Making the Transition

[Kirsch 1]

Hi guys,

I've been playing Inline for 8 years now, and I have always loved hockey and always will, but lately I've been wanting more and more to get into playing ice hockey. Playing hockey all year round, the added competition, and just the fact that it is ice hockey and has more upside makes playing seem that much more appealing. The only problem is that I have only ice skated probably 10 times in my life. I have been inline skating for atleast 11 years. So my question is how can I make the transition, how should I teach myself to ice skate so that I can play ice hockey by this upcoming winter. Any help is appreciated.

[dgaronzik 1]

You can do it! I started off playing inline only before I tried to ice skate. I taught myself to ice skate well enough to play JV hockey at my high school in about 3 months I guess. The hardest part is the difference in edging if you ask me.

Just go to public skates as often as possible. And take on stopping slowly, getting used to what it feels like before you try to stop hard.

[#94 3]

It's not tough at all. I started playing inline when i was about 5. At age 15 i began playing ice, and I guess you could say I've done fairly well since then. (u17 festival team, atlantic district for one) not to brag. But it just goes to show you, if you want it bad, anything is possible.

I would just recomment being on the ice as much as possible if you really wanna excel in ice hockey. One more thing, its a major problem for inline players going to ice... hit everything that moves.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

It took me a while when I switched back to ice...cornering is different.

I recommend going with a shallower hollow so you can slide a little better when trying to stop.

[jay 1]

I played inline for two years and then started playing both. The hardest thing to learn is of course stopping (and you will bust you butt a few times trying to do an inline stop on the ice) but the skating part should come relatively quickly. I suggest going to some co-ed pickup games or joining a C league for a little while until you're comfortable picking up your pace. Oh, and handling the puck is sooo much easier on the ice IMO. Shooting on the other hand still gives me fits when I've been playing inline only for awhile.

[GekigangarIII 0]

Listen to jr. Use a very shallow hollow on your skates (if you're around or over 180lbs use a 3/4 or 5/8 at least) it will get you used to the idea of using your edges to stop.

in inline you dig your heels/feet into turns and stops and in ice it's tough to get over the feeling of wanting to dig... you have to stop ON the ice not in it. Also a shallower hollow gives you a little more "give" when transitioning from forwards to backwards, etc. without 'catching an edge' and cracking your head open ;)

You're going to get frustrated, but keep at it and skate every chance you get.

It's just tough for inline players to realize that they can actually have *control* on the ice. It took me a while to figure out just how out of control most inline players (including myself whom I thought was pretty decent) are.

[Dave 1]

I am not much of a roller guy, but my impression of the difference in stopping is that on inline-skates you stop by applying weight to your heels, whereas for a clean ice stop you have to put the weight on the front balls of your feet.

In essence, what I have learned from Laura Stam's book "power skating" is that you

- put your weight on the front balls to stop

- put your weight on the heel to make a tight turn.

I hope this makes sense.

[Kirsch 1]

This is great stuff guys. I can't wait to get out on the ice and see how I can skate.

Speaking of books are there any good books I could read to perhaps get an idea of what I need to do to skate well?

[flaming_june 2]

man.. i hate rollar now. ive played for a while and then went to ice. for sure ice is a lot more fun.

some people can switch to ice with no problem, some people will never be able to fully swtich to the skating style of ice hockey. but if you work for it, u'll do it. a lot i think, is balance and core/leg strength. it mite take you a month, or years, but it definately is worth the work.

GOOD LUCK!

:lol:

[rh_joel 0]

I have played ice for one more year then I've played roller. After every game in Ice i'm wishing that roller would come sooner. I'm not sure why, but I like Roller alot more then ice.

The biggest difference I realize is the angle on which you skate. I find it takes about 15 minutes of skating to totally switch from one skating stlye to the other, but still quite easy to do. I much prefer the lean in Roller.

[Guest phillyfan]

It's a lot easier than you think. I started playing roller hockey out front of my house around age 5 or 6. Started to play in a league at age 8, all the way up to age 12. Never ice skated in my life before, let alone touch an ice hockey puck. Wanted something to do one spring, signed up for Bantam Limited Travel at age 13. I am 14 now, and am playing JV and Varsity for my school, and I am on a Midget 17A team. I personally am very happy at how far I have come, from not being able to stop to 1 year later leading both of my teams in scoring, anything is possible. Best of luck!

[Guest phillyfan]

And don't get discouraged too easily, you fall down, pick your ass right back up and try again. I see way too many kids get discouraged that easily, walk away, and never touch a hockey stick again.

[Kirsch 1]

Phillyfan: I'm almost the same way, started messing around with skates and a stick at age 6 and started playing in leagues in 4th grade. Im 17 now though but am not going to let a couple spills while trying to learn keep me from playing ice.

Plus I just got a fortune cookie that says "your determination will lead to great success" so things are looking up :)

[Guest phillyfan]

Now only if those messages ALWAYS came true.

"Great wealth awaits."

[#94 3]

With the shallow hollow thing, thats definitely a good idea. I've heard that the majority of NHLers use a 1 inch hollow. Anyone else heard anything like that?

[WBGMike 2]

I am in the same boat, I was playing inline only for 12 years before making the jump to ice last august. Being a goalie I found it a little hard yet a little easy. it was the main fact of getting used to the way the ice puck moved and felt, had to get my ice legs, it took me about a month, month and a half.

Don't give up, you will be fine

[Shorthanded67 0]

My background; currently 26, started inline when I was about 16, played pick-up and low level ice for a few years between 19-21, never went back to ice and have been playing competitive roller 4-6 nights a week for 5 years.

I don't have much to add to the discussion as far as techniques go since most have been covered. Aside from the obvious skating transition. shooting a heavier puck is lot different even with the lesser friction on ice. Also make sure to put less "mustard" on passes and stickhandling moves.

I think the biggest difference is the game itself. Ice hockey's 5-on-5 versus rollers 4-on-4. The traditionalists will kill me but I really enjoy the amount of open space and flow of the 4-on-4 game (assuming a full-size rink for roller). I like no offsides but there was once a "red-line offsides" in roller hockey that I thought was OK: basically you couldn't pass the puck to a player over the redline to the offensive zone (although you could still carry it over if a player was over the redline).

Also I feel more creative in roller as far as making plays goes. When I switched to ice, the 5-on-5 felt too "cluttered" for me.

Of course this is a rare opinion from one humble hockey player and one day I'll get back on ice again (the phone call requests come often, trust me), but right now it's an ego thing. It's tough when you can play roller hockey at an advanced level (so I think), and have to start on the bottom rung of the ladder on ice. But I have to tell myself that when I started roller hockey 10 years ago this month, I was an ankle bendin', wobbler shootin', ass fallin' piss poor hockey player (worst among my peers). But hard work and endless hours alone on an outdoor rink paid off bigtime. I'm just sticking at my strongpoint right now: roller.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

I play ice but I've also messed around with inlines w/stick and puck in parking lots (I normally inline skate distance for conditioning). I started hockey 6 years ago with no prior experience (not even ball hockey). Hard work, much practice, and knowledge has improved my skills enough to keep up and contribute to the games I play (vs. being a pylon on skates when I first started). At the same time I'm always looking to improve.

Edging, whether for sudden starts, acceleration or turns, will be the first thing to overcome. As mentioned earlier, skate blade angle to the ice is important to starts, stops, and cornering. Learn the inside and outside edges well, and don't be afraid to lean in on your skates in the turns. Upper body centre-of-gravity is important, but you probably have a sense of that from roller.

Stopping: at first you may have a tendency to skate backwards on one skate while using the other one do the stopping, which I guess is one way to get comfortable with skate angle and digging into the ice at first. And it's easier to stop at medium-fast speeds than slow. Once you're more comfortable with your edging, stops will become easier. I also find that momentarily unweighting yourself right before you shift your feet into stopping position takes time. I also found it easier to start doing one-footed stops at first (outside foot) and later on two-footed and inside one-footed (not as important but shows your two-footed stop is probably good).

All this is said assuming your skates fit properly. Ice boots may take the most time to adjust to (even with Missions). I'd also suggest skating with a stick if possible to keep your balance and posture. Elbow pads during public skates may help if you're afraid of falling.

Work hard, and best of success!

[Kyle_M 0]

I've never played roller hockey but I have just skated around in $15 crappy inline skates then I got used to that and now I play ice and I know it's definitely different. The ice feels different like you slide more somewhat and stopping is different too. When I first started I was the worst backwards skater on the team and then a few games later my coached switched me to defense from right wing and I was the worst defenseman by a lot but I got used to it and now it's just like nothing skating backwards or pivoting. So you do get used to it but you've just got to practise. Good Luck! :)

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

With the shallow hollow thing, thats definitely a good idea. I've heard that the majority of NHLers use a 1 inch hollow. Anyone else heard anything like that?

Majority use 5/8" and shallower.

[Alden 0]

I have a hard time switching back and forth. I started hockey by playing roller for 4 years. I was really good on the inlines with stopping and cornering. When I made the switch to ice, I didn't think it would be very hard. My first time on the ice, I tried to stop (roller hockey style) and bit it HARD! It took quite awhile to master stopping on ice. I started w/ a 1/2" hollow and eventually worked my way up to a 3/4" hollow which, for me is a lot easier to stop on. So after 4 years of ice, I started playing roller again last fall. I still can't stop on those damn things! It's just too different.

[Chadd 916]

With the shallow hollow thing, thats definitely a good idea. I've heard that the majority of NHLers use a 1 inch hollow. Anyone else heard anything like that?

Majority use 5/8" and shallower.

Fairly short radius as well to facilitate turning.

[Alden 0]

With the shallow hollow thing, thats definitely a good idea. I've heard that the majority of NHLers use a 1 inch hollow. Anyone else heard anything like that?

Majority use 5/8" and shallower.

Fairly short radius as well to facilitate turning.

How short? When I was at the Wings' equipment sale, their equipment manager, Paul Boyer, was there and I asked him what the 9/10 stickers on all the skates were. He said it was a 9ft radius up front and 10ft in the back. I'm not exactly sure what that means so maybe someone can elaborate.

[Chadd 916]

The front half of the skate is profiled to 9 ft and the back to 10. I would think that is to be more stable when skating backwards and keeping the shorter radius in the front still allows you to get a bit more forward.

[Alden 0]

It is uncommon for a non-pro player to get his/her blades profiled like that? Is it difficult to do?