K08 — February 2010 — Hockey Flywheel

Intro: Helping high school hockey players improve their crossover stride. That's the idea behind what's called the flywheel, a new training device developed in Minnesota, and tested in a study supported by USA Hockey and Mayo Clinic. Sports medicine doctors at Mayo are studying this device to see if it helps players skate better.

"JUST KEEP YOUR FEET MOVING. (SOUND) STAY LOW. DON'T LET IT GET AHEAD OF YOU. IT'S A CHALLENGE."

"60% OF HOCKEY IS CYCLING. IT'S TURNING. AND THERE'S NEVER BEEN A TRAINING TOOL LIKE THE SKATING FLYWHEEL TO HELP KIDS BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE ON THEIR CROSSOVER."

MAYO CLINIC SPORTS SCIENTIST DR. AYNSLEY SMITH, HEADS THE TEAM STUDYING THE FLYWHEEL. THEY WANT TO FIND OUT IF THIS DEVICE HELPS SKATERS IMPROVE THEIR CROSS OVER STRIDES. ANDY BLAYLOCK DESIGNED THE FLYWHEEL.

"A BIG SPINNING DISK. WHICH CREATES THE CIRCULAR MOTION OF A TURN."

"THE FLYWHEEL IS MADE OF A HIGH DENSITY POLYMER PLUS A LUBRICANT TO MAKE IT AS SMOOTHE AS ICE."

THE STUDY INVOLVED THREE GROUPS OF HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY PLAYERS. RESEARCHERS TOOK THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE AND PULSE RATES. PLUS, THERE WAS OTHER TESTING SUCH AS MEASURING HOW HIGH THEY CAN JUMP. THEN ONE GROUP DIDN'T SKATE AT ALL WHILE ANOTHER GROUP PRACTICED CROSSOVERS ONLY ON ICE 9 TIMES. THE THIRD GROUP SKATED ON THE FLYWHEEL 9 TIMES.

PRELIMINARY OBJECTIVE DATE SUGGESTS THAT FOR MOST PLAYERS THE FLYWHEEL HAS BENEFITS, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO POWER AND SPEED.

SUBJECTIVELY, ALL OF THE SKATERS IN THE STUDY WHO TRAINED ON THE FLYWHEEL FOUND IT TO BE BENEFICIAL AND RECOMMENDED IT HIGHLY. DR. SMITH SAYS IF FINAL DATA SHOWS THE FLYWHEEL TO BE AT LEAST AS GOOD AS SKATING ON ICE, THEN PLAYERS WILL HAVE ANOTHER TRAINING OPTION.

FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS.

Anchor tag:

Dr. Smith and Dr. Michael Stuart say there are differences between skating on the flywheel and real ice, especially because there's more resistance on the wheel. Skaters exerted more energy while practicing on it. She and her team continue to analyze data gathered from their research.

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