If you hear one name over and over again along with the term ?power skating?, it is most likely that of National Hockey League defenceman Paul Coffey. Because Coffey was able to utilize his full speed and power when he was on the ice, he became known as one of the fastest defencemen to ever grace the ice in the game of hockey. Coffey isn't the only player to use his natural ability to its fullest advantage, however; names like Pavel Bure, Teemu Selanne, and others will also be associated with the Leagues? speediest skaters for some time to come.



The key with these players is in part their natural gifts in terms of athleticism, but in order to really achieve their pinnacle, they had to understand how to bring their natural skill into play. The way that they did so was to fully examine, probably always with the help of others, their skating techniques and the way in which they could go from one speed to the next. In essence, this was power skating, and today players wonder if the focus put on power skating will allow them to improve their games.

The answer to that question is a most definite yes. Adding that extra power to your skating stride will mean that you have a lot more edge in terms of speed and control, not to mention the power that you can put behind a shot. Power skating training focuses on the two areas that will most affect your skating abilities, your edge control and your knee bend.

The knee bend is the most important focus in any power skating training, as it is the bend of the knee that will determine all other important skating factors. Most people realize this instinctively, but power skating training will help players to really understand how they can make sure to bend their knees as deeply as possible while concentrating on other facets of their game.

The second aspect of power skating training, edge control, concentrates on having the player feel the edge of their skate almost as if it were an extension of their body. Edge control means understanding how your ankles are working in relation to your knees and the rest of your leg that is putting the power into your skate. Again, angle is of the utmost importance, so power skating will focus the individual player on getting the optimum edge on their skates.

Power skating training is a must for any hockey player wishing to take their game to the next level, just by improving their skating technique.