High-Performance Skating for Hockey

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful for the first time skater.
Review: As a first time hockey player this book made all the difference! The book is set up in such a way that you can progress at a good pace. The instruction on stopping was worth (to me) the cost of the book. As I progress the other drills will help all areas of ones skating. This book I would recommend without hesitation.

Rating:
Summary: Good fundamentals
Review: Everyone who has played hockey knows that the most important aspect of the game is skating. This book and Laura Stamm's book on power skating are must reads for anyone seriously picking up hockey for the first time. Even players who have been slogging around the ice for some time will find his or her skating will improve after reading this book.

This book goes into step-by-step detail on forward stroking, backwards stroking, forward and backwards crossovers, hockey stops and transitions from forwards to backwards skating. If you read this book and practice hard you'll be the top player on your hockey team next season.

Rating:
Summary: Pales In Comparison To Laura Stamm's Power Skating
Review: This book was extremely disappointing. I expected a book similar to Laura Stamm's Power Skating book, which I already own. However, this book was not even close to the quality of Stamm's book.

My biggest complaint about Cady's book is the lack of detail the author gives about each skating technique. The book is very short and only takes a couple of hours to read. Most of the techniques are covered in about 1 page of text. Then some tips are given, covering about 1/2 page. Then several pages of drills are given. So very little info is given on the actual mechanics of each skating technique. All the techniqes are discussed in a very general sort of way, and all the details which are essential to mastering the technique are missing. Furthermore, the techniques are very hard to visualize since no illustrations at all are provided - only general photographs in which it is hard to see what the author is emphasizing.

If you really want to improve your skating, I would highly recommend Power Skating by Laura Stamm and Herb Brooks. Stamm's book is a masterpiece and goes into great detail on each skating technique. Best of all, Stamm's techniques are very intuitive, so it is easy to apply when you actually go on the ice. Stamm's book is filled with illustrations and detailed photos so that you clearly understand each technique. As soon as I started applying the skills I learned in Stamm's book my entire game improved dramatically. I've been skating for 20 years, and this is by far the best book to teach you how to skate like a pro.

Rating:
Summary: A tremendous resource for players and coaches!
Review: This was a difficult book to write because Steve Cady is such a perfectionist! But that's great news for you, because I believe that we have produced a very useful skating resource which is specific to the game of hockey. People in hockey circles know who Steve is because of the outstanding work he has done with countless professional players over the years. The information in this book is the same content that Steve uses with the pros, so you know that there is integrity in these pages. The response to this book has been truly gratifying as players and coaches become more aware of it. One hint...don't just read it and put it down. Refer to it often as it is packed with Steve's 30 plus years of coaching expertise. Hope you enjoy the read.

Kindest Regards, Vern Stenlund

Rating:
Summary: The best book I ever read
Review: When I started hockey I wanted to be very good. After my first hockey season I got this book in Toronto. I used this book over the summer and now I'm one of the two fastest players on my team. This book concentrates on key points like good form and bad form. I would recommed this book for anyone who wants to be better.