This video offers coaches a quick fix on how to help their players become better on their outside edge. When we look at a hockey skate, we have two edges. We have our inside edge and our outside edge. The inside edge for most players is pretty easy; they skate off their inside edge when forward skating. But both of our edges are so important and that outside edge is oftentimes neglected as it’s a more difficult edge to learn, so a lot of times players don’t want to use it.
An easy way to work on that edge is by separating our edges. What I mean by that is, when you’re doing drills or you’re warming up at the beginning of practice – work on just your inside edge first. Even one leg at a time. And then doing the same thing but working on the outside edge – one leg at a time.
Looking at the outside edge, a lot of players don’t feel comfortable on it. And one of the biggest reasons why is their body position. So, we want to make sure that we go back to our Hockey Player Position, with our shoulders over our knees, and our knees over our toes. One thing they have a hard time with is leaning on that outside edge and trusting that edge.
Common Problems with the Outside Edge
- A lot of players will stand straight up and what will happen when they go around that cone, is their skate is going to slide out, almost like a hockey stop. As players are trying to get comfortable, tell them they can take the turn as wide as they want, we just want them to get on that edge properly.
- You may also have players that keep tapping their second foot back down onto the ice. That’s no problem, as they get more comfortable, they’ll be able to keep that foot up longer and longer.
- Often times we’ll see their weight off a bit and their foot is in the air, but it is in front of their body, which will cause them to lean back. We want that foot to be behind their body, so their weight is over top of their inside knee. This allows the player to keep their shoulders over their knees and their knees over their toes.
- We want players to lead with their heads, shoulders, and their stick into the turns to help them with their body control. If their head, shoulders, and stick are facing the other way, or their stick is trailing behind them, it will make it very hard for the player to maintain their balance through the turns.
Beginner Outside Edge Drill
Lay out a set of cones randomly around the ice, or in a zig-zag pattern down one side of the ice. Players will skate up to the cone, turning around the cone on our outside edge with only one foot on the ice. We want players to lift their second foot up behind their body to ensure that they are only using that inside foot’s edge. Have players continue down the ice through all of the cones alternating feet so they can practice the outside edges for both feet.
Advanced Outside Edge Drill
As players get more advanced on their outside edge, then we can challenge them a little bit more. A simple drill to practice more advanced edge skills is to practice C-cuts on the outside edge. While skating up ice, players skate on their right foot’s outside edge, carving the letter C into the ice. Once complete, they immediately switch to their left leg’s outside edge, carving a backward C into the ice. Continue this all the way down the ice. Don’t allow a player to land on their inside edge and then transfer their weight to the outside edge. We really want to focus on that outside edge and to gain the most strength on their outside edge, they need to land on their outside edge for this drill.
You can find more edging drills on Hockey Canada’s Drill Hub
Benefits of Strong Edges
The more players can get better on their outside edge, the better they will become at all their skills. So, if we think of a glide turn, with two feet on the ice, it won’t be a problem to glide on their outside edge and their inside edge in that turn, and they can explode out of that turn quickly. The more comfortable they are on that outside edge, the less you will see that foot slide out on a glide turn and the less you will see them lift their inside foot on the turn. We also want to make sure that they have a wide base in their glide turns so they can maintain better balance and control through the turn. It will also allow them to get a strong crossover when exiting their turn, off a strong outside edge.
Conclusion
When coaches are working on edge work with their team or their players, it’s really important to single out each edge as players are learning to use their edges.
As you’re going through, work on just your inside edge on your right foot, and then the inside edge on just your left foot. Then your outside edge on your right foot, then your outside edge on your left foot. And the more you can spend time singling out each edge, the better the player is going to get on those edges. They’re going to have a better understanding of how their body moves through each movement, and they’re also going to have better control of those edges as they are performing skills and drills. Once you bring them together for a cross-over or a glide turn, or whenever those edges are going to be required, the better they are going to be at performing those skills.
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Looking for help to practice more of your skills? Check out the rest of our videos here.
