101 Hockey Tips Coming Soon

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101 Hockey Tips Coming Soon
By Bryce Randle
Oct 6, 2005, 09:04

101 Hockey Tips has been a very popular booklet that has been loved by many hockey players of all ages and experience. In the past two weeks Hockey Player Magazine has been out filming the adaptation of the loved booklet to video. The video will be ready to be released in mid-November. A trailer will be coming soon as well. Keep your eyes on the lookout.

The video features two of our associate editors, Jeremy Weiss and Mark Ostebo.

Here are a couple tips from the original pamphlet that will be featured on the video:

Tip No. 6
Work On 'D' Skating
It�s important for defensemen to work on their skating skills. The stop and go, forward to backward movement and quick turns are all important for my position, and I train these skills by working on turning and stopping in practice. Good balance is important for all players. Staying low, using your legs and keeping all your weight over an edge will help the balance, especially when checking. Too many players try to check with the upper body (only using the shoulders), but a good, solid hit comes from the lower body - the strength in the legs - and also a strong abdomen and lower back.

Mark and Jeremy show good defensive positioning on where you want to be and when.

Tip No. 34
The Backward Crossover
Don't be intimidated by the backward crossover. Once you get over the fear of losing your balance or falling down, you will find that the backward crossover is easier than the forward crossover because both feet are on the ice when you land the crossunder foot, rather than having to land on one foot on an outside edge like when you are going forward.

1. Make sure to bend the knees deeply and to keep your back straight; feel like you are sitting on a stool.

2. Use 100% body weight to drive your outside leg (inside edge) into the ice to full extension, cutting what resembles the letter "C."

3. Pull the inside leg to full extension under the body and behind the outside leg, forming a big "X" with your legs.

4. After the inside leg (outside edge) has gone completely to full extension, return it parallel to the ice, reaching as far in with the leg as you can (to a wide base), landing on an inside edge so that you are ready to pull the leg under the body and then to an outside edge to form the "X" again.

Jeremy instructs on the crossunder.

Tip No. 83
Did They Do It Right?
Here's how to tell if your skates have been sharpened properly: First, take a look at the bottom of the blade and observe the "grain" of the sharpening along the length of the hollow. Do the lines run straight along the length of the blade, or are they crooked and run crossways between the edges? Straight lines indicate that the skate was ground correctly. Crooked lines will lead to friction and slow you down. Another test is to carefully run a pen along the length of the hollow and check to see if the line you have drawn runs straight and smooth.