Skating Coach Diane Ness Is Itching To Get Out And 'Just Glide!'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It has been a long time since Diane Ness has taught skating.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak struck the "State of Hockey," it's been a long time since a hockey arena has been open. And that matters if you want to become a better hockey player.
"You can do as many things as you can do in the garage. You can shoot pucks, you can do stick handling. But if you want to skate, you have to get on ice," Ness said.
For Ness, it goes beyond hockey, but stays on the ice. Her granddaughter skated for "Disney on Ice." The night before she was going to perform in Minnesota, everything was cancelled.
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"March 13 it was cancelled, and I had 122 people coming on March 14 on that Saturday to come watch," she said.
If the NHL season is necessitated, she doesn't believe there would be much fall-off -- not at the highest level.
"They're so up to par all the time. They're still stick handling, they're still shooting, they're fine," she said. "And even cardio-wise, they're biking and so forth."
But there is another clock ticking, for the high school type that needs an off-season to have a shot at making an impact next season.
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"Those kids that are on the bubble, they need to really work hard at, you know, the weakness that they have and so forth, but big if," she said.
Whenever she can return, and her students can return, there will be celebration, because they've learned that they miss the ice.
"I just want to get out and skate and glide, and just glide!" Ness said.