(SPOILERS) Maybe figure skaters should take hockey lessons!

[Query]

WARNING: THIS THREAD CONTAINS SPOILERS!

It mentions the placement of ex-hockey players who figure skated at USFSA nationals.

[Query]

A lot of hockey players are told (frequently by figure skating coaches, BTW) that they should take figure skating, to learn better edges, and maybe some other things.

Maybe it should really be the other way round! 

At USFSA Nationals, the TV sportscaster mentioned that a lot of the male freestyle skaters at that competition were hockey players first.

E.g., the first place winner switched to figure skating because a fracture in the back made him unfit to play hockey.

(Now he does quads - is that really so much more gentle than hockey? Maybe there are just no doctors with the authority to stop would-be figure skaters, the way there are for many hockey teams...)

The 2nd place winner switched because Vermont, his original home state, had a lot more hockey players than figure skaters, so he figured he had a better chance of doing well.

In other words, they couldn't make the grade in hockey, so they became figure skaters, and took the top two places at U.S. Nationals.

(I don't really believe Hockey is desirable for figure skaters. This post was just for fun. Sorry. But it sure looks that way.)

[platyhiker]

the first place winner switched to figure skating because a fracture in the back made him unfit to play hockey.

(Now he does quads - is that really so much more gentle than hockey? Maybe there are just no doctors with the authority to stop would-be figure skaters, the way there are for many hockey teams...)

In hockey, hard body checks from other players and being slammed into the boards puts a lot of sideways stress on the body core.  It may be that the vertical stresses of jump landings are more manageable for his injury.  Plus, he's able to control how much jumping he does and back off it he feels he is over doing it.  (You can't control how hard other players slam into you.)


It's neat to hear that some hockey players are considering the wider world of skating and trying out figure skating.  At my rink there is a good skater on hockey skates who loves to spin - I'm surprised he doesn't try out figure skating.  He also does lovely, strong power pulls and good edge work.

[Query]

In fairness, I don't know if he still has a bone fracture. In the movies, you can go from playing hockey to becoming a USFSA national champion in months, but it may have taken him a little longer in real life. But what you are saying makes sense.

What really struck me was that out of about 10 or 11 male U.S. freestyle skaters at the recent U.S. Nationals that NBC Sports profiled, about 5 (I didn't count exactly) started out in hockey. Weird.

Could there be towns where most boys play hockey when they are young - before they have had a chance to decide what they want to do? That would help explain crossover.

[TreSk8sAZ]

The current champion is a former clubmate, he grew up here. We have a HUGE hockey program throughout the 7 rinks available, so tons of boys play hockey. Multiple kinds from free kids leagues, in house, travel, high school and elite hockey. However, in the summer, not really any hockey at all. His older sister (a former senior pairs skater) skated and his mom decided if he wanted to keep skating in the summer, he needed to do figure skating since that's really all that was available. He's such a great kid, worked really hard at both sports for a long time, and was a very good hockey player as well. I'm guessing each of the others have similar stories.

[Skittl1321]

Charlie White did an interview with Skating Magazine and he was asked what off-ice sport he'd play if he couldn't do anything on ice and he said "roller hockey".  I know he played hockey for a long time before he finally started concentrating on ice dance (he did both).  Sounds like if the ice melted, he'd go back to hockey and not to ballroom!

[irenar5]

What really struck me was that out of about 10 or 11 male U.S. freestyle skaters at the recent U.S. Nationals that NBC Sports profiled, about 5 (I didn't count exactly) started out in hockey. Weird. 

It does not seem surprising to me at all.  Afterall they were boys and there are a lot more boys playing hockey, just as there are a lot more girls figure skating.

[iomoon]

Yeah... I witnessed some hockey skaters attempt spinning, waltz jumps and spirals. Kudos to them, because doing it on their skates is hard!