The New Power Skating: Your Key to Better Hockey

Glynn A. Leyshon is a professor of physical education at the University
of Western Ontario, a former weekly columnist for the London Free Press
and author of 18 Sporting Stories.

Whether pro, amateur, or tyro, this book has something for every hockey player. Most active hockey players, however, would probably be unwilling to sit for the length of time necessary to read through the 12 short chapters in Wild’s publication even though they are quite readable.

Wild, a teacher of power skating to hockey players for the past 25 years, has synthesized his teaching into that which has been successful for him. Each chapter includes ample photos, what to avoid, and practice drills to develop the new skills. All very conventional.

What is unconventional is that Wild spends time with the text and photos detailing errors. Most teaching methods emphasize the positive rather than dwelling on the negative. Wild, perhaps because his experience indicates that it is necessary, takes pains to “unteach” poor skating habits before replacing them with new movement patterns.

There is some redundancy in the chapters, as separate headings such as “maneuverability” and “agility” suggest, but this may be unavoidable when detailing separate but similar parameters of skating.

By dropping names such as Gretzky, Orr, Hull, and Malovolich, the author subtly establishes his bona fides. He doesn’t need to. The book is well conceived and, as a how-to, is well written and well illustrated. For power skaters who aspire to the NHL there probably isn’t a better text available.