Coach Uilkema closely follows the development of skater Roel Regts, emphasizing the importance of quality training and technical improvements as Regts prepares for the upcoming summer ice season.
Schaatsen.nl, Netherlands
Roel Regts shares much of his daily training on video with his coach, Uilkema, who cannot attend all sessions in person. Uilkema appreciates Regts’ creativity during exercises, such as sprint drills recorded while running alongside his dog. He notes significant progress in Regts’ strength, speed, and explosiveness based on recent evaluations, and updates his training programs every two weeks. New tests are conducted every month to assess further needs.
Uilkema expects Regts to make substantial improvements once the summer ice opens at Thialf from August 10. He recalls Regts’ natural speed demonstrated by an untrained 100-meter time of 10.3 seconds and acknowledges this as a solid foundation. Two years ago, they discussed how Regts’ acceleration and cornering needed work, as his energy often faded before the last 100 meters. Uilkema plans to focus on deeper angles, push-off timing, and arm movements on the ice to help Regts achieve a 35-second time in the 500 meters next season.
Last year, Regts trained extensively—up to three times a day—but Uilkema believes this approach lacked specificity and hampered performance. Going forward, he stresses that Regts must prioritize quality over quantity in his sessions. Uilkema is also collaborating with Lieuwe de Boer, a former sprint rival, to support Regts’ development.
Uilkema expresses concern about Regts’ decision to step away from the regional team environment to train independently, noting it makes the process more challenging but can contribute to mental toughness. The coach dedicates significant free time to this project because of his faith in Regts’ potential.
While the outcome remains uncertain, Uilkema is confident in Regts’ ability to quickly adjust his technique during sessions. He compares Regts to Jordan Stolz, an example Regts admires, especially for his straight-forward skating style. Uilkema highlighted that Regts recently showed him Stolz’s training plans, which closely align with Uilkema’s own training philosophy.
