Hi Gang,
Hope all my friends in the U.S.A had a great 4th of July holiday weekend! Hope you celebrated your Independence with some off-ice training for hockey…okay maybe not.
Today I want to share with you an exercise that I use on the ice and off the ice to help hockey players explode off their change of direction. I think there are many players out there who waste the first step of their cross over start and this drill will hopefully teach you not to do that and as a result, instantly put you half a step ahead of the competition.
Make sure you think about your foot position on the ice as you do this drill. Do not simply push under, turn and run straight ahead. The foot that is stepping across should remain at a 45-90 degree angle to your direction of travel. You cannot run on your skates, so make sure you are pushing toward the outside for the first 1-2 steps. After completing the initial cross over step and 1-2 additional acceleration steps, just slowly decelerate and reset. You may also wish to incorporate this type of start into some of your sprint training over the summer.
Enjoy!
Maria