Hockey Vs Figure Skating

The variety of sports which take place on ice are very limited. The main two sports that come to the general person’s mind are hockey and figure skating. Although those are the main two sports, forthrightly, hockey is much more popular than figure skating to Americans. In general, most people would rather go to a hockey game than a figure skating competition. A hockey game is a lot less complex than a figure skating competition, but people find hockey games more regaling. A hockey game consists of watching a team try to score goals against the opposing team, much like soccer but on ice with a hockey stick. On the other hand, a figure skating competition consists of a figure skater trying his or her best to make it through a four-minute program,

Sports players inure themselves to sometimes unpleasing diets and intense workouts to advance in the sport. Hockey has a decent amount of training time. Usually the hockey player will warm up for a hour to prevent injury. Next he or she skate for two hours, working on drills; this is for developing on ice skills. Then he or she will do strength and cardio conditioning for two hours. Then the hockey player stretches and rolls out his or her muscles for about thirty minutes to prevent soreness (Gordon 1.). Hockey players need to be strong, have good eye- hand coordination, and have good hockey skating skills. The training of a hockey player is a lot less precise, but that is because what the hockey player is attempting on the ice does not require an extreme amount of body control. On the other hand, Figure skating takes up much more training time. The elite figure skater first warms up for thirty minutes, next he or she stretches for fifteen minutes, and then he or she warms up again and practices jumps off the ice for another fifteen minutes. Next the figure skater skates for about three hours, working on stroking, edges, spins, jumps, and competition programs. They often do these four minute long programs at least twice per hour. The figure skater then does an on-ice conditioning session for forty five minutes, and then gets off the ice. Off the ice, a figure skater goes to about four hour long sessions per week of conditioning, and then four separate, but same length, ballet classes. The ballet classes work on technique and posture. In addition the figure skater does three, hour long, dance classes to work on choreography and performance. He or she also does two, hour long, sessions of yoga to work on strength and balance. To end the day, the figure skater stretches and rolls out his or her muscles ("How to Become an Olympic Figure Skater" 1-4). Figure skating recommends on-ice training,