Skating in full kit

[Leif 161]

I’m a decent skater, I take weekly lessons and I practice a few hours each week in public skating sessions. So my forwards and backwards crossovers are pretty good, and hockey stops and tight turns are not a problem. I started doing some of my skating drills, such as forwards cross rolls, and forwards power pulls, during the warm up period at the start of our drop in scrimmages. Anyway, I find I struggle to do my basic drills. Is this because the weight of the hockey kit is throwing off my balance? In which case I need more practice  in kit. Or is it the constriction of movement caused by the shin pads, socks and shorts? It could also be the restriction of movement of my ankle due to the shin pads, I have the pads over my skate tongues. I might try tongue flopping and see if that makes a difference. I suppose I could try public skating with shin pads on. Incidentally I’m in England, and hockey ice time is scarce, hence why I skate mainly in public sessions.

[caveman27 208]

4 hours ago, Leif said:

I’m a decent skater, I take weekly lessons and I practice a few hours each week in public skating sessions. So my forwards and backwards crossovers are pretty good, and hockey stops and tight turns are not a problem. I started doing some of my skating drills, such as forwards cross rolls, and forwards power pulls, during the warm up period at the start of our drop in scrimmages. Anyway, I find I struggle to do my basic drills. Is this because the weight of the hockey kit is throwing off my balance? In which case I need more practice  in kit. Or is it the constriction of movement caused by the shin pads, socks and shorts? It could also be the restriction of movement of my ankle due to the shin pads, I have the pads over my skate tongues. I might try tongue flopping and see if that makes a difference. I suppose I could try public skating with shin pads on. Incidentally I’m in England, and hockey ice time is scarce, hence why I skate mainly in public sessions.

So, if no one cares, wear your pants and shin guards while going to a public skating session. The pads will affect your skating a bit as the padding prevents the legs from closing up. It's usually not at the ankles, but the area in front of the shin pads that force you to alter your skating. If you do cross overs, you find that the shin guards get in the way. You need to bend a bit more at the hips and knees. And that actually puts your body in a better position to push off and stroke.

[caveman27 208]

I'm not a McDavid fan, but he's technically a very good skater, everyone in the NHL skates like him, but he's one of the faster skaters. As his back leg comes up and over during a cross-over, the back leg doesn't get blocked by the front leg's shin guard because he's so deep.

 

 

 

 

Here's a super-deep position, in long-track speed skating. The front leg crosses over but doesn't come close to touching the back leg and knee.

[Leif 161]

7 hours ago, caveman27 said:

So, if no one cares, wear your pants and shin guards while going to a public skating session. The pads will affect your skating a bit as the padding prevents the legs from closing up. It's usually not at the ankles, but the area in front of the shin pads that force you to alter your skating. If you do cross overs, you find that the shin guards get in the way. You need to bend a bit more at the hips and knees. And that actually puts your body in a better position to push off and stroke.

It’s not doing crossovers that is the issue, that’s okay, it’s when doing something like forwards power pulls or forwards cross rolls, the balance is lacking. I will try wearing pads and shorts in a public session and see how it goes. They don’t like too much hockey kit, except for the little kids in full kit, who shoot around getting in everyone’s way. 🤣

[YesLanges 127]

My guess is that it's got nothing to with weight or with your pads getting in the way. It's probably that you tie your skates differently in pads. I've always been much more comfortable skating in shin pads than without them, because of the way that I like to tape my pads around my skates at the bottom. It's impossible for me to duplicate that exact same feel without my pads on. If you're putting your pads on before your skates, try doing the opposite so that wearing pads doesn't change anything about the way that you tighten and tie up your skates.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

It just takes time getting used to wearing gear.  Its not one thing or another... it's just different.  Keep at it.  You will be ok.

[Leif 161]

On 9/26/2021 at 2:54 PM, dkmiller3356 said:

It just takes time getting used to wearing gear.  Its not one thing or another... it's just different.  Keep at it.  You will be ok.

Thanks all, I’ve been learning four years, and this seems recent. This evening I was at a different rink, I was fine. All I did different was tie my laces with tongues flopped, then tuck them in. I also went to a deeper hollow, from 7/16” to 3/8” which I really like. I am starting to suspect the ice is the issue, it’s really bad ice at my local rink, goalies slide backwards due to the slope, there’s a 3” water filled rut around one edge which is quite dangerous. A team mate who used to be the ice maintenance engineer said it was very brittle last Friday. The slopes might also be to blame. I’m back there on Wednesday. 

[puckpilot 312]

It can be a lot of different things, maybe even a bit of all of it. During Covid, there was still public skating but nothing else, so did a lot of skating work. But when I started to play with gear on again, a lot of the strides in technique I made didn't immediately transfer over to game situations. For me, it was being less restricted and lighter without the gear that was causing the disconnect. One of the things I did was to wear a 12lb weight belt when I was at stick and puck and public skating. This was to simulate the weight of the gear. It's not perfect, but once I started doing that, things started to translate into games more. Still work to do, but I'm seeing results.  

[Leif 161]

14 hours ago, puckpilot said:

It can be a lot of different things, maybe even a bit of all of it. During Covid, there was still public skating but nothing else, so did a lot of skating work. But when I started to play with gear on again, a lot of the strides in technique I made didn't immediately transfer over to game situations. For me, it was being less restricted and lighter without the gear that was causing the disconnect. One of the things I did was to wear a 12lb weight belt when I was at stick and puck and public skating. This was to simulate the weight of the gear. It's not perfect, but once I started doing that, things started to translate into games more. Still work to do, but I'm seeing results.  

That’s a good idea. Thanks. Much mire convenient than actually wearing kit too.

[krisdrum 233]

15 hours ago, puckpilot said:

It can be a lot of different things, maybe even a bit of all of it. During Covid, there was still public skating but nothing else, so did a lot of skating work. But when I started to play with gear on again, a lot of the strides in technique I made didn't immediately transfer over to game situations. For me, it was being less restricted and lighter without the gear that was causing the disconnect. One of the things I did was to wear a 12lb weight belt when I was at stick and puck and public skating. This was to simulate the weight of the gear. It's not perfect, but once I started doing that, things started to translate into games more. Still work to do, but I'm seeing results.  

This has helped you?  I would think the weight distribution of a 12 belt around your waist would not really replicate the weight of wearing pads all over your body.  Or do you think the added weight has simply made you stronger / more well balanced which offsets the weight of kit?

[puckpilot 312]

7 hours ago, krisdrum said:

This has helped you?  I would think the weight distribution of a 12 belt around your waist would not really replicate the weight of wearing pads all over your body.  Or do you think the added weight has simply made you stronger / more well balanced which offsets the weight of kit?

Yes, the weight distribution isn't the same as pads. When I first started wearing the belt, I noticed the weight of it, and I felt a lot more clumsy. Now, I barely notice the weight, and though, I'm still clumsy, it feels less so.. I think working with this during practice has improved my strength and balance. I've been doing a lot of punch turn work, and I noticed I have more jump on the crossovers coming out of the turn. I'm also doing this with looser laces, so I have to be balanced over the skate right, or I'm going to end up on my ass. I'm also doing interval training with the belt off-ice. I sprint up hills with it. 

The net results I'm seeing right now is I have more jump during the game, and because I'm also shooting with the weight belt on, I find, I'm driving my hips around on my slapshots a lot harder. I haven't felt this good in almost a decade. 

[Leif 161]

I’ve since done several sessions at a rink with good ice, and I was okay in full kit. The local rink wasn’t so bad last week too. I’m convinced the ice was ‘off’, very hard perhaps. I do like slightly soft ice. 

As an aside, anyone know what hollow Crosby is currently on? Someone told me a coach weened him onto a flatter hollow. I’m sure he was on 3/8”.

Edited October 10, 2021 by Leif

[Vet88 674]

Last I heard was 9/16 but that was a few years ago.

[Leif 161]

Thanks.