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Can a kid be a great skater but have slow acceleration??
Can a kid be a great skater but have slow acceleration??
A question for the more experienced people around here, my son is 9 and is a great skater for his age, when he wheels, there is no one faster than him probably in his league (AAA) maybe a few kids as fast. (Remember I'm just stating what I see) but when he goes from a stop position he is average to below average. Can he work on this and what should he work on to gain that speed from a stopped positon.
A question for the more experienced people around here, my son is 9 and is a great skater for his age, when he wheels, there is no one faster than him probably in his league (AAA) maybe a few kids as fast. (Remember I'm just stating what I see) but when he goes from a stop position he is average to below average. Can he work on this and what should he work on to gain that speed from a stopped positon.
Thanks for your advice
Since we are talking about 9 year olds at a AAA level, i'm just assuming that they have great coaching and conditioning and so on.
So i'll ask the most obvious question...
Is your son taller than most kids on his team. In general, most shorter players have quicker acceleration than taller players since their strides are shorter. However, taller players while having slower acceleration are faster skaters since they can make longer more powerful strides.
Its not true in all cases, but when you have 9 year olds, who all grow and develop at a different rate, i'm guessing it just might be a size issue.
Quick acceleration calls for short strides and quick feet. Top end speed is longer strides that are more focused on power. The technique for each is quite different.
My son is 7 and he is the opposite. He is the quickest skater on his team with short powerful strides but there are a couple of kids who are much faster top speed. We work on him lengthening his stride to improve his speed every time we are on the ice.
sorry for the late reply, my kid is of average height, so not that tall. He is a great skater, but his take off speed is slow, I just need to know what he needs to do to get faster, or is it just age, and it all changes later
He needs to do explosive exercises. He is too young to go to the gym, but the most effective thing for him to help him accelerate faster: Sprints up hills.
You will see a huge improvement his is acceleration after he does these for a few weeks/months.
The steeper the better, it can be a grass hill or something, doesn't matter.
i know your kid is nine and you dont want to be forcing them into exercses or weight training at that age so turn the simple exercises into fun games. i always get my kids to have wheel barrow races around the house, i hold their legs and they walk on their hands, it is fun for both of us but it also helps their bodies develop core strength as well as arm strength. im sure there are lots you could do with the legs as well.
Well, no he isn't a good skater. Alot of kids at that age aren't the best at something but they can fly. So they may have weak edges or like your son weak acceleration. If that doesn't improve his game will start to decline around peewee and bantam when the game is more about passing and less about individuals skating the puck up.
And you have to remember that the players in the NHL that have slower acceleration are still EXCEPTIONAL skaters. Even some of the grinders (chris neil) lead there teams in scoring at some point in their career. The worst hockey player in the NHL is still an incredible player, minus biznasty.
Well, no he isn't a good skater. Alot of kids at that age aren't the best at something but they can fly. So they may have weak edges or like your son weak acceleration. If that doesn't improve his game will start to decline around peewee and bantam when the game is more about passing and less about individuals skating the puck up.
And you have to remember that the players in the NHL that have slower acceleration are still EXCEPTIONAL skaters. Even some of the grinders (chris neil) lead there teams in scoring at some point in their career. The worst hockey player in the NHL is still an incredible player, minus biznasty.
When he gets strenght to his feets acceleration will improve. When he starts to go gym he should focus legs but not too much 'coz that would be harmful to overall speed.
By definition, he cant be a great skater with slow acceleration. Its something that may come along as he gets older and stronger though. If you have him focus on improving the strength of his legs and his foot speed his acceleration may improve though.
