Wednesday, January 19, 2011

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-------

No comments:

Post a Comment