Change of Direction Off-ice Pt. 1 (Elizabeth Mullins)

Elizabeth works with a hockey goalie in an off ice change of direction training. Elizabeth is drawing inspiration from Les Spellman, an expert in speed. She starts with cones set in a large square and has her student perform a series of jumps in various configurations.

“Escape and attack” is the mindset Elizabeth emphasizes. They start with their slowest turn, a 180 degrees to begin. As the series progresses, Elizabeth says to turns sharply and turn hips while “moving your vehicle forward.”

A good thing Elizabeth does is asks her student for his feedback about what he is feeling and what he would change after he tries the drill. This is a fantastic tactic to understand what the athlete is thinking and observing about themselves. As you can see, sometimes the student often can think of a proper adjustment on their own.

Lastly, Elizabeth breaks down the motion with even more detail: the turn happens in the air, with a big toe push out and a glute squeeze. The foot should not be pivoting on the ground. She wants the student to land with his body already oriented in the direction he is going to jump in next.