Is there a certain body type that is best suited for short track skating?
YN: When I was coaching in Canada, we had big men and big women winning, and now we primarily have small guys and girls winning. The smaller athlete has a lower center of gravity and tends to be more agile, but the tall athletes have longer limbs so they can push longer and go faster. So there are advantages to both body types. KG: Where do you recruit athletes from? YN: We often get good prospects from figure skating and inline skating. We don’t get many from hockey because it is such a popular sport that these athletes often stay with it. Lately we are finding that we can get a lot of good developmental programs in countries that have never had much exposure to skating, such as Spain, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. This is because inline skating is very popular in these countries. KG: Are there special precautions to take when working with young athletes? YN: Many of the coaches in short track skating are parents who played sports, so they often do what they did when they were at
