swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 6, 2014 Hey guysI've been skating and playing hockey for about 4 months. I picked up the basics and I'm skating ok now (must've been all that driveway roller hockey in the mid 90s). Anyway, I've noticed that I always seem to have my skates sliding just slightly when I'm skating. Like if I'm doing a crossover, they're skidding outwards with each stride. If i'm doing a tight turn they're skidding outwards a little bit. Even when I try to take a quick start and get striding quickly I feel my skate slide just slightly as i push my foot out. For my last few sharpens I've been getting 5/8" ROH because firstly I'm a big guy and secondly because I couldn't learn hockey stops with 1/2" ROH (kept digging in and eating shit). My question is: is it normal for skates to be slipping out a bit? I assume it's not. It's not that I can't control it, it's more that I feel like I would have a more powerful stride and controlled turn if I was not sliding around. Is it a sharpening radius thing? Should I go back to 1/2" now I can hockey stop and see how I go? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BenderHockey 127 Report post Posted January 6, 2014 It's all about learning edge control. ROH wil tweak that a bit, but 5/8" is a good starting point. It's all about the nuances of what part of your foot gets the most pressure at what point of your turn. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 6, 2014 oh ok cool. So what part of my foot should be getting the most pressure at what points of the turn? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thejackal 46 Report post Posted January 7, 2014 experiment. you've got four edges (2 on each blade). right now there's probably one edge you're favoring (the inside edge on your stronger leg, most likely). if you just isolate each edge and make sure you're as comfortable as on your strongest edge, then you'll be halfway there to being a much better skater. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 7, 2014 cheers. you're right about that edge. i'll work on it. i've seen the videos showing how...just gotta the hard yards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadd 916 Report post Posted January 7, 2014 Concentrate on pushing down more than out with each stride, or at least down and then out. You need to set the edge when you skate or stride, not expect the skate to do it for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 7, 2014 Thanks Chadd. That seems like good advice. I know that when I have concentrated on a downwards push in my stride (which I was doing because a guy told me I should try to be lighter/smoother on my non-striding foot) that I was making more powerful strides. Regarding getting a better edge on turns, I'm assuming that by keeping my shoulders more over my hips when I tight turn, will keep more weight on my skates. I'm pretty heavy but I'm also very tall and I think I may have a tendency to lean my whole body over when turning which i suppose means there's no weight on my edges and hence the slipping. Does that sound right? If so, that's easy for me to correct. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chadd 916 Report post Posted January 8, 2014 Thanks Chadd. That seems like good advice. I know that when I have concentrated on a downwards push in my stride (which I was doing because a guy told me I should try to be lighter/smoother on my non-striding foot) that I was making more powerful strides. Regarding getting a better edge on turns, I'm assuming that by keeping my shoulders more over my hips when I tight turn, will keep more weight on my skates. I'm pretty heavy but I'm also very tall and I think I may have a tendency to lean my whole body over when turning which i suppose means there's no weight on my edges and hence the slipping. Does that sound right? If so, that's easy for me to correct. You won't need to stomp into the ice or anything crazy, just focus on pushing down a little more than you are now and maybe making sure your stride starts a little closer to being under your body. The farther out your foot is, the harder it is to set an edge, especially for newer skaters who generally lack a little ankle strength. I call it "being on top of your edges". Getting a proper knee bend (more than you think) and keeping your center of gravity low and centered will help a good deal. When it comes to turning, you will eventually be able to really lean into them once you learn to set your edges and keep your speed up. Please bear in mind that some, all or none of this may actually apply to you as I have never seen you skate. I'm just going by the most common cases that I see around me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 8, 2014 Thanks again. I messed around briefly with some of the things mentioned here in the warm up before my game in the last day. I can see how concentrating on getting these little things right makes a big difference. Most of what you're telling me isn't coming as a surprise, some of it i've heard before but nevertheless it's good to be reminded. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AfftonDad 88 Report post Posted January 8, 2014 When you are learning to skate and edge, be very deliberate about THINKING about the mechanics of what your doing. And slow the parts down (I mean when practicing of course, not in games). THINK about and be very deliberate about each part of the stride, even to the point of exaggerating each part. When my son was learning he had a bad tendency to hop out of his crossovers (and I don't mean like good skaters do when they really want to get moving fast). I mean he was hopping to get out of what was to him an uncomfortable position (crossed over and on the outside edge) more quickly. I resorted to having him count out loud one... two... one... two... for the cross part and the recovery part at a fixed slow pace so that he would hold each part for an equivalent amount of time. Also the one footed gliding crossover thing (where you are isolating just the inside or outside edge) helped him a lot. I even see some NHLers do those edging drills (which I probably would have considered too beginnerish for them if I hadn't seen them doing it) during their pre game warmups. It really helps you to "feel" your edges. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 8, 2014 agree about "thinking" about the mechanics of what I'm doing. Having been skateboarding for around 20 years I know that that's the way I best learn how to do anything. If I can see someone do something, and perhaps have someone explain the mechanics involved and I have a good shot at learning it. I often ask the coaches in my club weird crap like "where should my weight be?" or "what am i leading with?" "what are my shoulders doing?" and i think they might think I'm weird. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AfftonDad 88 Report post Posted January 8, 2014 agree about "thinking" about the mechanics of what I'm doing. Having been skateboarding for around 20 years I know that that's the way I best learn how to do anything. If I can see someone do something, and perhaps have someone explain the mechanics involved and I have a good shot at learning it. I often ask the coaches in my club weird crap like "where should my weight be?" or "what am i leading with?" "what are my shoulders doing?" and i think they might think I'm weird. Ahhh, a skater... that explains the old D.R.I. avatar ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 8, 2014 Ahhh, a skater... that explains the old D.R.I. avatar ;)and also why i could never resort to rollerblading as a way to get some off ice practise done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chk hrd 164 Report post Posted January 9, 2014 The biggest thing in skating is propper technique. Shoulders over knees, knees over toes, weigh your heels to turn, toes to stop. I have always taught long smooth strides over short choppy one, they seem to use less energy and transfer more power. Work on everything slow at first and concentrate on doing them correctly. When I coached during summer camps we always spent time on good fundimentals. Where you place your stick when turning has effect on your turn. With only a few months of skating I would suggest taking a few skating lessons from a figure skating coach before the bad habits get ingrained. They will teach the best edge and weight control. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swineanddine 2 Report post Posted January 9, 2014 The biggest thing in skating is propper technique. Shoulders over knees, knees over toes, weigh your heels to turn, toes to stop. I have always taught long smooth strides over short choppy one, they seem to use less energy and transfer more power. Work on everything slow at first and concentrate on doing them correctly. When I coached during summer camps we always spent time on good fundimentals. Where you place your stick when turning has effect on your turn. With only a few months of skating I would suggest taking a few skating lessons from a figure skating coach before the bad habits get ingrained. They will teach the best edge and weight control.Thanks for the advice. I actually do a lesson each week, though it's with the hockey club, it's more skating-based. We do drills on a range of techniques and usually get some one on one feedback from the coach which is always helpful. One thing that just occurred to me is that you just told me to put weight on my heels when i turn. Now one session we were doing tight turns around our gloves. My turns were real weak so I started putting some weight on my leading heel...and that worked for me. I asked the coach if that's the right way and he said that I should be on my toes or mid-foot if anything. He must've been tripping because he's a really good skater. Long smooth strides work for me, when I can remember to do them, as I have long legs (and I consider them to be pretty strong). I know about the full knee bend, full extension and extra toe flick at the end and when I do that I seem to wind up a fair bit of pace. I've also been taught about leading turns with the stick, looking where you're turning (same as anything, lead with head - body follows). anyway all you guys have given me good advice. i just wanted to know if i was slipping because of an equipment issue or a skating issue and it seems more likely to be a skating thing...and you've all told me what I need to work on so I'm good to go and get to it. cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canuck88 0 Report post Posted January 27, 2014 Just my 2 cents (as a fellow beginner), but yes you should go back to 1/2". The hockey stop will come... but feeling like you have no edges during turns and crossovers will not be good for your confidence! I had the same thing happen - had always used 1/2" (I can hockey stop), and tried 5/8" - felt like I had no outside edge and went back to 1/2" and all was well again... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MThockeydad 469 Report post Posted January 27, 2014 Can't you get 9/16"?! Seems like you're at a point where a little fine-tuning would be noticeable. A little deeper radius for turning, not so deep you dig in hard stopping. Fellow new skater and I actually started on 7/16". It wasn't conducive to learning good stops, but was great for edges and turning. I went to a 100/50 (similar to 9/16") and it's working great for stopping, and I've kept my turning ability. I often ask the coaches in my club weird crap like "where should my weight be?" or "what am i leading with?" "what are my shoulders doing?" and i think they might think I'm weird. From coaching other sports, you're the kind of "coachable" athlete most coaches should wish they had. Telling you where your weight or body parts should be is easy, but not the kind of thing most athletes understand...so coaches more often have to over-explain it to others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
