Referee Skate Profile

[Labrat198 7]

So I've decided to join the ranks of the stripes to help offset the cost of playing. It was a little over a year ago I had a combo profile done on my skates, 8/13 if I remember correctly, that I have been enjoying as a forward. Now that I will need to be skating backwards a lot more I don't think this is the best setup for me. My initial thought is to just have a 11 foot radius, but wanted to see if anyone else had any advise first.

I do have a spare set of steel, but swapping between doesn't appeal to me. I would rather just stick to one profile and leave it at that.

[SirJW 207]

Check the referee thread. 

[Labrat198 7]

I did a couple of word searches before posting. Found a couple posts about equipment, shin guards, elbow pads, girdles, Etc. Perhaps I missed something but I didn't find a section dedicated to referees. If I posted in the wrong section the admin can feel free to move this.

[laserrobottime 148]

I'm on an 8/14 medium forward from No Icing. It's great -- long radius for glide, shorter up front for backward agility.

 

I don't think you need to change your profile too much to go from playing to reffing.

[Labrat198 7]

Sounds good. I got mine from No Icing as well. Thinking its about time for a touch up.

During the on-ice portion of my seminar it was mentioned that my backward speed could use some work. Nerves probably had a lot to do with me slowing down to make sure I hit all the marks, but I also know I normally use my forward stride to get up to speed before turn around while playing. Practice and getting use to the flow of the game from a ref's perspective will do more than a new radius ever could, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't handy-capping myself.

[215BroadStBullies610 434]

First off: "Open your eyes ref!" Now you're officially in the club haha. I don't anything about profiling (I should though). What I can say is that if you have a good stride as a player, you probably don't have mess around too much with your profile. At leas that is me applying logic to your concern ha.

[jimmy 194]

One other thing to consider for refs is endurance. So many refs are doing multiple back to back games or working games by themselves. The less effort they expend the better, the faster they can go the better.. Larger radius really pay off as well as FBVs. If a ref is also playing, sometimes a set just for ref-ing is a good choice.

[laserrobottime 148]

On 9/30/2017 at 1:51 PM, jimmy said:

One other thing to consider for refs is endurance. So many refs are doing multiple back to back games or working games by themselves. The less effort they expend the better, the faster they can go the better.. Larger radius really pay off as well as FBVs. If a ref is also playing, sometimes a set just for ref-ing is a good choice.

I agree with the first 3/4 of your post -- I switched to FBV 2 years ago and won't go back unless it's an emergency (none of the EQMs of teams I work have FBV spinners, so in a pinch I revert to 3/4ROH).

The last 1/4 gives me pause. I don't feel an official needs a different profile than he or she would use playing, especially if they're just starting out. I know we're all gear/equipment nerds, but a first year ref won't be working a super high level of hockey and should spend far more time focusing on positioning and rule knowledge than worrying if they packed their playing or reffing steel.

[215BroadStBullies610 434]

1 hour ago, laserrobottime said:

I agree with the first 3/4 of your post -- I switched to FBV 2 years ago and won't go back unless it's an emergency (none of the EQMs of teams I work have FBV spinners, so in a pinch I revert to 3/4ROH).

The last 1/4 gives me pause. I don't feel an official needs a different profile than he or she would use playing, especially if they're just starting out. I know we're all gear/equipment nerds, but a first year ref won't be working a super high level of hockey and should spend far more time focusing on positioning and rule knowledge than worrying if they packed their playing or reffing steel.

Depends on the skating stride of the individual. I speak from experience haha. My natural stride is not kosher with the "appropriate" skating style of a referee. I've had to adjust the way I skate while wearing the stripes to emphasize control over power. Prior to the zebra life, I always skated with power being my strong suit and my stride clearly showed that. I have a pair of skates for officiating and another for playing. I'd be one of those people who'd get two different profiles. To your point though, your key phrase is where I think you hit home. @Labrat198 I would have someone who has high experience as an official evaluate the way you skate. When I started out, I was always dinged on being a strong skater but not fully extending my stride. If your eval shows that you have a good/solid stride, I'd say that @laserrobottime is correct and there would be no need to change your profile. 

[Labrat198 7]

Thanks for the input everyone! My first year will primarily be doing youth (12U) games and in an adult rec league that I also play in, so it sounds like I should be able to keep my current set up at this point. 

If this reffing thing is something that I like and find that at higher level games I could use a longer profile for speed and endurance, I would be more inclined to have my skates set up for reffing and play on the same set up rather than swapping them out.

@215BroadStBullies610 do you feel like there is an adjustment period switching between skates? I would think the muscle memory from one would throw off the other?

[215BroadStBullies610 434]

Good question. When I realized that I was on the ice way too much to use the same skate for all 3 phases of hockey for me, I knew I was better off getting 2 pairs of skates. Now for me, I focus on comfort for officiating and performance for coaching/playing. I usually have a hard time finding retail skates fitting me the way I'd like them to but I've been able to make it work. Right now I wear the Bauer Vapor. 1X for coaching/playing and Bauer Nexus 8000 for officiating. There is always an adjustment for me but I've been wearing two different skates for years that I don't really notice it. Since officiating is about control, I won't be busting it ALL the time but will be on my feet for most of the time. The exact opposite for playing/coaching. Since I keep that at the back of my mind, I'm able to go back and forth easily with no hiccups.