In Krissy discusses the importance of power turns. As she states, “you work so hard to go forward you want to make sure you maintain that speed when you’re doing turns.”
The key points are to keep both feet on the ice during turns. With one inside edge and one outside edge, the player needs to lean into the circle with shoulders turned toward the middle. Krissy addresses knee bend and avoiding dragging the outside edge to create a nice smooth motion.
Common problems coaches might see is skaters bending at the waist which indicates a lack of balance, and the outer foot simply dragging behind and potentially ending up on the toe and not the middle part of the blade. Feet need to stay parallel with head up and “make sure you’re ready for the play.” The sound of the blade on the ice can clearly indicate which part of the blade skaters are using.
If skaters have trouble being steady on their outside edge, they can observe the 45 degree lean of pro skaters. Skating a circle around a glove on the ice can help students keep this lean in mind.
Position of the stick can potentially aid balance if it’s in the correct position, but if’s not, Krissy states that it will be very “difficult to get back in sync and you’ll be way less mobile.”
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