Practising on Your Own

Key focus

Spend public sessions on edges, turns and stops, not easy laps. Game skating is short bursts, sharp turns and stops. If you do go round, do it on crossovers, more of them in your weaker direction.

Work both feet and both directions, and give your weaker one more. Every one-foot drill here is done on the right foot and then the left.

Learn it slowly, then go hard where you have room. Once you have the shape, push as hard and as confidently as you can. A timid edge on a flat blade teaches nothing.

Keep your head up, even when you reach down. Looking at your skates drops your weight forward and flattens the blade.

Skate first, then add the puck. At stick-and-puck (open ice for practising with a puck), warm up your edges, then do the same moves with a puck.

Look before you move, and take the fast work to a clear patch. Jumps, backward work and hard starts and stops need room, so save them for a quiet session, if the posted rules allow it.

Off the ice, stickhandle with your head up, little and often. Head-down reps at home become the habit you take into games.

Overview

It is easy to spend extra ice going round in circles. Public skating is cheap ice. It is best spent on the edges, turns and stops a game asks for, which most players get little other time to practise. The drills below are a menu: pick two or three, do them on both feet with your head up, look before you move, and do them hard, where you have room, once you have the shape.

Stick-and-puck adds the puck. Skate first, then repeat the same work with a puck. Off the ice, head-up stickhandling and wall passing are the work that carries over best, by coaching consensus; strength and mobility support your skating but do not replace it. Practice and Development explains why; the drills here are the how.

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1. Before you start

In short: The rink's rules come first. Find a quiet session, a clear patch of ice, and look before you move.

• Check the posted rules and pick a quiet session. Assume no sticks or pucks unless the rules say so. Finding More Ice covers both.
• Keep jumps, backward skating, fast starts and hard stops to a clear patch of a quiet session, and only if the posted rules allow them. A public session is full of children and new skaters. In a busy one, do the slow drills or just skate.
• Look before you move. Many of these drills travel sideways or backwards. Check over your shoulder before you start and as you go.
• Wear a helmet for this work: edges, jumps, backward skating, hard starts and stops, and sharp turns. You will fall when you lean further than you have before.
• Learn how to fall. Go down on your side with your hands in and your chin tucked. Sliding towards the boards, get your feet or side to them, or your arms out if you cannot, head up. Take a few seconds to check yourself before you get up. Falling and Getting Up has more.
• A fall can concuss you without knocking you out. If you might be concussed, stop for the day, tell someone, and don't go home alone or drive yourself. Do not skate again until a medical professional clears you. See Concussion.
• In Britain, wear a neck guard every time you skate, public sessions included. Whether the rules reach a public session is unsettled, so wear one anyway.
• At stick-and-puck, ask what gear is required. Then follow the drop-in and pick-up etiquette: look before you cross the ice, don't skate through someone's drill, and collect your own pucks.

2. Using the session well

In short: Edges first, both feet, short and focused, then hard.

• Edges first, while you are fresh. Skating suggests an order for thirty minutes of ice: edges, then crossovers with extra work in your weaker direction (two laps for every one in your stronger is a common rule of thumb), then stops and starts both ways, then forwards-to-backwards transitions, then stride work, then the same again with a puck. It is a coaching order, so change it if a coach who has watched you says so.
• Short and focused beats long and tired. Ten to fifteen focused minutes of edge work, done often, is one source's guidance, which Skating follows. Edge work is not conditioning.
• Slow to learn it, hard to own it. Start each drill slowly. Once it holds, do it as hard as you can, where you have room.
• Wobbly is good; out of control is not. Wobbling means you are at the edge of what you can do, which is where you improve. If you are out of control, slow down.
• Pick two or three drills a session. A few done well beat a dozen done once. Move on when a drill holds on both feet at speed.
• Get filmed. You cannot see yourself skate. A friend filming from the side and from behind will show you faults you cannot feel.

At stick-and-puck, warm your edges up without a puck, then add the puck to the same moves. Keep your head up when you carry it: the habit you practise is the one you will have in a game. Puck Handling explains why off-ice hands need to be tried on skates.

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3. Drills for a public session

In short: Pick a few from each group, easiest first. Do every one-foot drill on both feet, and go hard, where you have room, once you have the shape.

These drills are coaching craft, not a tested programme. Within each group they run from easiest to hardest.

Words used in the drills:

• Inside edge — the edge of the blade on the big-toe side. Outside edge — the little-toe side. Skating explains edges.
• Free foot — the foot you are not skating on, held just off the ice.
• Inside foot, outside foot — on a curve or turn, the inside foot is the one nearer the centre of the turn.
• Crossover — two pushes: the outside foot pushes and crosses over in front, and the inside foot pushes out underneath it. That second push is the cross-under, and it is the one most players miss.
• Pivot — turning on the spot on one or both skates, usually between forwards and backwards.
• T-stop — stopping by dragging the back foot behind the front heel, the two skates making a T.
• Marker — any spot you turn round. At a public session, use a line or dot on the ice, or an imaginary point; at stick-and-puck, a puck will do.

One-foot edges

Inside edge forwards

Trains: grip and power on the inside edge, the edge every stride, crossover and tight turn pushes from.

1. Push hard onto your right foot and glide on its inside edge, so you carve a big arc to your left.
2. At the end of the arc, set your left foot down beside the right (do not cross). Carve a big arc to your right on its inside edge.
3. Keep switching feet. Push hard into every arc.
4. Bend your knees low enough to touch the ice with a hand on the inside of the arc.

Common mistake: small, timid arcs on a flat blade, so the skate skids instead of biting and you hardly move.

One-foot slalom forwards

Trains: rolling from one edge to the other on one foot, the control behind tight weaving with the puck.

1. Push off one foot and lift it, so you are on the other foot only.
2. Roll onto the inside edge of that skate to curve round the first marker.
3. Roll across to the outside edge to curve back round the next one. Keep alternating to the end.
4. Do it on the right foot, then the left.

Common mistake: twisting the shoulders to steer while the blade stays flat, so the line wobbles instead of curving.

Small figure of 8, inside edge

Trains: holding an inside edge all the way round a tight curve, the edge a tight turn and a crossover push from.

1. Start where the two circles meet and push onto your right foot.
2. Skate the whole right-hand circle on the right inside edge, curving to your left. Do not change edge.
3. Back in the middle, change feet and push onto your left foot.
4. Skate the whole left-hand circle on the left inside edge, curving to your right, back to the middle.

Common mistake: flattening the blade part-way round, so the circle opens up and does not come back to the middle.

Outside edge forwards: small step-overs

Trains: getting onto the outside edge quickly, as the inside foot does in every crossover.

1. Skate roughly straight down the ice with small, quick steps.
2. Step your left foot over in front of the right and land it on its outside edge.
3. Step your right foot over in front of the left and land it on its outside edge. Keep alternating, continuous and confident.

Common mistake: landing the stepping foot flat or on its inside edge, so there is no curve and it is just a walk.

Outside edge forwards: big lean-and-glide arcs

Trains: trusting a deep outside edge at speed, which lets you carve a wide turn without slowing.

1. Glide on your right foot and lean over onto its outside edge, so you carve a big arc to your right.
2. At the end of the arc, set your left foot down beside the right (do not cross) and lean over onto its outside edge, carving a big arc to your left.
3. Keep switching feet. Start slowly on wide arcs and lean further only as the edge holds. Glide, do not step. Once it holds, go as hard and as confidently as you can.

Common mistake: leaning only the upper body while the blade stays flat, so you tip over instead of curving.

Small figure of 8, outside edge

Trains: holding an outside edge round a curve, the edge the inside foot pushes from, under the body, in a crossover.

1. Start where the two circles meet and push onto your right foot.
2. Skate the whole right-hand circle on the right outside edge, curving to your right. Do not change edge.
3. Back in the middle, change feet and push onto your left foot.
4. Skate the whole left-hand circle on the left outside edge, curving to your left, back to the middle.
5. Start slowly, with bigger circles at first, and tighten them as the edge holds.

Common mistake: dropping onto the inside edge, or putting the free foot down, when the lean feels too far.

Outside edge forwards: big sharp C with a full step-over

Trains: a deep, sharp outside edge with a full step-over, the base of a tight, powerful turn.

1. Carve a sharp C on the outside edge of your right foot, curving to your right.
2. At the end of the C, step your left foot right over in front of the right. Land it on its outside edge and carve a sharp C the other way.
3. Keep alternating, stepping over every time. Keep it continuous and confident.

Common mistake: opening the C up into a wide, lazy curve because you do not lean far enough over the edge.

Inside edge backwards

Trains: power on the backward inside edge, the push a defenceman uses to skate backwards.

1. Check behind you, then, skating backwards, push hard onto your right foot and glide on its inside edge, so you carve a big arc to your left.
2. At the end of the arc, set your left foot down beside the right (do not cross). Carve a big arc to your right on its inside edge.
3. Keep switching feet. Push hard into every arc.
4. Bend your knees low enough to touch the ice with a hand on the inside of the arc.

Common mistake: leaning forward over the toes, so the blade rocks off the edge and you stall.

Outside edge stepping backwards, along a blue line

Trains: finding the backward outside edge on every step, the edge the inside foot pushes from in a backward crossover.

1. Stand on a blue line, facing back up it, with clear ice behind you. You will step backwards down the line, one step at a time: glance over your shoulder before you start and every few steps, and stop well short of the boards.
2. Lift your right foot and place it behind you, across the line, so it lands on your left of the line on its outside edge.
3. Lift your left foot and place it behind you, across to your right of the line, on its outside edge.
4. Keep alternating, one placed step at a time. No gliding and no C shapes: walk backwards down the line.

Common mistake: putting the foot down on your own side of the line, so it lands flat or on its inside edge.

Outside edge backwards, crossing in front

Trains: balance and power on the backward outside edge, which backward crossovers and pivots depend on.

1. Check behind you, then, skating backwards, carve a C on the outside edge of your right foot, curving to your right.
2. At the end of the C, put your left foot down in front of the right, stepping over. Land it on its outside edge and carve a C the other way.
3. Keep alternating, crossing in front every time. Keep it continuous and confident.

Common mistake: looking down at the skates, which pitches the weight forward and flattens the blade.

One-foot slalom backwards

Trains: edge-to-edge control skating backwards, which a defenceman uses to stay in front of an attacker who changes direction.

1. Check behind you, then, skating backwards, push off one foot and lift it, so you are on the other foot only.
2. Roll onto the inside edge of that skate to curve round the first marker.
3. Roll across to the outside edge to curve back round the next one. Keep alternating to the end.
4. Do it on the right foot, then the left.

Common mistake: bending at the waist instead of the knees, so your weight is over the toes and the edges will not grip.

Jumps

Jumps go on a clear patch only. Land on a bent knee every time, and start with small jumps.

Two-foot jump

Trains: leg power and a soft, balanced landing, the base for every other jump here.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on both feet, shoulder width apart, knees bent.
2. Bend deeper and jump off both feet together.
3. Land on both feet at the same time with knees bent, and glide on.

Common mistake: landing stiff-legged or on the heels, which throws your weight back.

Two-foot 180 turn jump

Trains: turning quickly from forwards to backwards while keeping your balance, as a defenceman does to face the play.

1. Glide forward slowly on both feet, knees bent, with clear ice ahead: you land travelling backwards.
2. Jump off both feet and turn half a circle in the air.
3. Land on both feet skating backwards, knees bent, still travelling the same way. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: turning only the shoulders, so the skates land part-way round and catch an edge.

One-foot jump to the same foot

Trains: strength and balance on one leg, so you can recover on one foot after contact or a stumble.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on your right foot, knee bent, left foot lifted.
2. Bend deeper and spring up and forward off the right foot.
3. Land back on the same right foot, knee bent, without putting the left foot down.
4. Repeat on the other foot: work both feet equally.

Common mistake: putting the free foot down on landing, which turns it into a two-foot landing.

One-foot jump to the other foot

Trains: balance and leg drive from a deep crouch, landing on the other foot ready to skate, with your head up the whole time.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on your right foot, knee bent, left foot lifted.
2. Crouch and touch the right skate with your hand, keeping your head up.
3. As you stand back up, jump onto your left foot and land on a bent knee. Small jumps first.
4. Glide, crouch and touch the left skate, and jump back onto the right as you stand up. Keep it going, one jump after another.

Common mistake: looking down at the skate to touch it, so your head drops and your balance goes with it.

One-foot crossover jump

Trains: crossover strength and balance: driving off one foot and landing the crossing foot cleanly on the far side, as in a quick change of direction.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on your left foot, right foot lifted.
2. Jump your right foot over the left, crossing in front of it.
3. Land on the right foot on the far side, knee bent, as the left foot lifts.
4. Bring the lifted left foot round to the left of the right foot, then jump it back over the right, in front, to land on the right-hand side. Keep going, both directions.

Common mistake: landing on a straight leg, or putting the lifted foot down to catch your balance.

Mohawks

A mohawk here is the open-hip, heel-to-heel position: toes pointing opposite ways, heels in line. Skating covers the mohawk turn. Your lane is a strip of clear ice a few metres wide that you have to yourself.

Mohawk side to side

Trains: opening the hips so you can move across the ice while still facing the play, the way a defenceman turns to follow an attacker.

1. Turn both feet out heel-to-heel: right toe pointing where you are going, left toe pointing back, heels in line and knees bent.
2. Glide on a curve across towards one side of your clear lane, weight over the right foot. Let both edges carry you round.
3. At the side, pivot on your leading right foot: turn on it so you end in the mohawk with the left leg leading.
4. Curve back across to the other side, pivot on the left foot, and keep going all the way down the ice.

Common mistake: stiff, straight legs. Without bent knees the hips cannot open and the heels drift apart.

Stepping mohawks side to side

Trains: quick, balanced hip turns with fast feet, so you can change direction while still facing the play.

1. Set up heel-to-heel as in the plain mohawk, right foot leading.
2. Look along your path, then glide on a curve across towards one side of your lane.
3. At the side, turn your shoulders into the new direction first, so your legs load under you.
4. Then jump from skate to skate: land on the left foot, knee bent, pointing the new way, and bring the right in behind it, heels in line. Push off the ice into the jump; that is where the power comes from. Learn the switch as two quick steps first, then add the jump.
5. Curve back across with the left foot leading, and turn and jump again at the other side.

Common mistake: switching with the feet only, shoulders still. It works, but there is no load in the legs and no power out of the ice.

Starts

Only on a clear patch, and never in a busy session.

Explosive V-start

Trains: getting to speed in the first few strides, which wins races to loose pucks.

1. Stand with heels in and toes turned out in a V, knees bent and leaning forward, weight on the front of the blades.
2. Drive off one foot, then the other. The first stride with each foot is short and driving, more like running, with the push going out to the side and the leg fully extended.
3. Keep the skates low to the ice so each foot comes back fast for the next push.
4. Make the next strides longer. The toes come round as you speed up, and after a few strides you are in full stride.

Common mistake: standing up tall and taking long, gliding first strides, so you glide instead of driving.

Explosive crossover start

Trains: going from standing side-on to full speed sideways, as when you react to a puck that goes past you.

1. On a clear patch, look the way you will go, then stand side-on to it, knees well bent, weight on the balls of your feet.
2. Turn your head, shoulders and hips the way you want to go, and fall over your lead foot (here the right).
3. Cross your left foot over in front while the right foot pushes hard under your body on its outside edge.
4. Come out of it with a few short, quick running strides on your toes, feet turned out in a V. Stay low, then lengthen your strides.
5. Repeat starting the other way.

Common mistake: standing up as you turn, so the push goes into the air instead of the ice.

Two-foot edges

Lemons forwards

Trains: inside-edge push and control on both feet at once, the base of every stride and stop.

1. Start with heels together and toes turned out, knees bent, astride a line.
2. Push both feet out on the inside edges.
3. Turn the toes in and bring the feet back together until the boots, ideally the blades, touch in the middle. Repeat every time.

Common mistake: stopping short of the middle, so the feet never come back together and the lemon stays open.

Lemons backwards

Trains: backward push and balance on both inside edges, the base of backward skating. It is harder than the forward version, and especially valuable.

1. Start with toes together and heels apart, knees bent, astride a line, with clear ice behind you.
2. Push both heels out on the inside edges.
3. Turn the heels in and bring the feet back together until the boots, ideally the blades, touch in the middle. Repeat every time.

Common mistake: leaning forward over the toes, which stops the heels pushing out.

Forward crossovers, two steps and stop

Trains: crossover confidence. It can be done very slowly, so you learn to put the crossing foot down and push under before you need to do it at speed.

1. Face up the ice, knees bent. You will zig-zag up the ice, slightly forwards and sideways each way.
2. Moving diagonally forwards and to your right, cross the left foot over in front of the right, toe down first, then step the right foot out from behind.
3. Do that twice, then stop on the inside edge of the right (leading) foot.
4. Now go diagonally forwards and to your left: cross the right foot over in front of the left, twice.
5. Stop on the inside edge of the left foot. Keep zig-zagging up the ice, slowly at first.

Common mistake: rushing it. The drill is worth most done slowly, with each crossing foot placed deliberately.

Crossing-under lemons forwards

Trains: rolling from inside edge to outside edge on both feet, and getting the feet right under the body, as a crossover push does.

1. Start with heels together and toes turned out, knees bent, astride a line.
2. Push both feet out on the inside edges.
3. As they come back in, roll the feet onto the outside edges so both edges are used, and let the feet cross completely under your body.
4. Push out again from the crossed position. Do small lemons first, then wide ones.

Common mistake: stopping the feet at the middle on the inside edges, so they never roll over and never cross.

Crossing-under lemons backwards

Trains: rolling between inside and outside edges skating backwards, the feel behind backward crossovers.

1. Start with toes together and heels apart, knees bent, astride a line, with clear ice behind you.
2. Push both heels out on the inside edges.
3. As they come back in, roll onto the outside edges so both edges are used, and let the feet cross completely under your body.
4. Push out again from the crossed position. Small lemons first, then wide ones.

Common mistake: leaning forward over the toes, which stops the heels pushing out and the feet crossing.

Backward crossovers, two or three steps and stop

Trains: moving backwards and sideways with speed and then stopping, the way a defenceman follows a rush and then holds their ground.

1. Check behind you, then skate backwards down the ice, knees bent. You will zig-zag, slightly backwards and sideways each way.
2. Moving diagonally backwards and to your right, cross the left foot over in front of the right, then step the right foot out from behind.
3. Do that two or three times, then push both heels out, toes turned in, and stop on both feet.
4. Now go diagonally backwards and to your left: cross the right foot over in front of the left, two or three times, and stop again.
5. Keep zig-zagging down the ice, slowly at first.

Common mistake: looking down at your feet, which tips you forward onto your toes and kills the crossovers.

Turns

Stepping turn, forwards to backwards

Trains: turning from forwards to backwards without stopping, the way a defenceman turns to face the play.

1. Glide forwards on both feet, knees bent, with clear ice ahead.
2. Turn your shoulders and hips the way you want to go, put your weight on one foot, and lift the other with its toe turned out.
3. Put that foot down on its own, pointing backwards, heel almost to the heel of the gliding foot. Then lift the other foot and turn it round.
4. Put it down and glide backwards on both feet. Next time, turn the other way.

Common mistake: turning the feet before the shoulders and hips, so the step is wide and wobbly instead of heel close to heel.

Stepping 360, alternate directions

Trains: turning all the way round while still moving, so you can look behind you and keep your speed.

1. Glide forwards on both feet, with clear ice ahead.
2. Turn to your right: step your right foot out sideways, toe pointing to your right. It is the only foot on the ice.
3. Put your left foot down on its own, pointing backwards, and lift the right.
4. Bring the right foot down beside it, so you glide backwards on both feet.
5. Keep turning right: right foot sideways, then the left foot down on its own pointing forwards, then the right beside it. That is a full circle.
6. Do the next circle turning to your left, leading with the left foot each time.

Common mistake: stopping halfway round to reset, so it becomes two separate half turns instead of one smooth circle.

Forward soft drag

Trains: a tighter turn by letting the inside foot help it round, so you can change direction in a small space.

1. Skate in forwards, knees bent.
2. Put the inside foot's toe on the ice, heel up, and drag the toe round through the turn. It is the forward anchor (below) with the toe dragging instead of the heel.
3. Carve the outside foot round it on its inside edge.
4. Come out of the turn and skate away. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: pressing the toe down too hard, so it acts as a brake and you stall in the turn.

Forward anchor

Trains: a much tighter turn by dragging the inside heel as an anchor, so you can change direction in a small space.

1. Skate in forwards with a wide stance.
2. Plant the inside foot with the ankle collapsed (rolled in), the pressure on the heel and the toe up.
3. Drag that heel through the turn while the outside foot carves round it on its inside edge.
4. Come out of the turn and skate away. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: putting the whole blade down, so the toe catches and you trip. Keep the toe up and the pressure on the heel.

Tight turns

Trains: turning sharply without losing speed, so you can change direction to follow the puck or your check.

1. Skate in on two feet, knees bent, and open into a scissor stance: inside leg well forward, outside leg back.
2. Turn round a marker holding the scissor, inside foot well ahead: lean both blades in, inside foot on its outside edge, outside foot on its inside edge, head (and stick, at stick-and-puck) pointing where you are going.
3. Stay low as you come round, then stride away the way you came. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: standing up in the turn, so the edges let go and the turn goes wide.

Continuous crossovers forwards

Trains: building speed through turns and changing direction without stopping, which is how you skate in the flow of a game.

1. Skating forwards, cross the outside foot over in front.
2. Think cross-under: the real push is the inside foot driving out under your body on its outside edge.
3. Step onto the inside edge of that foot, which starts the curve the other way.
4. Cross over back the other way and push under again. Keep going: crossover, inside edge, crossover, inside edge, without stopping.

Common mistake: stepping the outside foot over without the push underneath, so the crossover just walks round the curve and adds no speed.

Small-circle pivots

Trains: switching between forwards and backwards while always facing the play, which defencemen and forwards skating back to defend do every shift.

1. Face one way (say, one end of the rink) and keep facing it all the way round a small circle. Skate forwards round the first side.
2. Pivot from forwards to backwards on the front of both skates, heels swinging round, ideally with a small hop so the heels do not cut the ice.
3. Skate backwards round the far side, still facing the same way, glancing over your shoulder.
4. Step from backwards to forwards: with the outside leg going backwards, step straight onto the other leg going forwards, without stopping. Then go round the other way.

Common mistake: turning the chest with the feet, so you end up facing round the circle instead of facing one way.

Three turn, forwards to backwards

Trains: turning round on one foot with balance, which gives you a quick turn from forwards to backwards.

1. From a slow glide, with clear ice behind you, stand on your right foot on its outside edge, curving to your right.
2. Turn your shoulders and hips into the curve and rock onto the front of the blade, so the skate spins half a turn.
3. Come out gliding backwards on the inside edge of the same foot, still curving the same way. Repeat on the left foot.

Common mistake: hopping, or putting the free foot down to get round, instead of letting the blade turn on the ice.

Backward soft drag

Trains: turning sharply while skating backwards, as a defenceman does when the play changes direction.

1. Check behind you, then skate backwards, knees bent.
2. Put the inside foot's toe on the ice, heel up, and drag the toe round through the turn. Going backwards, use the toe, not the heel.
3. Carve the outside foot round it on its inside edge, in a sharp, tight C.
4. Come out of the turn and skate away backwards. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: looking down at the feet, so the shoulders drop and the turn wobbles. Keep your head up.

Continuous crossovers backwards

Trains: backward power and changes of direction without stopping, the way a defenceman stays in front of a rush that cuts across.

1. Check behind you, then, skating backwards, cross the outside foot over in front. Glance over your shoulder as you go.
2. Think cross-under: the real push is the inside foot driving out under your body on its outside edge.
3. Step onto the inside edge of that foot, which starts the curve the other way.
4. Cross over back the other way and push under again. Keep going: crossover, inside edge, crossover, inside edge, without stopping.

Common mistake: stepping the outside foot over without the push underneath, so the crossover just walks round the curve and adds no speed.

Jam turns

Trains: changing direction in the shortest space, for when the play reverses and you have to go back the other way now.

1. On a clear patch, skate in with some speed.
2. Sink and swing both skates hard into the turn so the blades bite and spray snow, nearly stopping, still on two feet.
3. Push hard out of the turn and stride away the way you came. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: leaning back as the skates bite, so you stall or fall instead of driving out.

Punch jams

Trains: turning back on the play and getting to full speed in the new direction in one or two steps.

1. On a clear patch, skate in with some speed.
2. Jam the turn: both skates swing round and bite, spraying snow.
3. Without pausing, punch out: the outside foot crosses over in front of the inside foot and the inside foot pushes hard underneath.
4. Keep driving with short, quick strides. Repeat turning the other way.

Common mistake: stopping dead after the jam and then starting again, instead of turning straight into the crossover.

Punch turns, in four steps

A punch turn drops you onto the outside edge of your inside foot and out of the turn fast. Learn it in this order, and start each step slowly.

Step 1: T-stop onto the outside edge

Trains: committing to the outside edge of your inside foot, the first move of a punch turn, with a safety foot behind you.

1. Skate forward slowly, knees bent, with clear ice ahead of you.
2. Turn your left foot out so it points across your path, and lean back onto its outside edge.
3. Put your right foot down behind it in a T, as in a T-stop. It is your safety, there to catch you.
4. Glide to a stop, then do it with the right foot. Start slow and add speed as you trust the edge.

Common mistake: easing onto the edge a little at a time instead of committing to it.

Step 2: jump onto the outside edge

Trains: trusting the outside edge without the safety foot, so you can drop onto it fast in a game.

1. Skate forward slowly, knees bent, with clear ice ahead of you.
2. Jump onto your left foot turned out across your path. Land on its outside edge with a bent knee and dig in.
3. Keep your right foot just off the ice behind you, ready to touch down if you need it.
4. Do it both ways, and add speed only when it feels solid.

Common mistake: putting the back foot straight down out of habit, so you never learn to trust the edge.

Step 3: dive onto the edge going forward

Trains: turning out of straight-line speed without losing it, which is what makes a punch turn quick.

1. Skate straight forward with some speed. Look along your path first.
2. Without slowing, open your left foot and dive onto its outside edge, letting it carry you round to the left.
3. Keep your weight moving forward through the turn, not sliding off to the side. Your right foot stays just off the ice.
4. Do it both ways.

Common mistake: killing your forward speed to make the turn, so you end up sliding sideways.

Step 4: figure eight round two markers

Trains: the full punch turn: getting away from pressure with a quick, efficient change of direction, then exploding out.

1. Pick two markers a few metres apart on clear ice and skate a figure eight round them: one way round the first, the other way round the second.
2. As you enter each turn, dive onto the outside edge of your inside foot, and bite the ice with the inside edge of your outside foot: dig it in and pull yourself round the marker.
3. At the far point of the turn (the apex), cross the outside foot over in front of the inside foot, then explode out towards the other marker.
4. When that flows both ways, do it carrying a puck at stick-and-puck.

Common mistake: gliding round the turn and only starting to push once you are out of it.

Stops

Hard stops go on a clear patch. Skating covers the technique.

One-foot stop in front

Trains: a controlled first stop, and the feel of scraping ice with an inside edge, which every harder stop builds on.

1. Glide forward on both feet, knees bent, feet about hip-width apart.
2. Turn your right toe in and heel out, and slide that foot a little in front of you.
3. Press down onto the inside edge so it scrapes the ice and sprays a little snow.
4. Keep the left foot gliding straight and sink your knees until you stop.
5. Repeat on the other foot: work both feet equally.

Common mistake: leaning forward over the toes, so the scraping foot catches and tips you instead of slowing you.

Outside-edge T-stop

Trains: slowing down while staying square to the play, and control of the outside edge of the trailing foot.

1. Glide forward on your right foot with the left foot lifted.
2. Bring the left foot behind your right heel at a right angle, making a T, toe pointing out.
3. Lower it and drag it on its outside edge, pressing a little harder as you go.
4. Keep your shoulders and hips facing forward and your knees bent until you stop.
5. Repeat on the other foot: work both feet equally.

Common mistake: twisting the hips round towards the back foot, which turns you sideways instead of stopping you.

Two-foot hockey stop, parallel

Trains: the quick, full stop players use to change direction, stay with a check, or arrive at the puck under control.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on both feet with your knees bent.
2. Turn your hips and both blades together across the line of travel, keeping the blades parallel.
3. Sink your knees and lean back against the slide until you stop: the outside skate (the one that ends up leading) on its inside edge, the inside skate on its outside edge. Practise turning both ways.

Common mistake: turning only the shoulders or only one foot, so the blades end up at different angles and you skid round instead of stopping.

Two-foot hockey stop, side by side

Trains: a stable, strong stop with the feet split front to back, which keeps you balanced when stopping hard.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on both feet with your knees bent.
2. Turn both blades across the line of travel together, and split the feet into a scissor stance: inside skate further forward, towards where you are facing.
3. Sink your knees and lean back against the slide until you stop: the outside skate, on the side you are sliding towards, on its inside edge, and the inside skate on its outside edge. Practise turning both ways.

Common mistake: letting the feet come level, which turns it back into the parallel stop.

One-foot glide to one-foot stop, forwards, inside edge

Trains: balance and edge control to stop on one foot, so you can stop and push off again in one movement.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on your right foot with the left foot lifted beside it.
2. Turn your hips and the right blade across the line of travel, toe turning towards the lifted foot.
3. Sink the knee and press the inside edge until you stop, keeping the left foot off the ice.
4. Repeat on the other foot: work both feet equally.

Common mistake: putting the lifted foot down to save your balance, which turns it back into a two-foot stop.

One-foot glide to one-foot stop, forwards, outside edge

Trains: stopping on the outside edge of one foot, the edge you need to stop and go the other way in one movement.

1. On a clear patch, glide forward on your right foot with the left foot lifted.
2. Turn the right toe out to the right, so the right heel comes round in front of the left foot and the blade is across the line of travel.
3. Sink the knee and press the outside edge until you stop, keeping the left foot off the ice.
4. Repeat on the other foot: work both feet equally.

Common mistake: leaning the upper body forward over the stopping foot, so the outside edge slips out.

One-foot glide to one-foot stop, backwards

Trains: stopping when skating backwards, which defencemen and anyone covering an attacker need before they can push forward again.

1. Check behind you, then skate backwards and glide on your right foot with the left foot lifted.
2. Turn the right toe out and the heel in.
3. Bend the knee and press the blade outwards on its inside edge so it scrapes the ice until you stop.
4. Repeat on the other foot: work both feet equally.

Common mistake: leaning back over the heels, so the blade slides out from under you.

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4. Off-ice stick work

In short: Head up, a smooth surface, little and often.

By coaching consensus, stickhandling is the off-ice skill that carries over best, alongside wall passing (Practice and Development).

• Keep your head up on every rep. Watch the television or call out numbers on a wall. Head-down reps at home become the habit that shows up in games.
• Use a smooth surface — a shooting pad, tiles or a smooth floor, not carpet. A ball builds soft hands; a puck sliding on a smooth surface is closer to the real thing, so use both.
• Little and often. Short, focused sessions most days beat a long one once a week. Leave the pad and a ball where you walk past them.
• Pass against a wall or a rebounder, half on the backhand. It gives you hundreds of receptions in ten minutes.
• Shoot off a pad, not concrete. Concrete wrecks the blade and teaches you to chop at the puck.
• Check the space yourself: room from people, windows and glass, safe footing, and an adult watching a child.

Puck Handling has the kit, a starter set of drills and a way to make each one harder.

5. Off-ice exercises

In short: Follow Conditioning and Recovery for any programme.

Off-ice training doesn't teach skating, but it removes the limits that stop you doing it: single-leg strength, ankle stability and hip mobility. Skating names the most useful work, and Conditioning and Recovery sets out a realistic week.

• Warm up first. Conditioning and Recovery has a ten-to-fifteen-minute warm-up.
• Get coached on the lifts before you add weight.
• Build up gradually. Going from nothing to a full programme in a week is, in coaches' experience, a common way for adults to get hurt.
• Young players: see Youth Players. Get qualified coaching before a young player lifts at all.

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Common Mistakes

• Cruising easy laps at a public session. Spend the time on edges, turns and stops; if you go round, do it on crossovers, more in your weaker direction.
• Only practising your good side. Do every one-foot drill on both feet and every turn both ways, and give the weaker one more.
• Timid edges. A flat blade teaches nothing. Once you have the shape, push hard.
• Looking at your skates. Your weight goes forward and the blade flattens. Keep your head up.
• Jumping, sprinting or skating backwards in a busy session. Look first, and use a clear patch of a quiet one, if the posted rules allow it.
• Doing this work without a helmet. Edges, jumps, backward skating, hard stops and sharp turns all end in falls while you learn them.
• Trying a dozen drills once. Pick two or three and do them well.
• Stickhandling at home with your head down. It builds the habit you'll have in games.
• Going from nothing to a full off-ice programme in a week. Build up gradually.

Check yourself

Five optional questions — skip to the Key Takeaways if you prefer. Try each before you check. The section to check is named with each.

1. The public session is packed. What kind of drills do you do, and which do you save for a quieter one? (§1)
2. You have thirty minutes of ice. What do you do first? (§2)
3. In the inside-edge drill your skate skids and you hardly move. What are you doing wrong? (§3, One-foot edges)
4. What is the difference between a forward anchor and a forward soft drag? (§3, Turns)
5. Name two things to sort out before you stickhandle at home. (§4)

Key Takeaways

1. At a public session, skip the easy laps. Work on edges, turns and stops; if you go round, use crossovers, more in your weaker direction.
2. Thirty minutes of ice? Edges first, while you are fresh, then crossovers, stops and starts, and turns. At stick-and-puck, do it all again with a puck.
3. One side weaker? Do every one-foot drill on both feet and every turn both ways, and give the weaker one more.
4. New drill? Learn it slowly, then do it hard where you have room. A timid edge on a flat blade teaches nothing.
5. Reaching down to touch the ice or your skate? Keep your head up.
6. Session busy? Do the slow drills. Save jumps, backward work and hard starts and stops for a clear patch of a quiet session, if the posted rules allow them, and look before you move. Wear a helmet for all of this work, edges included, and in Britain a neck guard every time you skate.
7. Fell and might be concussed? Stop for the day, tell someone, and don't go home alone or drive yourself. Don't skate again until a medical professional clears you, even if you feel fine.
8. At home, stickhandle with your head up, little and often, and follow Conditioning and Recovery for strength work.

Sources — retrieved 28 October 2026

Drills: Hockey Tutorial — Must have skating technique - Punch Turn Tutorial, 1:12–3:43, the chapters from the T-stop drill to the figure-eight turn drill — the four-step punch-turn progression · Hockey Tutorial — Master The Elite Mohawk Turn in 15 Minutes, 13:30–14:01 — the shoulder turn and jump in the stepping mohawk. The other drills are coaching craft.

Elsewhere on this site: the guidance on practice, off-ice transfer, equipment, falling, concussion and training is taken from Skating, Equipment, Puck Handling, Practice and Development, Conditioning and Recovery, Getting Started and Finding More Ice, whose own Sources sections list where it comes from.

James Bloom, "Practising on Your Own", Learning to Play the Game. https://learn-ice-hockey.com/off-the-ice/practising_on_your_own/ — licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

<a href="https://learn-ice-hockey.com/off-the-ice/practising_on_your_own/">Practising on Your Own</a> by <a href="https://github.com/jamesdbloom">James Bloom</a>, licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC 4.0</a>.

@misc{off-the-ice-practising-on-your-own,
  author  = {James Bloom},
  title   = {Practising on Your Own},
  howpublished = {Learning to Play the Game},
  url     = {https://learn-ice-hockey.com/off-the-ice/practising_on_your_own/},
  note    = {Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0}
}