Fresh Meat: Week Three

At gym this week, I somehow managed to offend a muscle at the back of my leg.  It wasn't bad, just stiff.  Then, on Thursday morning, I went to the post office to fetch my books for varsity and slipped on the stairs and managed to upset the muscle even more.  So much more, that I limped around the office for the rest of the day.  Long story short, I decided that skating (and falling) on Thursday night would've been a poor choice and instead came home to study.  Seeing that I don't really have an update to share, I thought I'd give you guys an idea of the some of the skills that we need to learn in order to be considered bout ready.  First up, Basic Skating Skills:

Skating Posture

• Bends at knees and hips with shoulders back.
• Demonstrates stability, with centre of gravity down and forward.
• Demonstrates ability to skate low with bent, flexible knees.

Stride

• Uses steady, confident, fluid strides. 
• Uses both feet to push forward on straightaways. 
• Shifts weight completely from foot to foot without stumbling.

Crossovers

• Performs smooth crossovers while skating straightaways and track turns. 
• Uses both feet to push during crossovers. 
• Performs reverse crossovers, crossing over the right foot to the outside of the track.

Speed and Endurance

• Skates at least 27 laps around regulation track within five minutes.
• Accelerates from a standstill to complete one lap within 13 seconds.

Stops

• Skater must come to a complete stop from a brisk pace within 4 seconds using proper form and without losing balance.

T-stop

• Balancing weight on one leg, other foot is turned at a 90 degree angle so the heel or arch of the turned foot is aligned with the heel of the other foot.
• Maintaining balance on one leg, applies smooth pressure with the turned foot using the two outside wheels, the two front wheels or all four wheels (does not use only the two inside wheels).

Plow Stop

• Turns one or both feet so toes are pointing in and heels are pointing out.
• Upon completion of stop, feet are in a position that would allow resumed skating (feet are not spread so wide apart that skater must adjust stance before resuming skating).

Other Skating Skills

• Performs one-foot glides with each foot for the length of the track turn and straightaway with good balance.
• In low stance with one foot completely off the floor, able to balance weight over the other foot for at least 5 seconds.
• Maintains speed sufficient to complete glide and does not flail limbs.
• Propels self while keeping all eight wheels on the floor.
• Moves easily and fluidly from one side of the track to the other.
• Performs smooth, quick lateral cuts, crossing the track at least four times on each straightaway and at least three times on each track turn.
• Backwards skating within track boundaries.
• Maintains moderate pace skating backward around the entire track.

This is just a small sample of what I need to perfect over the next three months.  You can view the full list of skills here if you are interested.