learning hockey at an advanced age

[MikeBoyarchuk 45]

+1 for 2 hands on the stick. Keep it on he ice and use it to guide your turn. The line your stick takes you'll take. Bend those knees and explode out of the turn.

Great to see you're still keeping up with your training. I wish I had as much ice time as you!! :)

[Amazinmets73 69]

I think I've found my position. I want to be a defensemen

[Amazinmets73 69]

Goal!

[Amazinmets73 69]

Played my best game today. I play a stay at home defensive style, so no goals or assists.

Several takeaways; I did a good job of moving the puck out of my zone and across the line; passes were on line. The highlights were bailing out my goalie with some nice dives off a former D3 player.

[MThockeydad 469]

I think I've found my position. I want to be a defensemen

D is a very difficult position to start at as a beginner.

I saw two people doing it very well this year--one a lady I mentored last season whom I picked up for my draft team this session, another a 14U girl who has 5yr of figure skating experience but brand new at hockey.

The beginners who are successful learning at D are students of the game and good at accepting feedback and constructive self-critique. You have that.

Played my best game today. I play a stay at home defensive style, so no goals or assists.

Several takeaways; I did a good job of moving the puck out of my zone and across the line; passes were on line. The highlights were bailing out my goalie with some nice dives off a former D3 player.

Combine that with holding the blue line when the puck is in their zone (when puck is on your side) and backing up your partner by heading home (when the puck is coming down his/her side) and you have D figured out.

Edited December 17, 2015 by MThockeydad

[Amazinmets73 69]

Video I shot a few weeks ago. Stickhandle across red line, pass to teammate

[Vet88 674]

Empty rink to practice in, the best kind! Back to the heads up play, this is the time when you really have to reinforce this as you are learning. Practice this drill but do these:

- As you skate towards the boards to pick the puck up glance over your shoulder back up the rink, this is so you know what you are going to do BEFORE you get to the puck (is someone behind me, is a team mate already skating and open, what side are they skating to, do I release the puck immediately or do I have time to escape etc etc).

- When you pick the puck up, don't look at it, try to never look at it, just cup it with the blade and continue skating. Then skate up the rink looking left and right to find your team mate and deliver the pass.

- DON"T LOOK AT THE PUCK

- As you continue to improve try to pick the puck up whilst you are skating as fast as possible, don't just drift in to it to start the drill, begin the drill when you are in the middle of the rink and do the drill as fast as you can.

As you pick the puck up off the bottom board vary the drill by going to the back of the net and stopping, then practice escaping out each side. As a D the net is one of your best friends on the ice. And alternate the drill on both sides so you are picking the puck up on your forehand and back hand.

[Amazinmets73 69]

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

In the first video, I think you're kind of slicing it a bit too much. Like you're catching it mid-toe instead of heel-mid and not turning your wrists over to point the puck in the direction you want it to go. It got a little better with the regular pucks toward the end. Also, you're transferring your weight to the back leg then twisting instead of transferring from the back leg to the front leg. Think of it like putting all your weight on the bag leg and driving all that momentum through to the front leg and pointing the toe of the blade where you want it to go as you follow through. I was doing the basics of shooting with my JV kids the other day, most would transfer the weight back, but not forward or they wouldn't follow through with the stick.

I'm definitely jealous of the amount of ice time you're getting to work on the basics of hockey. There's so much I wish I could work on. Keep up the great work!

[chk hrd 164]

Said before but will say it again...love your commitment.

To me you look like you are swinging with a bad golf swing. Start in a good position. knees bent (knees over toes, shoulders over knees), a little wider than your shoulders. Keep both feet planted. You can't raise your heel in skates. You need to turn your upper body and feel your back foot dig in (that is where you will get the power to load the stick), don't slide your hips back. When you swing, don't get the blade up, it should be a little lower and around your body (it should be just like unwinding a spring). When everything goes high like that it creates a steeper swing. Like a golf swing it starts from your planted back foot and goes up. As you go through the puck you transfer the weight from the back foot to the front (don't slide because it throws you off balance). I would move the puck to the middle or forward of middle. When you have it to far back there is a tendency to have a steeper swing that doesn't allow a good follow through and makes the stick want to bounce alittle instead of loading up and going through. You only need to hit the ice behind the puck far enough to load the stick. To far back and you loose everything, to far forward and you either hit part of the puck or miss it. Make sure as you are following through you roll your hands/wrists over and finish with the stick pointing where you want the puck to go. Keep your head relatively in the same spot. When you raise your heel you lift your body up and when you swing you dip down, this is another thing throwing your balance off. Less motion is better. Stand good, twist around, untwist and drive, turn the hands over.

Just my thoughts. Keep up the hard work.

[Amazinmets73 69]

It's becoming more and more evident just how important equipment is to hockey performance. My Makos were getting dull so I had them sharpened and ordered a pair of Reebok 16K skates. The difference between that setup and dull skates with department store socks was night and day.

All, thanks for the advice on my shooting. I implemented that advice during today's session, and (at risk of sounding boastful) the shots were humming into the net.

[Vet88 674]

Some other things - Don't get the back swing so high, focus on form and getting your weight transfer working smoothly instead of power at this stage. Don't open the blade so much during the back swing, keep it parallel to the ground. Keep your left arm straighter as you swing back, you are bending it to much. In the first vid you can see you are hitting off the toe to much, ideal contact point for slap shots is just behind the middle of the blade.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Vet88

[Amazinmets73 69]

Any improvement from previous vid?

I'm using a wood stick here and am unsure of the flex. Earlier in today's session I shot with an 100 flex composite stick and was able to elevate the puck with ease.

I made the mistake of purchasing intermediate sticks out of frustration when shortly after I began shooting thinking that lack of strength was the reason I couldn't elevate the puck, but as I've demonstrated here I'm strong enough to use stiff sticks; it all boiled down to technique.

[Larry54 243]

Any improvement from previous vid?

I'm using a wood stick here and am unsure of the flex. Earlier in today's session I shot with an 100 flex composite stick and was able to elevate the puck with ease.

I made the mistake of purchasing intermediate sticks out of frustration when shortly after I began shooting thinking that lack of strength was the reason I couldn't elevate the puck, but as I've demonstrated here I'm strong enough to use stiff sticks; it all boiled down to technique.

Instead of transferring your weight forward from your right leg to your left leg, your body is moving downward as you swing. Notice how your right knee is bending as you swing. In a way it should be doing the opposite, straightening as you push off of it to transfer your weight forward from the right leg to the left.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Larry54

[Vet88 674]

Keep your front foot on the ground, don't lift your body up as you swing back and shift your weight onto the back foot (eg watch how your head rises as you swing back), as you swing forward you have to shift your weight from the back leg to the front leg and rotate your hips and shoulders (rotating over the front foot) so they should be facing forward at the end of the swing.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

Looking much better. However, as others have commented, keep that front foot planted. The back heel may lift as your weight transfers and your follow through. Keep the knees bent, drive the momentum forward, less twisting. Make sure you're pointing the toe of the stick on the follow through where you want the puck to go.

[Amazinmets73 69]

23 second lap. Want to get it under 20

[Amazinmets73 69]

[Amazinmets73 69]

You know what's humbling? Skating a 23 second lap, then tuning into the NHL skills competition and watching goalies skate a 15 second lap

[marka 526]

Howdy,

You know what's humbling? Skating a 23 second lap, then tuning into the NHL skills competition and watching goalies skate a 15 second lap

I love it when I go watch the local Junior team (Phantoms) and one of the players does something mundane like fall down while going for the puck or whatever and they get back up without really slowing down and continue on their way.

And I'm like "well then. I can't even do _that_."

:-)

Mark

Edited January 15, 2016 by marka

[Amazinmets73 69]

[chk hrd 164]

You're doing great, keep it up....Loosen up and breath a little, you look pretty tense. Try to extend your leg more and pull it in all the way. keep your shoulders in line with your hips. It looks like you upper body is turned into the inside so it's twisting you up. Your hips are pointing one way and your shoulders another. Don't try to get your outside leg over to quickly, that's when you start developing that little hop. I would try doing it without even moving your outside leg. Just work on getting a good extension on the inside leg and pulling it in. Once that feels comfortable then work on bringing the other leg over. Make sure to work on both directions.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

You're doing a great job of keeping your knees bent! You're not bobbing much and you're staying pretty level. It makes all the difference. As you get more comfortable, you'll be able to drive the inside leg and extend it rather than just step over. Maybe try slow, purposeful strides once you find your balance. The first video, you seemed to be relying pretty heavily on the stick to balance you, the second video you weren't using it as as much of an aid.

Oh, I'll actually be playing in a tournament down at that rink from 3/18-3/20!

[Andoy 5]

Keep up the good work!

All the aforementioned tips are solid. My 2 cents is to not be afraid to fall (and you will) when learning to skate - I found that this approach helped me figure out my edges faster. Don't forget to wear your padding!

Edited January 29, 2016 by Andoy

[IPv6Freely 2092]

As somebody who hasn't been following this thread and is therefore watching the videos all for the first time, at the same time, I will say.. wow. What a huge difference. Even the difference between the Jan 14 and Jan 25 videos is staggering. Quite honestly, I think your skating backwards is even better than your skating forwards. Crazy. I wish I could skate backwards like that, and I've been playing hockey for like 7 years now. I'm super impressed.