1-knee ideas

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>
> I gave this some fresh thought when I started coaching our Wreckers
(recreational) league a few months back.
>
> The group is a very wide range of ability: occasional retired superstars,
promising fresh meat getting extra skating, low-key casual derby girls and a
weekly influx of walk-ins who sometimes take minutes to make one lap around the
outside of the track. My main concern was focused on keeping the new girls from
getting into the habit of slamming their knees down when falling. No matter
what knee pads you get, your knees won't last long.
>
> I came up with a great way to instill injury prevention muscle memory and an
incredible workout (even by travel team standards) into a falling drill.
>
> Slow motion falling.
>
> It's very simple. Everyone skates around the track randomly spaced out. A
more advanced group could do it in pack proximity.
>
> 1) The first stage, on the whistle, everyone _slowly_ drops a knee down to
touch the ground and _slowly_ (at the exact same speed) brings it back up while
continuing to skate. Alternate knees each whistle.
>
> Think of when you were a kid and acted out slow motion scenes in movies. It's
like that. There should NEVER be the smack of a kneepad hitting the ground
during any stage of this drill. Be sure no one is jumping back up after
touching a knee. Slo-o-o-o-o-w motion rising back up too.
>
> 2) Next stage is rockstar stops. (stopping on both knees) Same thing, but
first one knee, then the other. Each knee should move towards the ground at the
same slow motion speed. Getting up should be at regular speed.
>
> 3) Last stage is small falls. First one knee, then the other, then the
hands/elbows. Getting up at regular speed.
>
> Here are some important guidelines for this drill:
>
> It's never good to do a repetitive exercise where you are standing up from a
squat that starts with your thigh less than parallel to the ground. It puts too
much strain on the patella tendon and will increase the likelihood of knee
injury over time. (ie: correct form for bench squats)
>
> At the same time you want to jump up as fast as you can from knee slides and
falls to rejoin the pack. This drill gives an excellent opportunity to create a
habit that helps with that.
>
> When coming back up from the knee touches I instruct the girls to place both
hands on top of the thigh of the leg that's still skating and push themselves
up, taking the load off the leg and knee.
>
> When coming back up from the knee fall or small fall I have them put one skate
forward, even with the knee that's still bent/kneeling on the ground, toe stop
and front two wheels firmly planted. Then they place both hands on top of the
thigh of that leg and push up strongly while jumping up and forward with the toe
stop. In the same continuous motion, they jump forward with the other toe stop
and perhaps again on the one they started with. In a 2-3 step quick motion they
will be back up to full pack speed and back in play. The other upside for the
habit of using the arms to get up from falls is the legs will last longer during
a bout after repeated falls.
>
> Try doing this drill for 10 straight minutes and see how many days your legs
are sore for.
>
> Doc Holiday
> Rose City Rollers