Marching on skates teaches kids to pick up the feet, not shuffle. A shuffler stays in one place. A marcher moves. This drill is the bridge from glide to stride.
What you need: Full hockey gear, an ice rink.
Setup: Kid at one end of the ice. Cone or marker at the other end (about 20 feet away).
How to run it:
- Cue: knees up like you’re marching in a parade.
- Kid lifts one knee to belt height, plants the foot back down on the ice.
- Lifts the other knee. Plant.
- Continue marching across to the cone.
- Walk back to the start. Do 4 trips.
What to watch: Are the knees actually lifting? Some kids will fake it and just shuffle. Tell them: “Your knee should touch your hand.”
If they’re struggling: Slow it down. Or hold a milk crate for balance.
If they’ve got it: March faster. Or add a glide between each march step (march, march, glide, march, march, glide).