Is my progress sufficient?

[Wallzy41 9]

I've played a grand total of 10 hockey games in my life, 2 with full pads.

- I've scored 2 goals, and 6 total points with full pads.

-I can skate forwards well, backwards poorly, but can crossover going forward.

-My stickhandling feels average, but I can blast slappers and wrist the puck. my backhand is fair, but not great.

-I play with a wood stick, Jagr/Crosby Curve, and NBH One05 skates with the Default holders.

What should I work on, regardless on how I'm doing?

[dumbpolak9 1]

grab some roller blades and practice skating backwards.

[Giroux28 0]

yea man do what polak said i cant agree more roller hockey has helped me skating in many different ways

[Chadd 916]

Only one way to find out, lace 'em up.

[Wallzy41 9]

Chadd... my closest rink is at LEAST a 25 mile drive. I choose to drive 35, because the service is friendlier there. Fridays 11:30-1:30.

[Chadd 916]

Chadd... my closest rink is at LEAST a 25 mile drive. I choose to drive 35, because the service is friendlier there. Fridays 11:30-1:30.

I used to make a similar drive three or four times a week when I was coaching. Committing to the league will give you even more incentive. There's no way for us to know how well you play and how good the league is. At some point you will just have to close your eyes and jump in the pool.

[Cams 7]

Regarding the roller blading.... I tried that one summer, and pretty much went for a skate (roller blades) 4 times a week all summer, thinking that "Hey, I'll be ready to rock for ice hockey season", well, I found that it didn't really help me much at all. And backwards skating on roller blades - for me - not a good idea ;) that might just be me though!

I would just keep plugging away at it, and try not to get into any bad habits as for as tehcnique, etc is concerned. Also, I have told to a lot of friends of mine who are starting out - just keep playing, and play with a mix of skill levels. The more you play with "better" players (especially skating wise), the quicker you will improve.

[starsfan71 9]

Rollerblading while learning to skate is typiaclly not a good idea, it can really mess up your edge work.

[IniNew 53]

Rollerblading while learning to skate is typiaclly not a good idea, it can really mess up your edge work.

I'll agree to a point. I started out rollerblading and playing roller hockey, and when I first started ice skating I had no concept of edges. However, after you learn edges a bit, it's all just a matter of keeping the two different styles separate in your head.

I'll be honest, ice skating actually messes up my roller hockey more than the other way around. I play ice Friday and Saturday, and then roller on Sunday, and when I transition into roller I attempt to make some hard cuts and stop the same way I do on ice.... and I usually fall several times.

[SinBinSaint 0]

Skating, Skating, and more Skating. Forwards, start focusing on proper knee bend and edge control. Backwards, all facets, but once you get the hang of it, you can focus on forward/backward transitions and backward x-overs. For stickhandling I would focus on mainting a good quick dribble, going from side to side and adding in elements from there. I don't think adding in Roller could hurt, bearing in mind that its a supplement not a replacement for ice time...I think you'd get more comfortable with balance, stride, etc.

[starsfan71 9]

Rollerblading while learning to skate is typiaclly not a good idea, it can really mess up your edge work.

I'll agree to a point. I started out rollerblading and playing roller hockey, and when I first started ice skating I had no concept of edges. However, after you learn edges a bit, it's all just a matter of keeping the two different styles separate in your head.

I'll be honest, ice skating actually messes up my roller hockey more than the other way around. I play ice Friday and Saturday, and then roller on Sunday, and when I transition into roller I attempt to make some hard cuts and stop the same way I do on ice.... and I usually fall several times.

Same here I practice my shootouts and break aways on roller blades and my knees have so many scars from trying do a stop while not realling thinking im on ice, or while making a really sharp turn.

[iceburg19 1]

bostoncrimsonsox, SinBinSaint hit it on the head.inline is a good cross over,think about it,with inline your working on the same movement,a skating sensation,of stick handling,working on your stride,the turning with stick in hand and if on a smooth surface,use a golf ball.you can get the weight transfer and balance of skating on inlines .ONE THING THOUGH ITS NOT ICE AND YOU CANT WORK YOUR EDGES.and when you get on the ice,try to get those edges down.hey it might work ,it might not it depends on how you want to train for the game.ive done it and it helps .

[n3ss 0]

I'll be honest, ice skating actually messes up my roller hockey more than the other way around. I play ice Friday and Saturday, and then roller on Sunday, and when I transition into roller I attempt to make some hard cuts and stop the same way I do on ice.... and I usually fall several times.

I'm the exact same way. I try to be on ice 2-3 times a week and usually once or twice for roller. I'll say that things i learn on ice (or roller) tend to eventually make its way to the other. For example, i could not crossover to the left on roller until i started playing ice.. I also started to learn how to skate backwards on roller and thats how i figured it out on ice.

Although now that i play ice a lot more, i tend to forget that i'm not on ice when i'm on roller... so i end up trying to stop or forget that i have no pads on and end up nearly killing myself or someone... :(

[Wallzy41 9]

Thanks to everyone. I'm going to work on my skating and stickhandling. Also, all on ice sessions= cancelled next week. Vacation+Hockey Camp = Double cancelled. Aug. 14th i'm going with a friend to play hockey.