My Roller Hockey Saga (Part Five)

Question
Okay, so I've been mixing together everything that you've been telling me over the past week or two, and I've become fairly competent on my roller blades, but I still have some questions.  One major question that I have is really how comfortable can you get on roller blades.  I mean, is it supposed to be just as natural as walking, because I see professional hockey players fall all the time, but then again, I haven't tried skating around with people running into me and such (ugh, now that I think about it, that probably won't go well).  I imagine that the best way to get more comfortable is to just get out there and do it, but I was wondering if you could tell me anything about stickhandling with the puck/ball (I don't even know what my school plays with, so I've been using both).  It's like it makes even skating forward so much more difficult, and I've taken a couple of spills getting the puck caught on a wheel.  Also, I'm still having some trouble with crossovers, and I'm not sure why.  It seems like I'm too tentative to take my skate all the way over.  I'm guessing that it might be difficult with my narrow practice space, so I was wondering how wide/narrow a turn you can really make with crossovers.  Are you supposed to be able to turn on a dime, or is it more of a like hula-hoop sized arc that you need to make?  Also, I've been struggling with trying to move backwards.  I tried your "marching steps" method, and that works very well, but I have no idea how to stop, lol.  Every time I tried turning and stopping like I do forwards I always end up with something on the ground other than my skates, and I was wondering if there was a certain way that you were supposed to stop while traveling backwards.  One last thing, I know that about two weeks have gone by already, and it's making these four months seem a lot shorter than I originally thought, and I was wondering if you think I am advancing at a steady enough pace to where I might be ready by February.  I'm not really sure how quickly you are supposed to pick this stuff up, so I don't know if what I'm doing now you are supposed to have learned in your first day, lol

Answer
Hi Andrew,
  How comfortable can you get on roller blades?  Yes, in time it will be as comfortable as walking but no matter how good you get, at some point, you will fall down. Either by your own doing or someone running into you.  

You really need to get out somewhere where there's more actual skating surface to practice on.  You need to practice skating distances with long strides, you need to practice stopping quickly, you need to practice changing directions and you need to practice skating backward for long distances to ever become comfortable on your skates.


As far as stick handling?  I think the skating skills and comfort level have to improve first.  Then carrying the stick won't be so awkward.  You might try practicing with the stick when you're "off" skates.  Use a ball, not a puck. The ball will roll faster and give you better practice at maneuvering.  Run around and chase it, bounce it off walls..catch the ball with your stick and send it back to the wall, then repeat.  If you have some friends, ask them practice with you.  Set up something you can use as a goal and try to get the ball away from each other to make a goal.  Anything can be used as a goal..even a line drawn with a chalk mark.  It really doesn't matter.  The point is just getting use to handling the stick in all kinds of situations.  Once your skating is more comfortable, then try the stick again.

As far as crossovers?   Cross overs are only used for wider turns and changing directions.  If you want to stop on a dime, then use the hockey stop.  Again this is something you really need more space to practice in.  Can you skate in the street in front of your house?  That would be much better.  

Stopping, going backwards:  You have 2 choices of stopping while going backward.  You can either turn or jump to forwards and stop or you can put your weight on one foot then turn the toe of the other skate slightly inward and glide it gently on the ground.  The dragging action will slow you down but won't stop you immediately.  If you have time to stop slowly, then this will work fine.  It's like the T-stop I mentioned in an earlier email but now you're going to do it while going backward.

You asked if I thougth you were advancing at a steady enough pace to be ready by February?  Not having seen you skate, it's hard to say.  But.....it seems that you're absorbing all the information I've given you and that's half the battle.  I seriously think if you want to see some fast improvement you have to practice in a larger area.  Small areas allow you to grasp the maneuvers but larger skating areas allow you to actually practice them at a normal to fast speed. You need a big enough skating area where you can keep increasing your speed for all these skills.  The comfort of skating forward or backward can't happen unless you have a long enough stretch of skating surface.  

Going slow is very hard to maintain balance which is possibly why you're having trouble with your crossovers.  Keep a good lean when you practice a cross over.  Balance on your left foot then gently pick up your right foot and bring it up and over your left foot.  If the right foot won't stay in the air, then you don't have enough lean to the left.  Move your nose over your left skate yet aim your body forward.  Don't let the left shoulder drop backward.

You seem to pick up these moves very quickly so I would say you're a fast learner.  Remember it takes time to be good at anything.  You have plenty of time before February if you start practicing in a larger area.  Practice skating forward and focus on your balance.  Keep an even push and work on longer strides.

Take care and talk to you soon
Pat