Kathleen starts with two skaters practicing swizzles on the ice. She explains, “if you can’t bend low enough you can’t get a long push.” The fastest skaters keep the blade on the ice longer and cover more ice with each stride.
Swizzle knee touches are next, which includes a lunge with a knee tap to the ice. Kathleen says the skaters could remain a bit lower. This is emphasized when they balance on one foot in a low position as long as they can. Posture, keeping the torso back, is important.
Then she has the two athletes do edge circles. Body lean while maintaining shoulders square is an important concept that Kathleen shows them at the boards.
For the inside edge circles, Kathleen finds that kids usually drop their ankle in which creates a smaller curve, so she reminds them to sit, bend, and keep their head up.
Backward outside edges follow, and she tells them to keep their inner shoulder up and back, keeping the free foot behind them for better balance.
Lastly, backward inside edge circles with working on keeping as much of the blade on the ice as possible.
Sorry, this content is for members only.
Click here to get access.