Tip of the Week: Hockey
Posture
Hockey Ready Position is a term you will hear coaches
say to their players, especially younger players
learning to skate and play the game. This is the
starting position that allows players to perform every
single task that is required to play hockey, skating,
shooting, passing, and proper defensive positioning.
Pay close attention to your posture and technique in
every situation. The better you are at staying balanced
on your feet and maintaining this posture the quicker
you will be able to improve your basic skills. As soon
as you start leaning and become unbalanced on your
skates you no longer are able to perform any basic
hockey skill properly as well as making yourself
vulnerable to defensive breakdowns.
Most breakdowns in defensive coverage are a result of
players not maintaining proper balance and form in their
posture while defending against their opponents. When
this occurs, you will see defending players end up
reaching or fishing for pucks. This generally causes
players to lean forward and lose their proper balance
and posture. At this point they are unable to recover
quick enough and find themselves chasing their opponent
back to the net and losing defensive position.
Remember, the hockey ready position is the base and
starting point for all skills in hockey. Mastering your
balance and posture from this starting position will
allow the rest of your game to grow and improve greatly.
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