Laura Stamm's 'Power Skating' book

[Brother Methias 0]

I have read the book a couple of times and it is very helpful for beginners..

Unfortunately doing alot of the advanced stuff requires very strong quads so that you are at a deep knee bend, that can take a long time to develop unless you're starting as a kid/teenager.

Still wasn't as helpful as private lessons..

As for the skate tightness, I am quoting another link from Laura..

"For effective edging and maneuverability players must be able to flex their ankles inwardly and outwardly. I (usually) recommend that players lace their skates snugly through the middle part of the foot (the part of the foot that needs the most support), but that above the ankle (the top eyelet of the boot) they should keep them somewhat looser. More advanced skaters may choose not to lace the very top eyelet.

For the same reason I do not recommend taping the ankles. Ultra tight lacing at the top of the boot plus tape around the ankles has the same effect as putting the feet in casts! It also can cause discomfort and frustration. I also prefer that the tongues of the skates be placed outside the shin pads rather than inside them (the shin pad must be long enough so that the lower leg is not exposed to injury by a stick, skate or puck). This allows players to flex their knees and ankles more effectively, which are crucial for Great Skating."

[Jordan 13]

I do think that she is incorrect about the tongue being outside of the shin pad for greater flexibilty.

I can agree with her if the tongue is completely flopped and is out of the way of the shin pad. When I see kids around the rink though, they usually have both long shin pads and no flop, so that when they flex the ankle, the shin pad pushes against the tongue. This definitely limits flexibilty.

I think you have in most cases (floppers and especially floppers who don't use the top eyelet are exceptions to this) you are better off keeping the tongue inside of the shin pads.

[jcp2 2]

I keep my skate tongues inside the shinpads for exactly the reason above. My Jofas only have a strap around the upper calf, so I use clear tape at that point and again in the lower calf area, just tight enough to prevent slipping but not so tight that the shinpad can't float over the skate tongue.

[SolarWind 23]

I had a book & a DVD for almost 2 years now, and for me personally both were invaluable!

the way Stamm breaks skating dynamics is second to none - with the exception of the Skinner's DVDs of course - these are much more detailed + cover modern techniques (see the reviews on the site - one example would be tight turn where Stamm advocates a glide turn, and Skinner calls for a skid turn/sliding stop on the outside edge), but are also MUCH more expensive & also longer.

Re book vs DVD - for visual people the DVD might be a better learning tool of course, but I found the book to be more detailed & covers finer aspects of each movement. As my skills progressed the book kind of grew on me because my understanding & so the appreciation for these details increased.

re Twist conditioning & DVD - again I personally didn't find them helpful at all, and actually didn't even finish watching them.

it's just a bunch of drills - that's all, plus the skaters doing drills aren't even very strong (at least when comparing to NHL/AHL skaters from Stamm's DVD - she used Doug Brown etc)

just my .5

[mug25 2]

Sorry for digging up an old thread but I've heard a lot of good things about this book. Ordering it tomorrow.

For anyone looking for a good deal on the book

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Laura-Sta...p/9780736076203

[nystromshairstylist 14]

Skate lacing is a HUGE concern for skaters of any level. Skating with the laces tight all the way up would be like watching sprinters trying to clomp around in a walking boot, yet I see it every day. Wasted energy, wasted motion, and too much pressure going where it shouldn't go.

2 comments:

1- I have the 3rd edition, as the Amazon dealer sent me the wrong one - I'd ordered the 4th edition which is about 60 pages longer, so I might just wait until I get that one to begin reading it

2-as for lacing, I have spent alot of time and effort to figuring out a repeatable system/process for myself, and think I've finally come up with one that works: when first putting the skates on, I lace the top 4 eyelets tightly, and all lower ones medium-tight, then skate for about 1/2 an hour.

Once my feet are comfortable, I tighten the bottom eyelets more and the top 4 very tight, but still allow plenty of forward/backward freedom of movement.

This allows my feet time to get accustomed to the skates, as I use the pre-game warm-ups to skate around and adjust to being on the ice. Once the game is about to start, I tighten things as I mentioned above.

Sometimes even a 3rd tightening is needed because even with wax laces, they loosen up during the game.

[mug25 2]

Picked up the book on Kindle for my iPhone. Seeing as I have it with my 24/7 I can read it whenever.

Midway through the first chapter and some of the stuff is pretty useful. To be honest, I'm a total noob when it comes to lacing. I've always thought it was best to tighten the heck out of my skates all the way through...obviously not the case.

She suggests "moderately snug" at the toes and above the ankle while lacing tightly above the ball of the foot. I think the skate lock on my 9K's will help out with that.

[Demangone 0]

I got the book a few months ago and just picked up the dvd. If you buy one, you might as well get the other. The dvd really helped explain some of the stuff that confused me or wasn't fully explained (still photo vs moving image) in the book.

[mug25 2]

I got the book a few months ago and just picked up the dvd. If you buy one, you might as well get the other. The dvd really helped explain some of the stuff that confused me or wasn't fully explained (still photo vs moving image) in the book.

i think i may need to buy the DVD, the book is a little confusing sometimes.