• What the Parents Say

I sent my son and daughter to Cathy for skating training for YEARS!  My son went on to play D-1 as a defenseman.  I had MANY scouts tell me that one of Ben’s standout skills was his skating; something lacked by many young hockey players. If you are a parent and truly want to give your son or daughter skills that are scouted for, have them train with Cathy! 
Ben received a 4-year NCAA scholarship to Miami University."
- DAVE PAULIDES

"I wanted to let you know that Power Hour coach Matt had an amazing session with my son Aidan yesterday, in 20 minutes only, he transformed his posture and technique to a point that he was a totally different skater after his 20 minute session.  I've had a few skating sessions for Aidan and my other kids with various coached but what I've seen yesterday was a reflection of true professionalism and value for my investment. Thank you Matt and you Cathy for all your services and the quality of your coaches."
- BERNARD LAROCHE

"Our son Sahil, who is currently playing for Detroit Honeybaked 16U Team, had been privileged to take private lessons and power skating clinics with Cathy Andrade for about 7 years from the age of 7 – 13 years in San Jose, before we relocated to Los Angeles. We credit strong skating foundation and techniques learned with Cathy, at this early stage for his continued growth as a hockey player with various season / select teams all these years. Sahil has been an impact player for the teams that he has played with all these years from Mite to Midget and has got acknowledged as one of the top prospects in North America for his birth year (2002). We can state this confidently that he would not have got this success as a player without these 7 years of continuous training with Cathy that made him a proficient, powerful and skillful skater. Sahil plays a 200-feet game with high tempo and skills to be effective on ice for his team’s success. He still attributes his ability to generate speed efficiently through stride, body-position, edge-work, rhythm and agility to the lessons he learned with Cathy during those young years.

Cathy puts a major emphasis on proper skating stride with the technique and drills, which are designed to easily transition in game-like situations. Cathy’s attention to details during lessons makes a huge difference because she wants players to learn it the right way. Cathy kept challenging Sahil to achieve his full potential on the ice as a young player and he still pushes himself to get better every day. Cathy has this unique ability to tailor her teaching style for each individual skater, and their needs, as my younger kids also benefited from her skating lessons. Her effectiveness as a coach in a group setting or while working with a team or during special clinics, is sure noticeable. She has a gift of demonstrating the technical aspects of proper skating form and adapting the drills to player’s own needs at any given stage of development. Cathy has a knack to observe each player’s individual skating style and develop a targeted approach that makes learning fun and effective.

As being part of the hockey community for the past about 11+ years, we have “understood” and “appreciate” the importance of proper skating technique for hockey. As the game is changed at both youth and higher level, we have asked many experts what are the 3 top things to focus for a hockey player during his development and are not surprised by the answer…. It is 1) Skating, 2) Skating, and 3) Skating… as the other skills can be built on a strong skating foundation for the game of hockey.

As Sahil has had the privilege to train with many strong hockey coaches and trainers across multiple locations, we can vouch that there is no better technical and power skating coach than Cathy in NorCal. Also, Cathy’s dedication and enthusiasm is unparalleled that she passes onto her students as well. We would highly recommend Cathy Andrade for any player who wants to skate to his / her full potential and thus advance in the game of hockey. As parents, we are so “lucky” to have Sahil train and learn during the young formative years, from Cathy, a highly accomplished hockey skating coach!!!” 2023 update- AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, Rangers Affiliate 
- DURGENDRA (DK) & PARUL PANWAR

"Cathy has been instrumental in my son Spencer's development. In less than a year he went form not being able to do crossovers and skate backwards to being on the Cougars Bantam A team and currently playing on the Bellarmine Varsity team. It has been great to see how he has progressed over the year. I can't believe how well he is doing in such a short amount of time. Keep in mind he has grown from 5'9" to over 6" in the same timeframe. He looks forward every week to the hard work and some pain. His running joke is that you don't know pain until you have taken a private with Cathy."
- DOUGLAS KNAPP

"The best advice we were given when he was a Mite was to invest in skating lessons and the best in Northern California is Cathy Andrade and her team. Now because of Cathy's phenomenal instruction, he can minimize the energy he exerts while maximizing his speed in hockey games. Through taking lessons with Cathy, Alex's skating has become so cohesively natural and instinctual that he doesn't have to think about what he wants his feet to do in a hockey game, he just does it."
- JIM & CHRISTY LOFINK

“Studies have shown that unanticipated, open ice hits are responsible for a large percentage of concussions. The best way to avoid these types of hits is to be aware on the ice and skate with your head up. I highly recommend Cathy’s Power Hour as a way to develop the necessary skating skills to prevent injuries, including concussion. Cathy’s Power Hour has allowed our son Max to excel by helping him conquer the most important aspect of hockey: skating.”
- Dr. ANTHONY ABENE, Team Physician, San Jose Barracuda and San Jose Sharks

"My daughter, Angelina, attended a hockey camp in British Columbia this summer. They were working on skating drills the whole first session, many of them very similar to stuff you do with her. About 1/3 of the way through, the coach stopped the drill they were doing and called her out to the front of the group. He proceeded to use her as an example of what they should be doing, breaking down her movements and describing to the rest of the group why what she was doing was right and that they should be doing the same thing. He continued to use her as his example pretty much for the rest of the session."
- JULIA CRUZAL

"We would like to thank you for all you’ve done to make Leila an excellent skater. She just received her end of the year evaluation and her skating and edge work received the highest marks. Her coach at NAHA, who has seen hundreds if not thousands of OLYMPIC/DIVISION I players over the years, says 'Her skating ability and feet are some of the best I have ever seen. Edge work is amazing.' Thanks again, we think you are amazing!"
- VINCE KILDUFF

"Cathy created an individualized program for Soren to improve his skating techniques in the areas that would benefit his game most. Cathy’s coaching has helped him to significantly improve his game and advance early. She has been a big part of his success as a hockey player. Cathy taught Soren for 9 years. He played in the 18 AA League at 13 years old and at 14 years old, he joined the Jr. Sharks Midget AAA team. Per EHK Showcase in Chicago write up- Soren Jonzzon is one of the country’s elite. Jonzzon distributes the puck well and made those around him better players. He read developing plays very well and positioned himself well. He still had an extra gear. Soren received a 4-year NCAA scholarship to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. His senior year the team was ranked #1 in the country and he captained the team."
- B. JONZZON

“We have three sons who have trained with Cathy the past ten years. The benefits of her coaching are seen every time they step on the ice. Cathy focuses on every component of their skating and accomplishes more in a 20 minute lesson than other programs do in an hour. Sean is currently Cathy’s lead Power Hour Coach."
- EILEEN CASTAGNA

“I was at a USA Hockey National conference when I heard a division one college coach state “If you can’t get to the puck first you won’t be a dominant player on the ice”. I remember coming back to San Jose and seeing Cathy giving power skating lessons and knew this was a key to a players long term success, that was 10 years ago. Ben (17) and Nicole (14) have been long time students of Cathy and it’s reaped huge rewards. Nicole is a two time California select player and plays AAA girls hockey. Ben was selected in the 2009 USHL draft (Youngstown Phantoms), placed on the protected list for the WHL Lethbridge Hurricanes and made the Westside Warriors BCHL team, all directly related to the skating skills he learned through Cathy’s innovative and progressive teaching methods. I have personally heard top scouts state that Ben is one of the best skating defenseman they’ve seen at the '91 birth year, this is all thanks to Cathy Andrade! Ben received a 4-year NCAA scholarship to Miami University."
- DAVE PAULIDES

 

What They Say