History....On Ice

This week we thought it would be appropriate to do a little history lesson! Let us take a look back over the years of some of the amazing talent that have called the International Skating Center of Connecticut home previously in their illustrious skating careers.

First up we have Shizuka Arakawa. So what does her name translate to? We have the answer! Shizuka translates to Prince while Arakawa translates to Hotels. Shizuka last skated at the International Skating Center of Connecticut three years ago where she skated just prior to competing in Turin, Italy at the Winter Olympic Games. Shizuka became the first female in Asia to win a gold medal when she skated a nearly flawless short and free-skating program. Shizuka skated under Nikolai Morozov when she practiced at I.S.C.C. who is a world renowned figure skating coach that has had the privilege of training many other Olympic and World Champion skaters. In addition, to becoming an Olympic Champion, Shizuka is the first Japanese skater to win both the World Championship and become an Olympic Champion.

www.shizuka-arakawa.com/english/profile/index.html

Second, the well known Scott Davis skated at the International Skating Center of Connecticut during the best time of his career, 1993 and 1994. Davis really helped to make a name for the rink that we all call “home” today and paved the way for many other skaters to aspire to what he completed in the figure skating world. Scott Davis is the 1993 and 1994 U.S. Men’s Figure Skating National Champion and placed 8^th in the Winter Olympics of 1994. While training at I.S.C.C. Scott was coached by Galina Zmievskaya. Currently, Scott Davis is the Director of Skating at the Calalta Figure Skating Club.

www.davissportsenterprises.com/content/dse-skating/skating-instructors  

 

Third we have a pairs team: Ilia Kulik and Ekaterina Gordeeva. Okay, so ladies first right? Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva is a two time Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion. In addition Ekaterina is a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Ilia Kulik is the 1988 Olympic Champion, 1995 European Champion, 1997-1998 Grand Prix Final Champion and the 1995 World Junior Champion. Together the married couple skate as a pairs team and tour on such shows as: Stars on Ice. Regarding I.S.C.C., the pair has come and starred in our Winter Fantasy on Ice, New Years figure skating show and put on clinics throughout the year to pass on their skills to up and coming figure skaters. Ilia and Ekaterina have passed skating tips, tricks and guidance to many of our young skaters for years in the past and currently at our Summer of Gold, figure skating camp.

http://www.kuliksskating.com/index.php

The International Skating Center of Connecticut truly lives up to our name: “The Worlds Home Ice” as we have demonstrated through having professional figure skaters utilize our facility from three different countries on their way to winning medals in the Olympics, World Championships and other distinct nominations/awards.

 

 

Off Season....Off Ice....

The International Skating Center of Connecticut is committed to training on and off the ice. With our full gym on the second floor of our facility we feel that it is important to stay fit at all times. Our Ben Smith Hockey Camp is kicking-off next week which features a daily session of off-ice training. Hockey season has been over for a few months now, and will be beginning within the next two months. It is important to workout on a regular basis when you cannot get practice time on the ice. This week we will be reviewing a few ways to stay fit during the hockey off season to help you prepare the hockey season right around the corner and perhaps preview what you might find if you’re attending Ben Smith’s Hockey Camp.

An average hockey player plays roughly 15-20 minutes of a 60-minute hockey game per HockeyMonkey.com which means it is most important to do cardiovascular training. Cardiovascular training is a great exercise for anybody; however it is especially good for a hockey player because it builds stamina which is needed during a fast paced shift during a hockey game (usually less than one minute per shift). According to BodyForLife.com cardiovascular training can be done in a multitude of different ways, such as: jogging, running, biking, swimming, elliptical, stairs and even a jump rope. I recommend doing a cardiovascular workout four to five times a week for roughly twenty minutes as this is the amount of time you will be playing in a given hockey game.

The second recommendation for an off season type of workout would be to do a strength training exercise. Warning! This is not a weight bearing exercise. So then what is strength training? Strength training is: “using his/her body weight to provide the resistance” states HockeyMonkey.com. So if you can’t use weights, what should you do to become strong? Well  there is a ton of options. If you have ever seen the Biggest Loser, then you will know a lot of these. Examples of strength training consist of: wall sits, squats, lunges, push-ups and sit-ups. Again, I recommend that you do twenty minutes of this type of workout between four and five times a weeks. I guarantee that you will feel these exercises the next day so be sure to stretch out before and after each session. After your strength training is done you could also do a twenty minutes session of lifting weights. Do not go crazy though, most off season injuries are due to weight bearing exercise that is done too much and too quickly. The key here is to limit yourself and take it easy.

While we are talking about stretching, I am going to wrap up this weeks posts talking about how flexibility will help you in your hockey career. A hockey player lives and dies on his or her range of motion, so what should you do? The answer is to stretch your muscles prior to doing any workout and after every work out. According to USA Hockey Magazine, flexibility is achieved in two ways, “static stretching (after workout) is your resting range of motion while dynamic (before workout) stretching is your active range of motion.”

Sources:

http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2008-09/four-weeks-better-player

http://www.hockeymonkey.com/article-staying-fit-in-the-off-season.html

http://bodyforlife.com/library/exercise/cardio

Figure Skaters….What do you eat?

So now we all know that figure skater can do some amazing things on ice: Loops, Axels and Solchows. In fact that was Ilya Kulik and Katerina Goreava, who have made the International Skating Center home in the past and present. But the real question is what do figure skaters eat to be so fit to be able to do such amazing tricks? Well that is why I am here. I am going to answer that with a comprehensive look at what typical figure skaters daily meal plan looks like!

Let us start with that most important meal of the day, breakfast. Breakfast also happens to be my favorite meal too but we will not get into that! It is recommended that if you want to be a serious figure skater that you need to have fiber in your meal plan throughout the day. So what better way to have fiber in the morning than with fruit? Fruit is packed with fiber and comes in a ton of varieties including juices. What if you’re not really a fruit kind of person though? Well that is okay because many types of cereal also has fiber in it. Calcium is also important in the morning, so grab your cereal and poor it into a nice bowl of milk.

Here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut our competitive figure skaters tend to skate at least one morning session of our Open Freestyle sessions. After a good hard morning skate it is essential to keep those energy levels high and again have a piece of fruit or some bread to serve as a snack between breakfast and lunch.

So now that the clock has finally struck 12:00 and my stomach is growling it must be time for lunch! So let us ditch the fruit idea for a little while here and try making a sandwich. Of course start with your two pieces of bread (pick your favorite kind) and then put on your usual lettuce and tomato to get some vegetables in your body. Now here is the important part, the meat on the sandwich is recommended to be turkey because it gives the skater added energy and protein. The added energy from the turkey is needed to once again skate another thirty minutes to one hour session on ice in the early afternoon.

After that mid-afternoon Free Style session is over it is once again time to have a snack. You can copy the same procedure as the morning snack or even substitute a yogurt with fruit in it for a little variety in your day.

So now that you’re home and ready for dinner it is important to take care of your body. The best way to do that is to have a lean protein, such as chicken, fish or steak and many recommend a potato. First, the meat will allow you to repair all your muscles that you worked throughout the whole day and give your body another boost of protein. Second, potatoes are recommended to help store energy for the following day. Since, most of our regular customers skate multiple times a day, usually a morning, early afternoon and late afternoon session it is important to continually replenish energy levels throughout the day.

Now I know it seems like I have gone over only a single day but a lot of items can be substituted day in and day out to add a little variety. An example would be to have a bagel instead of bread at breakfast or to have peanut butter to boost protein and energy levels.

If you have your own recommendations as to what you personally do or perhaps some substitutes for our readers please post them here!

 

http://figureskating.about.com/od/figureskatingparents/qt/diet.htm

http://btc.montana.edu/olympics/nutrition/profile03.html

 

Tips to Purchasing a New Pair of Ice Hockey Skates

It must be that time of year again, did your foot grow? Did you kids feet grow? Well you must be in the market for a new pair of ice hockey skates. Perhaps some tips would help guide you through choosing from the large variety of companies and models.

So let’s start off with you! What is your foot like?

If it is narrow then the majority of pro-shops will recommend a Bauer/Nike ice hockey skate. But what if your foot is well, average? Then you might be recommended to look at Easton skates. Lastly, if you happen to have wider feet then a CCM ice hockey skate might be the way to go for comfort. (www.GrowtheGame.com)

Everyone loves a comfortable skate, but there are a few tips to try an achieve this goal. The first is you have to wear the socks you are planning on wearing to a game or a practice when trying on a skate. If you are wearing regular street socks then you are not providing an accurate mapping of your foot. Second, try not to buy the skates online. Most people will say they can find the same thing online cheaper, however when buying skates this is not the route to go. Skates can be heat molded to your foot by almost any pro-shop, even here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut’s, J.A.M. Pro-Shop. The low heat “oven” takes roughly fifteen minutes to “bake” a skate and then an additional fifteen minutes to mold to your foot. This will slash the break-in time of a new pair of skates by a large margin and increase the likelihood that the skate will feel comfortable.   (www.proicehockey.about.com)

The last recommendation that I have to share with you to identify what the intended use of the skate will be. If you are going to be utilizing the skates primarily for public skates, then a recreational skate might be the best. Recreational skates are usually less expensive models but come with the same name brand that all skaters are familiar with (i.e. Reebok, CCM, Easton, etc.). However, if you are going to be skating a season of forty games or more then it is appropriate to purchase what are known as “competitive hockey skates” (Hockey Giant). Competitive hockey skates are the premier models that one season NHL players and are usually nearly double the cost of the recreational hockey skate. Once again these are the same brand names that every hockey player is used to but the protection, comfort and light weight technology separates these skates from the rest. (www.hockeygiant.com)

I hope these few tips helped you out in purchasing your new hockey skates, and remember right here at the International Skating Center of Connecticut you can buy any model out there through our J.A.M. Pro-Shop. So get out there and look around, then stop in and purchase your next skates right here!

Take a look at this video too – of the Top-10 Hockey Skates for 2013!

Come Beat the Summer HEAT!

Wow it is hot outside these days. Do you want a great place to cool off? Pool and Beaches too crowded?

 

Let’s beat the summer heat! The International Skating Center of Connecticut is open year round and is a great way to beat the muggy weather that we have had this July.

The International Skating Center of Connecticut is a world class, twin rink, training facility located in Simsbury, CT.

The International Skating Center has one Olympic ice rink and one NHL regulation ice rink.

With our dual ice surfaces, weight training/fitness room and ballet/dance studio, our skaters can participate in comprehensive training.

The facility is also home to the J.A.M. Pro-Shop and the Sk8ters Café, a full service restaurant featuring rink-side dining.

Come join us on the ice and see why so many National, International, Olympic and World Champions have made us the “Worlds Home Ice.”

 

 

Please feel free to visit us at:

Our webpage: www.ISCCSkate.com  

Our Twitter page: www.twitter.com/ISCCSkateCT

Our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/International-Skating-Center-of-Connecticut/157561344267327