Bag the Bag skate.

Coaches often say to their players, "You get what you put in." This is true when it comes to the way players are trained. If we want faster players, we must train them that way.

"Bag skates", "ladders", "boards", are skating intervals often used to punish players for poor performance during practice. While it may send the message from coach to players that they are not performing, is it doing more harm than good? 
Hockey is an anaerobic game. Meaning, players usually take shifts for 30-60 seconds of high intensity before resting for 3-4 minutes (As opposed to soccer or basketball where players stay on the field for a much longer time).
Often times during these punishment skates, players are told to complete a task that does not transfer over to a true game condition. Players will often develop bad habits by hunching over, straightening their knees and shortening their stride. Worse, players are being conditioned to skate at less than full speed. 

If skating is the most important component in hockey, then why is it used as a punishment?

Now, I'm not being soft here. Players need to be held accountable. But is the bag skate the only way? Ice time is too valuable to waste by implementing poor habits. Perhaps an alternative form of consequence can be more effective and efficient.

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Determining the right hollow to skate at.

Traditionally, larger/heavier players have a shallow hollow to avoid sinking too deep into the ice. Conversely, smaller/lighter players skate with a deeper hollow.

A deeper hollow will sink deeper in the ice allowing for sharper turn, while skating with a shallow hollow will create less drag since the blades do not sink deep into the ice.

I have seen larger players skate at both shallow and deep hollows. The thinking behind skating with a deep hollow will allow powerful strides (think of a sprinter pushing off the blocks at the start of a race).

There really is no "right" or "wrong" blade hollow to skate at. It really comes down to player preference. The main thing to remember is that the hollow you skate at allows you to skate efficiently and with good habits.

Common Skate Hollows

DEEP HOLLOW ------------------------------------------------------> SHALLOW HOLLOW
----3/8----------7/16------------------1/2-------------------5/8-------------1-------

Balance- Multi tasking

Here is a great (and fun) off-ice exercise to develop both balance and stickhandling. Overloading the nervous system will help develop skills and awareness needed during the game.

Off-ice exercise doesn't have to be boring and repetitive. The best players in the game are hard working, but creative as well.

Find ways to be creative in your off-ice workouts to keep the game to what it's supposed to be...FUN!