Tight Turn Training Techniques

If you're looking to improve your hockey skills with expert instruction, Olivia Sloan Skating has got you covered. With a focus on figure skating and hockey, Olivia Sloan Skating offers top-notch classes that cater to players of all levels, from beginners to advanced.

One of my favorite training drills for my players is tight turns. The emphasis on sliding there front foot forward to create a deeper outside edge allows for players to combine their edge control skills with power to make their turns tighter. This drill is one of my favorites as it pushes players to think quickly while multitasking. My goal is to be able to create the muscle memory in practice and make practice hard so that when a game comes the actions are muscle memory. To increase the difficulty adding the arm movements makes the balance part of the drills harder as players also have to increase knee and ankle bend to be able to touch the animal and still promote power through their skating as they change directions.

Common mistakes with tight turns are players whose feet remain side by side which promotes a wide turn. The goal in this drill is that when going to the left their left foot is as close to the animal as possible while their right foot drops back to allow for the rotation to be promoted by the left foot as it glides closely around the animal. This makes the turns tighter.