Assessment of balance ability among youth czech hockey players with different performance levels

Ice hockey is a complex sport with many influences. Improving the player´s skating strength, agility, power and balance equates to improving their performance on the ice. Balance ability was shown to be significantly related to ice hockey maximum skating speed in youth hockey players. High performance level of balance ability also improves player’s ability to stay on his feet when fighting through or delivering body checks and maneuvering around opponents. In our study, youth players with higher performance level in ice hockey obtained better results in both dynamic and static postural tasks than their peers with lower performance level. Therefore, balance ability seems to be the predictor of high performance level of youth ice hockey players.