Skating basics for hockey beginners

The hockey stance

Start with your feet about shoulder width apart. Bend your knees until they are over your toes, keep your back fairly straight and your chest up, and put your weight over the middle and balls of your feet. Your hands go out in front as if holding a stick. This is the position you come back to between every stride.

Most beginners stand too upright, which puts weight on the heels and makes falling backward likely. If you feel wobbly, bend lower.

The forward stride

1. From the stance, turn one skate slightly outward.
2. Push that skate out to the side and a little back, using the inside edge on ice or the whole row of wheels on inline skates.
3. Straighten the pushing leg fully, ending with the toe.
4. Bring the foot back under your body and glide on it while the other leg pushes.

The push goes to the side, not straight back. Beginners often run on their toes, which tires you out fast and goes nowhere. Long, full pushes with a glide in between are faster and easier.

Stopping on ice

Snowplow stop. Glide with skates parallel, then push the heels out and toes in, scraping the inside edges until you stop. It works on one foot or two. Learn this first.

Hockey stop. Turn both skates sideways at once, at right angles to your direction of travel, with knees bent and weight slightly back. The blades scrape and you stop quickly. Start at slow speed and practice in both directions. Most players have a stronger side for a long time.

Stopping on inline skates

Wheels grip instead of scraping, so stopping on inline skates works differently. Hockey inline skates usually have no heel brake.

• Plow stop. Similar to the ice version. Press the wheels outward in a wide stance with knees bent. It works at slow speed.
• T-stop. Drag one skate behind you at a right angle, with light pressure on the wheels. Easy to learn, but it wears wheels quickly.
• Power slide and hockey-style stops. On a smooth sport court surface, skilled players slide the wheels sideways. These take practice and a forgiving surface.

On outdoor courts, check for sand, grit and small stones before you skate. A single pebble can stop a wheel cold.

Turning and crossovers

To turn, look where you want to go, bend your knees and lean slightly into the turn. Put a little more weight on the outside skate. Once gentle turns feel easy, try crossovers: step the outside skate over the inside one as you go around a circle. Practice slowly in both directions. Faceoff circles make a handy guide on ice.

Falling and getting up

When you feel a fall coming, bend your knees to lower yourself and try to fall to the side. Tuck your chin to protect your head, and keep your hands loose rather than reaching straight down. In full hockey gear, falls are much softer.

To get up, roll onto your hands and knees, bring one foot up so the skate is flat under you, then push up with your hands on that knee and bring the other foot under you.

Skating backward

Defense players and goalies skate backward a lot, and everyone needs a little of it. Start in the stance, then push with the inside edge of one skate in a C-shaped arc, bring it back, and repeat with the other foot. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Look over your shoulder often.

How to practice

• Public skate sessions are the cheapest way to get time on skates. Go at quieter times when you can.
• Work on one thing per session, such as stops on your weak side.
• Try short off-ice balance work at home: holding the stance, single-leg balance, slow lunges.
• Keep sessions short at first. Tired legs lead to sloppy form and falls.

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