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skating tips for the uneducated beginner


CoachX

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to get to the point, I had them sharpened and went on this ice. As I have already mentioned, I am not the most gracefeul of skaters but I do okay. Normally stopping is not a huge deal for me. However, in these new skates, when I try to stop the blades chops across the ice.

What kind of skates were you skating with before?? Different brands have different blades. In addition to pods suggestion, I would also go along the boards, hold the wall and take the skate and try and slowly make ice shavings. This will show you were the sweet spot (or rocker) point is on the skate. When you have found that spot, go into the corner and just using about 5-6 feet at a very moderate pace, try and find that sweet spot for stopping. Practice both feet.

The other thing I have seen that will cause skipping is one of two additional things (and sometimes a combination of both):

1) You are catching your outside edge a bit when trying to stop (instead of your inside edge).

2) The bevel (the depth of the cut) was not set correctly.

In the end, if you really want to figure it out, seek out one of the university / junior / semi-pro there in NM (I believe they have all three). Use the web and see if you can find contact names for practice schedule or even e-mail address for any of the staff (preferably a coach or a trainer). Make contact with them and tell them you are interested in finding a well qualified hockey skating coach for a session or two.

Not knowing what your finances $50 for a session is pretty reasonable and as long as the coach is indeed qualified, will pay off in spades. Everybody skates different- especially when learning. Some are too far over their toes, some too far back on their heals. This can be corrected two ways: one by appropriate skating drills to get the balance point corrected and two adjusting the skate curvature (known as rocker point). I would not mess with the rocker point until you have had a chance to speak to an expert skating instructor as changing it prematurely without proper assessment could adversely screw up your skating mechanics.

Lastly- if none of that is an option, take the last skates you had where you were able to not have this problem and take both pairs to a trusted pro-shop. Explain your problem and see if they can replicate both the depth of cut (bevel) and the rocker from your old pair of skates to your new pair.

Lastly, for me on sizing, I only go half a size down from my shoe size. I also have wider feet and like shoes you can get wider skate sizes too.

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in response the advice I got here, i took an extreme approach to the issue. I bought an old syle cotten mop, painted it blaze orange and ordered a winter classic hartnell jersey. Now, when i fall for no logical reason, everyone understands. Mentally I feel better better becasue insteaed of playing hockey, I feel like I am playing make believe.

i am currently identifying my strong points by trash talking in the mirror and throwing my gloves at my kids as they run down the hall

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LOL, the Tonner is mysteriously absent this fine forum. He made a brief appearance a long time ago and then disappeared. Perhaps he's here lurking under a different username...or he's been incarcerated...

He commented on an article on Philly.com a week or two ago...so I think he is still on parole, at the least.

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