Edge of Excellence

1. Upper Body Lean

hat I often see is players skating forward with their seat up in the air and their body lean forward. In this position they are balanced but not stable. If you pushed a person standing like this they would easily fall over. Their legs are extended and they have most of their weight in front of their skates. If you stand in this position you will feel how much of your muscle work is being used to maintain your balance rather than being free to drive your legs.

Body Lean To Far Forward Illustration

With the body lean well forward their is also a tendency for the heel of the striding leg to come off the ice early which results in a shorter stride. The converse is equally true, i.e. if the upper body is too erect then the hip is pulled in and the stride is also shortened. So it is very important for each player to find the appropriate body lean that maximizes the length of his or her stride (see photo).

I encourage players to pull their shoulders back to a body angle in the range of 50 degrees. The main reasons for doing so are:

more stability and better balance
a longer stride
players can see the ice better

Speed skaters for the most part want their trunk parallel to the ice so they do have a tremendous body lean forward. The main reason for their body lean is to minimize wind resistance. For hockey players, wearing big shoulder pads and bulky equipment, sprinting for a puck 20 feet away, wind resistance is not a big factor. Speed skaters, as well, don’t have to worry about body contact, i.e. sudden stops or quick changes in direction which we do have to concern ourselves with as hockey players. We always need to be in a position of solid stability with our weight directly over our skates as much as possible. Hockey players also need to see and quickly read the ice. It is much more difficult to do this with the body lean too far forward.