hockey stop

[raygunpk 0]

I'm in the process of learning how to do a hockey stop. I can get it down if I'm skating a slower speed, but when I go faster or I'm turning and stopping, my skate starts stuttering, like my skate is coming off the ice and hitting it again really fast.

How do I stop this? What am I doing wrong?

Also, any tips on getting used to the inside foot to help stop? Can't get that outside edge to work at all.

Thanks!

[cmvondran 0]

I'm a self taught skater, all I can say is build confidence. Practice stopping at slow speeds and work your way up.

[number21 3]

if you can find some lessons at a local rink give that a try. I am a self taught skater too,(started in my mid-twenties) besides just getting on skates whenever i can hockey skating lessons really helped me out.

I still stop heavily on my inner edges, i have a real hard time getting the outside edges, but i am working on it.

Anyway in one class we had a drill of using just the outside edge doing little turns alternating feet down the length of the ice. I sucked, but having my gear on helped since it wasn't a big deal falling repeatedly.

[ramensandwich 1]

i'm a self taught skater too, stops were hard to learn.

try holding the inside foot more vertical to the ice, to make it slide easier, and make sure you are rotating your inside ankle a full 90 degrees.

as for the chattering feeling, sounds to me like you are trying to stop on too short a distance/uneven weight distribution. learning that outside edge should help.

[McDougalfaschnitzer 32]

Try to go through the motions slower first. Make sure your blade is flush to the ice when you are pushing down for the stop. The stuttering could be from your blade not being even on the ice when you try to stop.

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

I'm a self taught skater as well..the only thing i can say about the hockey stop is you just have to be a little fearless when you first try it but start at a slower speed and work faster but it can be fairly easy when you just do it instead of thinking about doing it....if you think to much about it thats when you start messing up, i know it can be a little scary for people who just started skating but practice like everyone says at a slower speed and go faster when you build some confidence

[w0ahitsm3 0]

When I got my first skating lesson, the coach told me to practice turning on just one foot using the outside edge. Another way to start getting a feel for it was practicing T-Stops. That helped a bit and I can now get a little more weight on that outside edge to stop.

[tomh7 2]

One of the main causes of "chatter" during a two footed hockey stop is improper weight distribution and lack of knee bend. Try putting more pressure of the foot that is "chattering" and bend your knees more.

[Jat 0]

Yeah apply more weight onto the chattering foot.

[BobMcRobertson 0]

I was told by my instructor when I took lessons to tense/tighten up your core muscles (abs/midsection) when you do your stops. Can't recall exactly why, but it did help.

[Jat 0]

^ thats a good tip. Never thought of that.

[raygunpk 0]

Would working out those core muscles and leg muscles help a lot as well? Or is it purely weight distribution, deep knee bends that I need work on?

[BobMcRobertson 0]

Well, almost every movement you make on the ice utilizes your core muscles, from your stops to your slap shots. It's what gives you stability. The stronger your core is the more stable you will be.

[flyerman 0]

I know this doesn't really address the technical skating part of the question, but why not try a more shallow hollow on your skates so you can get the feel of the slide and weight distribution more easily. If you are skating on a 7/16", try a 1/2". If a 1/2", try 9/16"...and so on.

I just remember when I was learning to stop on my outside edges (T-stops) as a kid, I finally started to get it after my skates became quite dull and did not bite much. With practice, I learned to "trust" the slide of my edge and throw my weight into the stop while keeping my knees bent and maitaining balance. Sure was easier than coming up short with that studder half-stop every time with sharper blades...

[tomh7 2]

Proper skating technique should be independent of the hollow of your skates. You should be able to do a proper hockey stop despite whether you have a 1/2" or 1" ROH. I say this because if you have a 1" ROH on soft ice, your skate is going to bite just like a 1/2" ROH on hard ice.

As for your core muscles, they are incorporated in everything you do (even sleeping). A stronger core will help with balance and total body stability. As for your leg strength, as a hockey player, developing good leg strength should be a priority (just ask Sidney Crosby or Martin St. Louis or .........).

[Jarick 5]

I just remember when I was learning to stop on my outside edges (T-stops) as a kid, I finally started to get it after my skates became quite dull and did not bite much. With practice, I learned to "trust" the slide of my edge and throw my weight into the stop while keeping my knees bent and maitaining balance. Sure was easier than coming up short with that studder half-stop every time with sharper blades...

That was the difficult part for me, learning to "feel" the edge when making the stop. Of course, my skates were too big and my foot would roll over inside the skate, which I didn't find out until later...

I still haven't practiced stopping with the outside edge, but I'll give that a shot tonight. I figure any improvement in my skating and agility will give me an edge.

[raygunpk 0]

Thanks a lot for the tips guys. One question though, for doing core exercises are situps and squats the proper exercises to do? Or is there some specific 'hockey' exercise that mimics the movements?

[AnthonyJTa 0]

Thanks a lot for the tips guys. One question though, for doing core exercises are situps and squats the proper exercises to do? Or is there some specific 'hockey' exercise that mimics the movements?

anything that targets your abs, lower back, obliques is essentially a core (trunk) exercise. I'd recommend picking up a swiss ball. They're great for crunches, lower back exercises, etc.

http://exercise.about.com/library/bltotalcore.htm

this workout has a handful of the essentials that came on a nice dvd I got with my exercise ball..

[Elwood 0]

http://www.exploratorium.edu/hockey/skating2.html

a bit dated - however it goes over some pointers

-Elwood

[Ravrius 0]

On the topic of hockey stops I was just wondering the technique behind it. Are you supposed to be pushing out or down with your ankles? or knees? or is it more of a turning the hips sort of deal. Also how do you get your back skate into the same angle as your front skate? I'm trying to learn how to stop properly too. A lot harder then most people make it look. :P

[CannonBall 0]

Do yourself a favor and go out and buy Laura Stamm's Power Skating book.

[ramensandwich 1]

On the topic of hockey stops I was just wondering the technique behind it. Are you supposed to be pushing out or down with your ankles? or knees? or is it more of a turning the hips sort of deal. Also how do you get your back skate into the same angle as your front skate? I'm trying to learn how to stop properly too. A lot harder then most people make it look. :P

as a self-taught skater, i know how hard it is to learn to stop. i find it to be mostly a turning of the hips and sliding. I emphasize that many people fail in learning to stop, because they try to dig in too much with their edges and end up toppling over. after you learn how to do it, you can push downward with your knees to stop in shorter distances.

as far as getting the angle right with the skates, i think it is easier first to learn to stop on one foot. often the problem with hockey stops is not fully committing, because the person doesn't trust their weight balance fully. when stopping on one foot, you can commit fully, because if you feel you are going to fall, you can put the other foot down.

i learned to stop one-footed either side on the inside edges first, which taught me the basics of hip rotation, knee bend, and where to put my weight on the mid to front portion of the blades. then, i just gradually incorporated putting my inside foot out front to learn the two-foot stop. one-footed stops are just as useful in games as the two-footed variety.

good luck!

EDIT: I also recommend the Laura Stamm book, as well as Steve Cady's "skating for ice hockey"

also, check out HockeyShot.com for some good skating videos and awesome shooting tutorials.

[cris8 0]

Agree with ramen that you have to master your edges first. After that, you need to make sure that you learn the proper knee bend and body lean.

Finally, practice both your strong and weak sides. Don't ever make your strong side get too far ahead of your weak side - that's a bad habit that's hard to correct.

[ultraman7k 0]

Do yourself a favor and go out and buy Laura Stamm's Power Skating book.

i second that. that book has helped me in my skating more than anything else.

[xaero604 0]

i agree with ramensandwich as well. I'm currently in the process of mastering the 2 foot stop, although my front foot still does most of the work.

Drills that I can recommend for building up the necessary leg/core muscles are the one footed turns along a line. Start off by taking a few strides down the blue line and then turn left 90 degrees away from the line. Using only the outer edge of your right skate, turn back towards the line, go past it and repeat only this time using the outer edge of your left skate. Basically, you'll be snaking along the line while transition from both skates by doing sharp one-footed turns. This really develops your hip strength (you really have to commit if you want to turn sharply) as well as your ankle and foot muscles.

Alternatively, you can do the same drill but with the inside edges instead. These are probably the only 2 drills that I found useful during my powerskating course. That, and lateral sidestepping. Needless to say, I didn't learn much else other than the golden adage that practice pays off.

If you can do these drills with confidence, you'll be able to do stops quite shortly afterwards. You'll discover that stopping is more like a shaving action; if you angle your runners too acutely to the ice, you're only going to catch an edge. Angle them more perpendicularly to the ice and you'll get a shaving action. The difficulty in doing that is maintaining the close-to-perpendicular edge; that's where your newfound hip and leg strength comes in. If you don't, then you get that chattering effect, or worse, a big ol' butt hurt.