9781422274804

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CHAPTER

SKATING

The game of hockey comes in a few different formats. There is field hockey, which is played using a hard, solid, plastic ball outdoors on large fields that are a little smaller than a soccer field. Then there is ball hockey, which is played on a surface made of hard modular plastic in regular-sized hockey rinks. Players use hard plastic balls, some of which are filled with a liquid that won’t freeze in cold weather. Ball hockey is one of several variations of street hockey. The biggest difference between any of these other formats and ice hockey is that they are played while standing or running with your feet on solid ground rather than balancing on two thin steel blades. Ice is the element that defines the sport, and skating is the skill that puts it a level above other formats and other sports. Certainly all sports require varying amounts of running, balance, agility, and hand-eye coordination, but not while balancing on a slippery surface. Skating adds that extra level of difficulty that other sports do not have. So how exactly can a 200 lb. (90 kg) man balance on a pair of skates? He uses science.

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