US Junior Nationals

I returned home yesterday from a two day trip to Lake Placid for the US Junior Nationals. As ususal, Lake Placid puts on a great, organized competition. It has also been my favorite place for skating since I competed in my younger days! I had the opportunity to spend time sharing a table with David Lipetz, a physical therapist and creator of "The Off-Ice Edge Trainer." While promoting Sk8Strong DVDs and my site, I was able to test out the Off-Ice Edge with my own skates on. It is a great product! For those of you who are not familiar with it (as it has only been available for two months), it consists of an angled platform and two poles. A skater stands on the various angled surfaces with his/her skates on and uses the poles to balance. From there, a skater can perform various exercises in the skates while simulating each edge (FO, FI, BO, BI). I was able to mimic jump takeoffs, stroking, landing positions, and spin positions while receiving immediate feedback from David regarding my body alignment. Although this tool is expensive, it is worth the return you will get with improved jump, spin, and overall skating performance. I plan to use the Off-Ice Edge with my students and incorporate it into my off-ice training routines. My Lake Placid trip was a success, as I was able to meet a lot of great people in the skating community and share my philosphies about off-ice training. Thanks to all of the coaches who take the time to educate themselves about correct exercise training in order to improve their students' skating. Check out the icenetwork.com for pictures and comments in the US Juniors diary Thursday gallery. Last but not least, congrats to all of the wonderful skaters who worked very hard to make it to Lake Placid. And congrats to Ainsley McGill, Juvenile girls silver medalist, from my home rink in Connecticut!