Laura Stamm's Power Skating » (Original)

Internationally renowned power skating coach Laura Stamm has been coaching hockey players for more than 38 years. She is recognized as the pioneer of modern power skating in North America. The first woman ever to coach a major league professional hockey player, Stamm showed the hockey world how important skating technique is to a hockey player’s success.

Stamm has taught at hockey schools throughout the United States and Canada. She has worked with college and youth hockey players, U.S. Olympic team members, and professional players, including many NHL stars. Several of her former students went on to become NHL coaches and general managers. Laura has also taught thousands of minor league pro and amateur players how to increase their speed, agility, and efficiency on the ice.

Stamm has worked with the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders, and the New Jersey Devils, and the Atlanta (now Calgary) Flames. Her Power Skating System has been employed by prestigious hockey teams around the world.

Stamm has conducted power skating clinics throughout the United States and Canada since 1973. She has personally trained and certified her own team of instructors who teach her Power Skating System worldwide.

In addition to authoring three books and numerous articles on hockey skating, Stamm has been a frequent speaker at coaches’ symposiums, camps, and conventions around the world. In 2006 she was the featured presenter at the USA Hockey Level 5 Coaching Certification Symposium.

In January 2007, Laura was featured in USA Hockey Magazine as one of the top women working in hockey. In 2009, Laura was nominated for induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

A champion athlete in ice dancing and tennis, Stamm majored in physiology at Cornell University and taught high school biology and physics. In 1971 she became a power skating coach at a summer hockey school directed by then-NHL stars Rod Gilbert and Brad Park. She went on to coach rookie New York Islander star Bob Nystrom. Her enormous success with him led to coaching assignments with other teams in the NHL and WHA (World Hockey Association), thus beginning her long career in hockey.

Stamm lives in Anchorage, Alaska.

Develop the explosive acceleration, speed, and agility necessary for success in hockey. Laura Stamm’s Power Skating presents the techniques and drills that she has used to train some of the top professional teams and players. With over 300 detailed skill-demonstration photographs and illustrations, this is the perfect resource for all levels.

Foreword vi

Prefacae vii

Acknowledgements x

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 Skates and Equipment for Superior Skating 1

Chapter 2 Balance for stability and Speed 11

Chapter 3 Force Application for Explosive Speed 33

Chapter 4 Forward Stride for a More Aggressive Attack 41

Chapter 5 Backward Stride for Mobility on Defense 79

Chapter 6 Crossovers for Acceleration on Curves 99

Chapter 7 Explosive Starts for Gaining the Advantage 141

Chapter 9 Turns and Transition for Multidirectional Moves 189

Chapter 10 Agility for Maximum Coverage of the Ice 223

Chapter 11 Training and Conditioning for Faster, More Powerful Skating 241

Afterword 265

Glossary 266

Bibliography and Suggested Reading 268

About the Author 269