“They’re just top notch skating coaches”

Longtime friend and student of Karn Skating Dynamics, Jack Hillen  has been skating with us a long while. Read what he had to say about us recently:

But it isn’t an accident that Hillen’s skating is one of his strong suits out on the ice. He’s been practicing and fine tuning his skills with the same two coaches for the past 15 years. “They’re just top notch skating coaches,” Hillen said about his skating coaches Barry and Jodi Karn. “They basically formed my stride. It’s not something that just happened by accident. I put a lot of work into it ever since I started skating.”

Read the rest of the article.

Video: Barry at the Calgary Flames Development Camp

Barry Karn is the man in charge of teaching the young Flames power skating – it’s about getting to places quicker with less effort.

Mark Parrish on Why He’s Never Been Better

Star Tribune hockey writer Michael Russo recently had a chat with hometown star Mark Parrish and posted to his fantastic blog Russo’s Rants. Mark credits Barry with helping him skate better than ever:

Parrish looks in exceptional shape and seems to be skating better than ever after working this summer with powerskating extraordinaire Barry Karn, who runs the local Karn Skating Dynamics and works with the Calgary Flames.

“I’ve never felt better on the ice. It’s amazing. I’ve known him for years and finally got stubborn enough to realize I probably need a little help with my skating. I can already feel the difference.”

Read the article in it’s entirety here.

Former Karn Student Nick Leddy

In a recent article in Max Preps,  Jodi was asked about her experience working with Nick Leddy as a youngster:

“When he was 10 he was skating with high school kids. One of his teachers, Jodi Karn, said, ‘See that kid out there. You’re going to be watching him on TV some day.’ Even when he was just 5-3 and 115 pounds he was fearless. Once he went up against a 6-3 player and Nick came out of the corner with the puck.”

Way to go Nick!

Check out the article here.

The Flames and Barry in the Calgary Sun

Check out this article about Barry’s work with the Flames from The Calgary Sun:

Skating guru leaves his mark

By RANDY SPORTAK

Watching Barry Karn skate is a treat. Even for professional hockey players.

“You wonder why he’s not in the NHL,” marvelled Flames prospect J.D. Watt. “He’s so smooth. You know it works. Do it on the ice over and over and it will come natural to you.”

One of the premier power skating coaches in the world, Karn has been working with the up-and-coming future Flames during this week’s development camp at the Saddledome. Karn has been working as a consultant for the Flames for several years now, helping them develop their skating skills. His impact is minute to the naked eye, but it will make a difference, he insists, with repetition.

“It took Tiger Woods six months to change his swing, so it takes a little while to change the way you stand over your skates, but it makes a big difference for them.”

Read the article in it’s entirety here.

Better Skating with the St. Louis Blues

Over the years we’ve traditionally been thought of as teachers and practitioners of power skating. While we don’t have a problem with that, HockeyBuzz.com is carrying a story about Barry’s work with the St. Louis Blues in which Blues coach Andy Murray talks about something we are all about – better skating.

From the article:

The Blues have invited skating guru Barry Karn of Minneapolis Minnesota to conduct skating sessions with the prospects prior to each practice. Murray got to know Karn within the last year or so when Karn was working with Murray’s son Jordy. Jordy is entering his senior season at hockey power Shattuck St. Mary’s high school in Minnesota and has committed to the University of Wisconsin.

Karn runs the highly successful Karns Skating Dynamics in the twin cities. KSD is the largest school of its kind in the country and Karns works with anywhere from 450-600 kids per week year round.

Hockey traditionalists would describe Karns teaching methods as a form of Power Skating, but Murray doesn’t like the term “Power Skating” instead preferring “Better Skating”. Murray told me Karn isn’t teaching hockey players how to skate with power, he’s teaching them how to skate better. Murray wrote “skate better to make us better” on the board inside the meeting room.

Karn says he like the term better skating and will continue to use it.

Read the entire article at HockeyBuzz.com

Barry and Kevin Ziegler with the Tampa Bay Lightning

Barry and his esteemed colleague Kevin Ziegler are mentioned in an excerpt from the blog  of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Lightning Insider:

Karn, by the way, made everyone look bad on the way back by effortlessly jogging up the steep parts then waiting at the top for the rest of us who were trying to get oxygen. Our guide/torturer mentioned a black bear had been spotted on the trail yesterday, and we’d have been an easy meal if he’d returned today because there wasn’t much fight left in anyone.

You can read the full article here.

Boston Bruin Mark Stuart

Barry’s work with Mark Stuart is mentioned in a story from the Boston Globe on August 19, 2007 by Fluto Shinzawa. From the article:

Timing is right for Stuart

Bruins could use a solid defenseman

In 2006-07, Stuart made the most of his NHL playing time, finishing with a team-best plus-7 rating. When he’s on his game, Stuart plays a mean, rugged style and doesn’t back down from the rough stuff. Off the ice, from Colorado College’s Scott Owens to Providence’s Scott Gordon, Stuart’s coaches rave about his off-the-charts character and dressing-room demeanor.

“I wouldn’t call it a surprise,” Chiarelli said when asked if Stuart could become a valuable contributor. “He’s got a pretty good pedigree. He was the captain of that world junior team. He’s excelled in his role wherever he’s been.”

With his ankle feeling fine, Stuart has been working out with skating coach Barry Karn, formerly employed by Calgary and most recently hired by St. Louis. One criticism of Stuart was that at the NHL level, he’d be a tick slower than opposing forwards, allowing them to gain position in the danger zones.

Under Karn, Stuart has concentrated on his skating technique in tight areas, adding power to his stride and making his bursts more efficient.

Flames Rookies Stay Sharp

by STEVE MACFARLANE

from the Calgary Sun:

If you miss the morning sessions and pop into the arena for the afternoon skates at the Don Hartman Northeast Sportsplex, you might think you’re watching some kind of ballet on ice.

Weaving in slow motion around pylons are the Calgary Flames prospects under the watchful eye of powerskating coach Barry Karn, the wise tutor who occasionally sounds like Chinese philosopher Confucius or The Karate Kid’s Mr. Miyagi.

“You learn how to be fast by being really slow,” Karn said yesterday of his technical teachings. “It sounds kind of funny, but I’ve been doing this for 25 years.”

With the right posture, a player can significantly increase his speed without relying on strength. The science behind it may be complicated but Karn, a Minnesotan in his second year with the Flames, tries to keep it simple, using a vertical leap as an example.

“It’s a programming thing. I get down into a squat position … if I go down and I stop there for a couple of seconds every single time, you tune everything up,” he said. “Say you’re (normally) jumping with 60 muscles. If you orchestrate and let yourself hold that position for a long time, you actually get more muscle involved, so now you’re jumping with, say, 90.

“Your vertical goes up without gaining any power.

“There’s a little wobble at first,” he continued, adding the centre of balance is right over the blade of the skates. “After a while, the muscles that need to stretch and flex in a more stretched out position, they start to program.”

It’s no secret the Flames like big defenders. They drafted 6-ft.-6 giant Keith Aulie this spring and he’s rooming with fellow mammoths Gord Baldwin (6-ft.-5), Adam Pardy (6-ft.-4) and default shorty Tim Ramholt (6-ft.-2).

Matt Pelech is another 6-ft.-4 prospect in a camp where no one on the back end is under six feet.

But size isn’t everything in today’s NHL. They’ve got to be able to keep up with speedy forwards while backpedalling and pivoting. While Karn’s schooling is extremely important for the big blokes, it’s not easy.

“I think the hardest thing for a big guy is to get low and stay low,” Pelech said. “Our legs are so long. When you get down there you stay there for 30 seconds, you can feel the burn.”

As uncomfortable as it can be, the results are obvious when the recorded times come back after enough practice.

“In the last two years, I’ve come a long way,” said Pardy, who worked with Karn in Omaha last season. “I think the other guys would say that, too.”

They do.

“He’s absolutely amazing. I’ve worked with him a few times away from Calgary,” Baldwin said. “He’s taught me so much. I’ve noticed a difference in my skating. I haven’t been the greatest skater my whole life, I guess, and he’s making that a lot better.”

Like many of his fellow campers, Aulie skates with other coaches in the off-season.

“They’re not near on the level of Barry,” said Aulie. “This is way over the top of their heads.”

When it comes to job security, Karn has nothing to worry about.

He’s worked with the Islanders, Blackhawks, Coyotes and Blues in addition to individuals seeking his help.

“That natural skater is actually an unnatural guy,” Karn said.

“The rest of us, we’re normal.”