Kalli discusses the foundations of starting and stopping on the ice for beginners. If you’re coaching young skaters, start at the wall with a fun game of making snow against the boards. This is valuable to learn about edges. Make sure the students are leaning into it and making the full motion all the way to the boards.
To keep the fun going in the middle of the rink, Kalli makes a little drawing with a marker on the ice. It can be a fun game in a class setting to see who can scrape their doodle away first. And young kids love a competition!
The next step after teaching these is the snow plow stop. Kalli breaks it down to having them point their toes in, bending knees, and pushing their feet out. If done right, they should be making snow on each skate. Be sure to emphasize that they should be “pushing against the ice.”
Next up is the hockey stop, which is for more advanced skaters. Both toes and hips turn first, and the rest of her body follows. Kalli says one of the most important aspects of this stop is the knee bend in order to “grab more of the ice” to stop quicker.
A common issue might be the hesitation to turn the skater’s body, and “accepting the force between the ice and skate.” Bending knees is key.
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