skating/hockey

Question
QUESTION: Hi Pat,

I've been skating for a while now, and seem to be struggling with the same things over and over, namely speed, agility and transitioning from forwards to backwards (mohawk turn).

I've even recently enrolled in some lessons...but just cant seem to nail down the fundamentals.
I play rollerhockey and my tendancy is to go upright, and once i do that, i lose all power in my stride, it shortens, my balance is effected...on and on and on.
During warmup, or even during practice, i seem to be making a conscious effort of keeping my knees bent, and seem a lot looser and more "confident" i would say. i am consciously thinking about the new fundamentals that i've learned from the lessons, leaning into turns for example, finishing one stride and full recovery before beginning another...leading with the head first....balance transfer etc...
But once we get into some siimulation drills o the puck drops during a game....i seem to tense up and revert back to my old tendancies....I'm 6ft4 and about 240lbs as well, so my centre of gravity is not "naturally low", but i've seen guys bigger than me fly around.
Even in practice, doing the drills such as the mohawk turn...tight turns...i am comfortable up to a certain speed,and that is where i beginto feel like im losing control.
Sitting here thinking about it, maybe i answered my own question, as the speed in the drills and in a game situation is at a higher level, and maybe that is why i tense up...
I guess what im looking for, is if you have any experience with this, and if you can offer up any tips or advice to help me...i'm starting to get really discouraged and frustrated.

thanks for your time

ANSWER: Hi Aleem,
   I think you're biggest enemy is your own expectations of yourself.  If things work pretty well at a lower speed and you can maintain your balance, then it's just a matter of more experience.  

   Learning the fundamentals of balance and various maneuvers is great but until they become a habit or second nature, going at a faster speed will of course be scary and things won't work the way you'd like them too.

   My suggestion is to practice, practice, practice!  Challenge yourself by trying one maneuver at a time.  Start at a comfortable speed and if it goes well, try it again at a little faster pace.....then again a little faster.  You can't go from 5 mph to 20 mph over night.  Each time you practice step up the pace a little at a time.  Recognize the difference between the comfortable speed and the scary speed.  Then work your way up to and through the scary speed.

   Give yourself a practice schedule of what you want to work on.  Then only work on 1 maneuver at a time and give yourself a time limit to work on it....maybe 20 minutes.  Then move onto another maneuver for 20 minutes.  Don't try to do all of them at once.  Separate them and focus on 1 at a time.  When they feel good and you keep your balance, then do a combination of 2 maneuvers in a row with and without a stick & puck.  When 2 maneuvers feel good, then do 3 together and so on.  Think of a situations you'd be in during a game and make a routine out of it.

   Don't get frustrated, it does take time for things to become 2nd nature.  Keep in mind the way you are being taught the fundamentals now are simply to teach you how to feel your balance no matter what you're doing.  If you're in a hockey game those fundamentals my fly right out the window but the most important thing that you've learned from them is how to be in balance and how to stay in balance.

   Keep at it but be patient with yourself.  At some point it will all fall together, I promise.   If I can help with anything else, please feel free to write me again.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Pat,

thank you for the encouragement and the vote of confidence. Confidence is such a fickle thing....ive been feeling a little better about my progress since my last message...and i agree with you....in order to improve i must get out there and practice

One thing that i was wondering if you could provide a tip for...is how to keep low...i had someone watch me and they mentioned that for the most part i'm doing alright, it's just that when i come out of my turns, i have a tendacy to come up out of them, instead of keeping my knees bent...and when i do that, i lose all my momentum and speed....being a bigger guy, its even moreso important to maintain the low centre of gravity...so yes, if you can provide something that i can maybe work on even off ice, that would be great....like i said, second nature is to get upright and stiff, hahah

thanks again for your time
Aleem

Answer
Hi Aleem,
  I'm so glad things are going a little better since your last message.  There's really not a particular tip on how to stay low other than saying... keep your knees bent.  lol   The fact that you know you're suppose to stay low is the key factor.  

  One thing you might want to check is, how tight are your skates laced?  If they're too tight, they won't allow you to bend enough but instead they make you feel like you want to tip over backward.  If you think that's the case, try to lace them a little looser next time.  Keep them snug down in the foot area but a little looser up in the area where you ankle naturally bends.

   Or they could be laced too tight up at the top where your shin pressed down into the tongue of your boot.  You just have to pay attention to where the boot stops you from bending.  If you feel your shin hurt or press to hard into the tongue, then loosen the top of the laces a little bit until it's comfortable to bend.  If you feel the top is ok the way you always lace them, then try to loosen the laces in the ankle area.  Or it may require loosening both the top and the ankle area.   

  If your boots are new and still very, very stiff, some people even skip the lace eyelet on the boot where you'd naturally bend. Just don't put the lace through that one set of eyelets.

  So focus on keeping the knees soft and let them work as shock absorbers.  But also try adjusting the laces as I mentioned above.  If you don't think the laces need adjusting, then it's a matter of focusing on bending until it becomes a habit.

  Keep at it.....it sounds like you're making some headway.  Let me know how it works if you adjust your laces, ok?

Take care
Pat