Switching from Roller to Ice

[HaviKk 0]

so ive been playing roller hockey for 8 years Playing 1a as of now played 2a last year but my school only has one team. I was born in 96 and have never played ice before cant play house league because it ends at bantams for some strange reason. i would lke to think im a pretty strong skater. Was wondering about how i should go about to playing on a 1A ice hockey team should i go to stick and puck get used to skating then go to power skating classes? Any info would help Thanks

[missionsparta 0]

Ice players going from Ice to inline usually make the transition within games and are a top player. I have watched most inline players, try to switch to ice and take years just to be average. Not to be mean or start a war of words with anyone that might be offended.

You can do it, but it is a completely different beast. Inline people go coast to coast. Ice players move the puck. Inline players throw the puck the full length of the rink. Ice players use the breakout. Start put with stick and puck and start playing on some lower leagues before you throw yourself into a high level league. If it is a high league with checking and you have little to no ice time, you will most likely get blown the hell up the first time you cut across the middle.

Best advice is to start in the lesser leagues before you move into something high end. You can always move up when you feel comfortable. You can't move down after your sidelined with your third concussion.

[wetwilly17 6]

i agree with what sparta says. ice skating takes a lot more precision than inline skating because of the edge control you must learn and ice is a much faster paced game and you will have way less time with the puck before someone is trying to take you out. the most important thing for you right now is to learn to stop quickly on both skates, one skate at a time and on both sides. then focus on hard turns (you can turn so much faster on ice compared to inline once you've learned proper edge control). most inline players (even many advance level players i see) don't bend their knees enough, partly because you don't have much stride length on inline skates. focus on bending your knees for a powerful stride and proper skating.

[x-axis 44]

I made the inline to ice transition 7 years ago. It was rough. I would recommend getting a power skating coach/ private hockey coach because edgework is so important and developing the proper stride is crucial. Also you'll adjust much quicker with a private coach. You get away with so much playing inline and you don't realize it until you play ice.

I would personally choose playing pick-up over stick time, even though you'll need to get used to the weight of an ice puck. Instead of stick time, buy a bunch of ice pucks and make a shooting pad and target which will save you money for pick up or a coach.

[strosedefence34 179]

it depends on the player. I always played roller hockey as a kid. My family could just not afford the ice time. When I got to college we had a club ice hockey team I was asked to play on. I made the transition rather quick, but did need to work on my skating. I would practice with the team and then on my free time go to as many public skates as I could. It took me I would say it took me a month before I was skating like I was playing my whole life. What helped was the Christmas break where all I did was play open hockey the entire time I was home to prepare for when I came back. So long story short. It can be done, but its up to you how quickly it happens. I would try and get out and skate as much as you can and go to as many open hockeys as you can.

[Vet88 674]

You have an advantage with inline in that you have a good grounding in puck control and heads up. Transitioning to ice skating and learning edge control will be the biggest challenge but younger players generally pick this up fairly quickly (like 6 months or so before they start to become proficient). An example I'm currently watching is a 17 year old who has played top level inline for the last 4 years started playing ice last year. For the first 6 months he was very average but now things are coming together really quickly and I expect him to at least make the trials for our local representative team. So it can be done but practicing skating will be your biggest issue.

[HaviKk 0]

Thanks guys very helpful i will look into it

[JCon 6]

I started playing routinely playing ice hockey when I was in 5th grade. I started off slow but eventually developed into an above average player. I only played 2 years in high school and then took a few years off from hockey for some stupid reason. After this I decided to start playing again, but this time I ended up playing roller hockey at my local rinks. I picked it up super quick and actually became a very dominant player on the roller rink. I thought this would have helped my game when I started playing ice again a few years later but I was sorely mistaken :(

What I've found out is that playing roller hockey can make the transition into ice hockey a lot easier (for myself and friends I have introduced to the game), but once you're out there you will realize that they are 2 completely different games on many levels.

As long as you're playing for fun and can find where you're skill level is you will have a blast, guaranteed :)