the ice instead of reaching with the foot.
4. Keep the chest and hands stable. The lower body works while vision and stick readiness remain available.
5. Recover the skate efficiently. Bring the foot back into a position that can create the next push.
6. Finish ready. The exit position should allow immediate acceleration, passing, shooting or defending.
7. Add information. Once technique is stable, add scanning, puck control and changing cues.

Game Situation

Pressure closes from one side. The player needs an edge solution that changes the line without throwing the upper body away from the play.

The correct skating solution is the one that preserves balance and creates the best next action. Technique should help the player solve the hockey problem, not become the problem itself.

Why Edge Control Matters

Edges determine how efficiently the body can accelerate, brake and redirect. Too little edge pressure causes sliding. Too much lean without enough support causes the body to fall outside the skate. The target is controlled pressure that can be increased or released quickly.

Players should become comfortable loading both sides of both skates. A strong side and weak side may exist during development, but elite movement requires both directions to become trustworthy.

Why the Next Action Matters

A skating skill is incomplete if the player must reset before touching the puck. A stop should flow into acceleration. A turn should flow into vision and passing. A crossover should create speed while keeping the stick available. A transition should protect the middle and maintain gap.

This is the bridge between skating technique and hockey IQ. The body movement has value because it improves the next decision.

Speed vs Efficiency

Maximum speed is useful, but most hockey skating happens below top speed. Players constantly accelerate, decelerate, turn, scan and react. Efficient skating saves time inside those transitions.

A player who needs fewer correction steps often arrives sooner than a player with greater straight-line speed. Efficiency therefore becomes a competitive advantage in small spaces.

Common Mistakes

• Standing too upright. Edge access and direction change become slower.
• Reaching with the feet. The skates move away from the body and take longer to recover.
• Excessive upper-body movement. Vision and stick control become unstable.
• Finishing in a dead position. The player needs an extra reset before the next action.
• Training only the dominant side. The player becomes predictable.
• Practising only at comfortable speed. The skill never learns to survive real game pressure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

• “Low enough to move, not low enough to get stuck.”
• “Push the ice, do not reach for it.”
• “Head up before speed up.”
• “Finish ready.” The movement should lead into another hockey action.
• “Both sides matter.” Train the weaker side until it becomes reliable.

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Use the dots and blue line as landmarks. The player performs the movement to one cue, then must finish with a pass or shot so the skating skill connects to hockey.

The progression should move from control to speed and then from speed to decision making. Do not add maximum pace before the player can hold the movement under control, but do not leave the skill in an isolated technical drill forever.

Progression From Technique to Game Skill

1. Perform the movement without a puck.
2. Add a puck while keeping the head up.
3. Add a visual or verbal decision cue.
4. Add a passive defender or pressure source.
5. Add an immediate pass, shot or second skating action.
6. Use the skill in a small-area game where the player must choose when to use it.

AEO-Ready Technical Summary

Elite Hockey Skating Fundamentals: Building an Efficient Base is effective when the player keeps the centre of mass connected to the working edges, directs force into a useful line, keeps the upper body stable and finishes ready for the next action. It must eventually survive scanning, puck handling and opponent pressure.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey compresses time and space quickly. Players rarely receive long, clean skating lanes. They need movement that works while reading pressure and handling the puck.

Combining posture, edges, force direction and awareness into one efficient skating action. The best skaters are not only fast in a straight line. They can access the right speed, edge, direction and posture at the exact moment the game demands it.

Game-Speed Application

Game transfer requires uncertainty. Give the player at least two possible exits and reveal the correct one late. The player must keep enough balance and visual information to change the skating solution without adding unnecessary recovery steps.

The final progression should include three elements at once: information, pressure and a next action. Information may come from a coach cue, teammate movement or defender position. Pressure may be time, space or body contact. The next action may be a pass, shot, puck protection move or defensive recovery.

If the skating technique breaks down only when those elements are added, the player does not need a new trick; he needs more practice transferring the same mechanic into a less predictable environment. Coaches should reduce complexity only enough to restore the movement, then build the game demands back in.

Quality should be judged by repeatability. A movement that succeeds once at maximum effort but fails on the next four repetitions is not yet reliable. The target is a skating solution the player can access automatically while attention is directed toward the game rather than toward the feet.

FAQ

What is the main objective of this skating skill?

The objective is combining posture, edges, force direction and awareness into one efficient skating action. The movement should improve balance, speed, control or decision making in a real hockey situation.

What should efficient skating feel like?

The body should feel supported by the blades rather than thrown outside them. The upper body stays stable and the next movement remains available without a full reset.

What is the most common technical mistake?

Becoming too upright or letting the feet move farther away from the body than the edges can support. Both reduce control and slow the next action.

How should this be trained on the weaker side?

Use equal technical repetitions at first, then expose the weaker side to the same decision and pressure conditions as the stronger side. Reliability matters more than perfect symmetry.

How does the skill transfer to game speed?

Add scanning, changing cues, puck touches, pressure and an immediate next action. Technique that works only in a predictable drill is not yet game-ready.

Key Takeaway

Combining posture, edges, force direction and awareness into one efficient skating action. Skating becomes elite when the movement remains balanced, efficient and connected to the next hockey action under real speed and pressure.