Tip of the Week

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.