Hello, my name is Dwayne Blais, and welcome to the National Skill Development Association. Today, we’re going to break down how to perform one-legged stops, whether it’s on your inside edge or outside edge. We had a great question from ebeckable on YouTube who asked, “Can you make a step-by-step video on how to stop one-footed on the outside edge?”
Learning the one-legged stop is a great skill for young players or beginners to learn. The better you get on your edges, or using those feet to stop—especially with one foot—now you can add that skill to more complex skills. And that’s the way the player is going to get better.
In this video, we’re going to show how to teach this simple skill. Then we will show how to use it with other skills as we progress. Hockey is evolving and players are getting better. We’re seeing a lot more players using inside/outside edges to make quick maneuvers. Whether it’s a quick turn, a tight turn, or a cutback, there are a lot of different ways.
Skills You Need to Perform an Inside Edge Fake
When dealing with young players, getting them to be good on their inside and outside edges is obviously crucial. We have simple things like using our inside edge here, or our outside edge coming around on our outside edge. Those are all excellent ideas and concepts that kids need to understand.
As we get more advanced, we want to try to get them to stop on one foot and slow down. This way we can add speed changes, cutbacks, or different things to their game. It involves coming in, turning their foot on that inside edge, or turning their foot more on the outside edge. Today, we will talk a bit about that, break it down, and see how to teach this to young players.
How to Practice
If you have young players on the goal line or a blue line coming up to an area where you’d like them to stop, we want them to do the same thing we do with a two-legged stop. We always talk about being on the ball of our foot, and we want players to be there. Little things, like maintaining a neutral position over both blades and then turning that foot and riding on the outside edge as they come to a stop, make a huge difference.
How Will This Improve Your Game
Now, how does this translate into gameplay? It’s great for players to learn better balance and control of their feet and their bodies as they’re skating. Simple drills, like setting up cones in a zig-zag pattern, can help players get comfortable with one-legged stops. You can have them practice using both their inside and outside edges.
When to use an Inside Edge Fake
When do we use these one-foot stops in a game? Players might use them when attacking the net or in maneuvers like Jam Turns or cutbacks. Breaking down the skill is essential, and once players understand and feel comfortable with inside and outside edges, they can apply that to different skills and more complex drills as they progress.
Working on skills, like a one-foot stop using our inside and outside edge, is a fundamental skill for young players or beginners to learn. Once they master it, it will be a huge advantage, allowing them to apply these techniques in more complex situations as they continue to grow and develop in the sport.
Want to connect and share ideas with other hockey coaches from around the world? Join our Minor Hockey Coaches Group on Facebook, which has coaches from Canada, the United States, Europe and even Australia.
Looking for help to practice more of your skills? Check out the rest of our videos here.
