it. "During the season, it's hard to make huge improvements," Underhill said after training with the Crunch on Tuesday. "You can't be focused on your skating when you're playing the game. The skating just has to be there." Few technicians in the sport have the credibility of Underhill when it comes to that subject. She and pairs partner Paul Martini represented Canada at the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics. The duo also won the 1984 world championship and Underhill skated on the pro tour until 1998. Underhill decided she wanted to keep cutting a groove in the skating world, albeit one centered far less around the finesse of her former sport than the pure straightline bullishness of hockey. Still, many fundamentals of efficiently gliding on top of frozen water can be universally applied. "In figure skating, we spend hours and hours perfecting our technique," said Underhill, who also works with players in the off-season. "Hockey players don't get that opportunity when they are young. They are taught to go chase the puck. What I'm doing is breaking the technique down for them." While watching Syracuse run through its regular practice on Tuesday, Underhill highlighted some of her basic tinkering. Balance The ideal spot for the skate blade to contact the ice is right around the ball of a player's foot. If he leans back too far he's on his heels; tilting forward puts too much weight on his toes. "If you are skating from your heels you are not as