Born and raised in Longueuil, a small, French city south of Montreal, Shank began ice skating at age 2.

�I used to push a chair all over the ice,� he says, �because when you�re a kid, your balance isn�t that good. The chair helps you learn to get more balance.�

By age 5, Shank was enrolled in an ice hockey league and his love for the game grew rapidly. Having unlimited access to Canada�s multitude of outdoor skating rinks, Shank spent 6-to-7 hours per day on the ice. �I�ve been a player for a long time,� Shank says, �and skating is the biggest part.

The stick handling and shooting come later, but I would recommend that recreational players concentrate on improving their skating skills and building up the strength in their legs because you need good, strong legs to play either sport [ice or roller hockey].�

Shank, 30, has played in 77 National Hockey League games and maintains dual roles as team captain of both the Orlando Jackals and the IHL�s San Antonio Dragons.

Successful in both sports, Shank�s playing ability and remarkable skating skills have earned him a total of four RHI and IHL All-Star game appearances; selection to the IHL First All-Star Team; and Fastest Skater honors in the 1997 IHL All-Star Skills Competition, where he clocked a 13.9-second lap (the only player to finish in under 14 seconds).

Shank�s love of hockey and his competitive nature supported an easy transition from ice to roller hockey. When first asked to play in the RHI, Shank didn�t hesitate. �I saw it as a way to maintain my conditioning and keep a winning attitude. I want to stay competitive all year round. It�s good for my spirit.�

The diet and training regimen that Shank follows for both sports includes a six-day per week workout. For the aerobic portion, Shank practices hard on the ice or on the floor, then complements that with a half hour on the stationary bike.

At 5-foot-11, 198 pounds, his weight training is geared toward strength, not bulk.

�I don�t want to gain weight. I don�t want to add muscle mass,� Shank says. �I have everything I need. It�s just to get stronger, so I go really light but do a lot of repetitions on the bench press, incline bench press, and push-ups for upper-body conditioning. The upper-body training is for body contacts and to prevent shoulder injuries when hitting the boards.

�The area on which I concentrate most is my legs and my abs. The abdominals help you to skate. They give you strength down to your legs.�

Combined with a steady diet of primarily carbohydrates, vegetables, fruit, and lots of water � as much as two gallons per day � Shank easily controls his weight.

�Some games I will eat a little bit earlier on purpose to bring my weight down to 195, but for the games that are physical, I try to stay between 198 and 200,� he says.

High quality equipment

In choosing equipment, Shank ranks quality high in importance because it helps to prevent injuries. It doesn�t matter if it�s used, as long as it�s good quality; and being the fifth of six children, Shank understands the concept of used equipment.

�Growing up, obviously the oldest one had the newest equipment, and every year it got passed down to the next one,�� he says. �Being the last boy, by the time it got to me it wasn�t new anymore, but my parents always bought high quality so it was certainly good.�

For the past 12 years, Shank has used a Sherwood stick with a 4-1/2 lie. �I play in front of the net, taking a lot of hits from my opponents,� he says. �A 4-1/2 lie allows me to stay low so I can roll with the cross-checking and slashing. It also complements my skating style well because I bend my knees a lot.�

Shank notes that most players use a 5 or 6 lie, which allows a more upright skating style, but skating lower gives you more power because your legs are bent and you can extend them farther for longer strides and greater speed.

When measuring the height to cut his stick, Shank ensures the stick doesn�t go past his upper lip while standing in skates; however, he says most players choose heights between the nose and the chest.

Your skates get you where you want to go and the wheels affect traction, quickness and speed. Shank uses a 76mm 4-wheel setup designed and manufactured by Kuzak for speed rather than a 72mm wheel, which is designed for quickness.

According to Chris Miller, president of Los Angeles-based Kuzak, his company offers three wheel hardness ratings � 74A, 76A, and 78A (hardest) � for SportCourt, the most common indoor roller hockey playing surface.

The additive, ZHD, used on the wheels provides better grip for a harder wheel. Shank explains: �Kuzak makes a wheel that�s sticky [referring to the additive] and not too soft, so I personally go right in the middle with a 76A wheel. A softer wheel gives you more grip on the floor.

A harder wheel will give you more speed, but with a tendency to slip. Whatever brand you choose, if your legs are really strong, go with a softer wheel or toward the middle. If your legs are a little weak, go with a harder wheel because that gives you more speed without your having to push off as much.�

Ice to roller transition

Shank feels confident that anyone who ice skates can pick up inline skating pretty quickly. The adjustment from ice hockey to roller hockey (and vice versa) takes about two-to-three weeks. Your skating power still comes from your legs, but in roller hockey you have to use it differently. In ice hockey, you start with quick, little strides then go longer, extending your legs to the maximum to get as much power as you can. In roller hockey, it�s necessary to stay with short strides for a longer time, and you don�t get the speed as quickly as on ice.

Changing direction and stopping are more difficult on wheels. �In ice hockey,� Shank says, �the blades allow you to change direction a lot quicker and cut into the ice to help you stop. In roller hockey, the playing surface is a little slippery, so you need to make a quick, little turn before you stop.

�Most of the time you have to help yourself with your stick so you don�t fall. If you push with your left leg on the outside to stop, put your stick on your right side and a little behind you. If you push with your right leg on the outside to stop, put your stick on your left side and a little behind you.�

The different pucks also take some getting used to. They�re the same size, but the roller hockey puck is about two ounces lighter than the ice hockey puck, so it�s easier to shoot. In making the transition from roller hockey to ice hockey, however, Shank laughs and says the puck �feels like a brick on your stick,� but it all comes back during that two-to-three week adjustment period.

While he was growing up, Daniel Shank�s family couldn�t afford hockey schools, but his unbounded desire to learn the game drove him to the frozen Montreal lakes and outside rinks in sub-zero weather to practice and polish his skills.