Author Topic: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it  (Read 24337 times)

AndyinSwindon

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #55 on: April 27, 2017, 01:45:17 pm »
Leif....makes you wonder doesn't it ;-)

Anybody would think that Crosby and Gretzky could skate as soon as they could walk!?

I was chatting to Sam Bullas (Swindon Wildcats) the other week, and he was saying that since he has been skating from around the age of 3, he finds it hard to teach people to actually skate, in the same way it'd be hard for you or I to teach people to walk or breathe.  It's just ingrained in him to that depth.  Whereas Robbie (Swindon hockey coach and skating supremo) is seen as a vast exception to the rule, having started skating a lot later in life, but sheer work and natural ability has shone through in a relatively short time.

I think unless you're skating by about 5, NHL dreams would be very remote.

I'm a late starter at 45, no ambition to play professionally (that ship has long sailed...plus I couldn't take the pay cut!), and just enjoy it for what it is, but would like to be as good as I can be (which I hope to God is further than the level I have now reached!).

It's also nice being a dad that skates, my son leaves me in his dust (snow?) in every way, but I'm mighty proud to be able to say that  :)
Started skating 07.01.17
Currently working through NISA LTS Levels.
Currently wobbling through hockey LTP sessions.

LauraJane

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #56 on: May 04, 2017, 12:14:14 am »
Hello!
I've loved this post I went to my first hockey  session last week, I absolutely loved it but I awful but they were so friendly and welcoming I'm looking forward to the next session.

AndyinSwindon

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #57 on: May 04, 2017, 01:11:55 am »
Hey Laura, welcome to the conversation.

Did you skate at Swindon, or elsewhere?

Seems like a good time for an update too, so here goes.

Since last weeks hockey session, I've had a bit of a wobbly week.  Seems really odd, but the skates just haven't felt right.  As Leif has mentioned, I did wonder about the sharpening, but the problem seems to come and go a bit, and I think I have it tied down a little, though whether I am on the right track, only a seasoned professional would probably know.

Laces and lacing.  I'm pretty sure of it.  I have tried experimenting a bit, and I seem to have somehow introduced a bit of variability in my skate laces.  I either have them comfortable, but loose, with no real control, or tight, with great support, and a very painful vice-like grip on my feet that makes it unbearable to skate.  So I have been trying to find a happy medium, and seem to be getting there slowly....or was...until the 4th eyelet down on the inside of my right skate decided to form an intimate relationship with my ankle.  I have tried plasters, have tried shifting the tongue of the skate around a little, felt pads, all sorts, but after a few minutes of skating I am pretty much hobbled.  Looks like something has changed, either in the skate, or my physiology.  If I can address this issue, I think I can nail the fit, and hence the control issues.  I'm going to have a re-bake after my skate tomorrow lunchtime, and see if I can punch out the affected area a little.

Saturdays LTS lesson went ok-ish.  I'm now working through LTS level 5, and have got to backwards glides.  Not happening.  At all.  Oh, forgot to mention....one footed backwards glides, inside and outside edges.  So I have approached this by focusing on my clockwise crossovers (to get them out of the way so I can focus on the trickier stuff).  I can now do passable crossovers in both directions, and know that they will improve with practice, so I can work on my backwards abilities.  I can zip backwards with 'c' cuts pretty rapidly (with a very slow and cautious reverse snowplough to stop), but gliding backwards on one foot is just not ready to happen.  My reasoning is that if I can get more proficient on two feet going backwards, it stands to reason that one footed glides will follow naturally.  And as for those 3-turns......shyeah right!

My confidence has returned a little since my tumble last week, and so I've decided on the following training schedule, given that I have worked on crossovers a lot, and my right footed glide has improved vastly since concentrating on it.

1.  Lots of backwards skating, just to build up the confidence, control, and muscle co-ordination.
2.  Work on backwards one foot glides as a progression from this.
3.  Work up to backwards crossovers on the circles.
4.  Once I can skate backwards more effectively, I'll look at transitions.  Reason being, no point in being able to change orientation, and then not be able to skate.
5.  Work on my hockey stops.

After I have achieved all of this (may take a few months), then the basics are pretty much there, and I should be more effective on the hockey sessions.  Other skills (explosive starts etc) can then be built upon from there.

I am looking forward to trying out the powerfeet.  I'm certain that a lot of the pain I am enduring is down to a tendency to scrunch my toes up and tense up when trying new things, so having my toes forced onto the footbed may help.

And that's pretty much it for now.  Still seeing improvements (slowly but surely) which is the main thing.

Until next time :-)
Started skating 07.01.17
Currently working through NISA LTS Levels.
Currently wobbling through hockey LTP sessions.

AndyinSwindon

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #58 on: May 04, 2017, 01:17:46 am »
P.S. Laura.....(and anyone else bored enough to read my posts)......

One thing you may come across is the number of incredible skaters that look up, when you ask them how long they have been skating, and reply 'oh about 6 months'.  At that point you wonder what you're doing wrong.

....and then after a bit of chatting, what they actually mean is 'ah I've been skating for 25 years, since I was a teenager, then didn't skate for a year, and came back to it 6 months ago'.

I find that a lot! ;D

Started skating 07.01.17
Currently working through NISA LTS Levels.
Currently wobbling through hockey LTP sessions.

LauraJane

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #59 on: May 04, 2017, 07:20:55 am »
Hi,
I also skate at swindon :) I'm on the skating course on a sat morning so we must of crossed paths. I'm making life a bit more difficult for myself as I do the lessons in my figure skates which I love and am comfortable in. I then become bambi on ice in my hockey skates so am re-learning everything in them. I am in the cheap plastic hockey skates at the moment I didn't want to splurge until I knew I was sticking at it so I think a trip to the skate shop is in my future!

Leif

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #60 on: May 04, 2017, 07:45:57 am »
Andy: I got lace bite after using Superfeet, and this product cured it:

https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/orthopaedic-aids/silipos-gel-protectors/silopad-all-in-one-foot-protector

A mate at the rink also used one after he got lace bite. My suspicion is that lace bite can be due to boots that do not fit, in my case adding Superfeet reduced the depth.

It sounds like you are advancing well. I was pleased with my CW and ACW forward crossovers so asked a friendly figure skater to comment. Turns out I was not crossing properly, so he taught me how to do that, I had a go and did it properly albeit with lots of moaning as it hurts.  :o An ex-pro hockey player who showed me tight turns a few weeks ago made approving noises about them last Tuesday. I'm impressed you are aiming to do, or are doing, one leg backwards skating. I can do it on my right leg, but not my (weaker) left leg. Next stop the one leg backwards slalom ... or maybe not.

LauraJane: I have said this many times, but do please make sure you go to a shop with informed staff and a wide selection of skates in your size. I made the mistake of buying hockey skates from a rink shop, and they were far too big. I had to buy another pair, which this time fitted properly. What you will find is that one model, such as Bauer Vapor, might not fit you, but another, such as Bauer Supreme, will. Oonly the Supreme in the Bauer range fitted my feet properly. Incidentally I have size 9 shoes and size 7 skates. A young lad at the local rink was having lessons, and we were all really impressed how well he was doing. His teacher was really quite something in the ice skating world when younger, and might still be. I am sure I would be learning faster with lessons.
« Last Edit: May 04, 2017, 10:39:13 am by Leif »

AndyinSwindon

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #61 on: May 04, 2017, 03:56:36 pm »
Mini-update time :-)

The new powerfoot inserts arrived today, so gave them a loose fit trial in my skates.  They kept my toes nice and toasty, and my feet did feel more connected to the skate.  No lace bite problems, just irritation from the rubbing eyelet, which I am going to attempt to address later.

I also got to meet and skate with the lovely LauraJane, who totally undersells her skating ability!  Laura, you are in no way Bambi on ice.  If I could skate backwards half as well as you, I'd be very happy :-) And it was lovely to spend time skating with you. :)

Will update once I have tried the skates after a bit of a reheat in the ankle area.

TTFN :-)
Started skating 07.01.17
Currently working through NISA LTS Levels.
Currently wobbling through hockey LTP sessions.

AndyinSwindon

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #62 on: May 08, 2017, 10:43:23 am »
Update time again!

I re-baked my right skate last Thursday, and once it was heated, stuck a piece of sponge in the area in which it was rubbing, laced them up, and sat to let them cool off on my feet.  This forced the tight area that was causing the problem to set a couple of millimetres out from where it previously was.  Much cheaper than getting them punched out.

So far, I have skated about 6 hours in them since the re-bake, and no sign of rubbing.

And as for the Powerfoot inserts (Leif, are you getting Superfeet and Powerfoot inserts mixed up?), they are superb.  They keep my toes firmly flat on the footbed, with the added bonus of keeping them toasty.  I feel a lot more secure in the skates and my feet don't cramp up anywhere near so much.  I just have to get used to the physicality of spending the time with my feet correctly flattened in the skate, which causes fatigue of it's own design.  I presume this will lessen as I get used to it.

And my backwards chasses are starting to come along too :-)
Started skating 07.01.17
Currently working through NISA LTS Levels.
Currently wobbling through hockey LTP sessions.

beginner skater

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #63 on: May 08, 2017, 12:45:07 pm »
Im wondering if the Powerfoots would help figure skaters... Where did you get them from Andy?

AndyinSwindon

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #64 on: May 08, 2017, 01:10:06 pm »
Hi Beginner,

From what I can see, I'm not sure whether the Powerfoot inserts would help in figure skates.  It looks like figure skates are a lot more 'shoe-like' in the toe area, and probably wouldn't have enough room for the inserts, whereas hockey skates tend to have a bigger and boxier toe with a lot of wiggle room.

Having not worn figure skates other than the rentals, I could of course be completely and utterly wrong.

If you fancy giving them a go, I found them on Ebay, from Vancouver.  Worked out at about £20 including shipping.

I hope this helps.
Started skating 07.01.17
Currently working through NISA LTS Levels.
Currently wobbling through hockey LTP sessions.

Leif

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Re: A total noob to Ice Hockey - sore and loving it
« Reply #65 on: May 08, 2017, 04:34:47 pm »
Update time again!

I re-baked my right skate last Thursday, and once it was heated, stuck a piece of sponge in the area in which it was rubbing, laced them up, and sat to let them cool off on my feet.  This forced the tight area that was causing the problem to set a couple of millimetres out from where it previously was.  Much cheaper than getting them punched out.

So far, I have skated about 6 hours in them since the re-bake, and no sign of rubbing.

And as for the Powerfoot inserts (Leif, are you getting Superfeet and Powerfoot inserts mixed up?), they are superb.  They keep my toes firmly flat on the footbed, with the added bonus of keeping them toasty.  I feel a lot more secure in the skates and my feet don't cramp up anywhere near so much.  I just have to get used to the physicality of spending the time with my feet correctly flattened in the skate, which causes fatigue of it's own design.  I presume this will lessen as I get used to it.

And my backwards chasses are starting to come along too :-)

Hello Andy, no I'm not confusing Powerfoots and Superfeet. I have Powerfoots and I recommend them for the reasons you give. I was simple explaining that I had lace bite, caused by Superfeet, and cured by gel pads.

Incidentally I recently picked up some Bauer Speed Plates (I got them for £37, although the shop had just raised the price to £48.50 thanks to a huge Bauer price rise), and I can thoroughly recommend them. They are heat moldable arch supports, and they really do mould to the shape of the foot.  They seem to have helped my knees no end.



 

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