Roller Hockey

Question
Okay it's me again, lol (I'll probably have a few questions before these four months are over).  First off, I would just like to say that somehow the way you explained the hockey stop was so much clearer than anyone I've ever talked to.  Somehow, it just all seemed to finally make sense.  I tried doing it the day I got your answer, and I could actually do something!  Up until now it's kind of been like me telling my feet to move, and they just continue to coast in a straight line until I hit something.  My question now is whether I'm doing it correctly, though.  It does "stop" me, so I guess I'm doing it right in that sense, but I still thought that it would be best if I just ask.  Once my skates finally stop moving, I'm facing the opposite direction that I was traveling, and I'm not sure if that is correct.  When I see other people stop, it looks like they only spin 90 degrees to the left, but I definitely go 180, but then again it made it really easy to push off again and do a little line to line drill, so that was nice.  Then I got to wondering that maybe it's just two different stops, one when you turn 90 and one when you turn 180.  So, anyway, I was just wondering if you could tell that I'm doing something horribly wrong or not.  On a lighter note, I just want to thank you again for your explanation, becuase even if what I'm doing is wrong now, it is still leagues beyond what I could do before.  Thanks again!

BTW, I have my first skating injury--right up the right side of my face, lol, and I'm wearing it proudly
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Followup To

Question -
Okay, so ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to play hockey, but my parents wouldn't let me because they weren't very comfortable with physical sports like that.  Now I'm sixteen and I was thinking about trying out for my school's roller hockey team.  The only real problem is that.......um.......I don't know how to play roller hockey.  Or even skate for that matter.  I bought some roller blades a couple of days ago, and I have gotten the hang of moving (I think, I guess I'm not really sure), but my biggest problem is that I just can't seem to stop.  The blades that I bought don't have a break (and I don't particularly think that a break is helpful in hockey), so I have been trying to learn the "hockey stop".  Yeah.......um......that hasn't gone well so far.  I was just wondering if there was anything that you can tell me about how to stop properly, as well as if you think that I even have a chance at sharpening my skills enough in the next four months to where I won't make a fool of myself in tryouts.  Thanks for your help, and frankly I would appreciate any information roller blading/roller hockey related that you have.

Answer -
Hi Andrew,
  Yikes, you better get to work and skate as much as possible.  lol   4 months isn't a very long time to master skating but it's certainly not impossible.

  First lets cover the hockey stop.  A hockey stop is like doing a 1/2 spin.  I'm not sure which way is your natural way of turning so I'll cover both ways.

  Turning to the left:  Skate forward slowly at first,  put about 98% of your weight on your right skate and move your right shoulder forward till it comes around to where your left shoulder use to be.  It will feel like your reaching your right arm across your chest but make sure it stops when it gets to the other side.  If it continues to keep going you will do a full spin.

  Turning to the right:  Same technique but put 98% of your weight on your left skate and move your left shoulder over to where your right shoulder use to be.

  I'll use a clock to help explain.  Where ever your toes are facing is always 12:00 no matter if your going forward or backward.  

   For turning to the left... your right shoulder would be at 3:00.  Move your right shoulder all the way across you till it reaches 9:00.  Don't go past 9:00 or it creates a spin.

  There is also a way of stopping called a T-stop. It's not as quick as a hockey stop but it's an alternative.  Put your weight on your favorite foot, then angle the other skate outward while gently gliding/dragging it on the floor.  It's like dragging your skate behind you but being in control.  The drag will slow you down. Be careful using this kind of stopping, it can sometimes flatten your wheels a little.

   The hockey stop is also a good way of turning to backwards when you're ready for that.  

   Standing up fairly straight and bending your knees is important while you're learning to skate.  Try not to lean  forward to much because you'll always be out of balance.

  Inline skates are stiff so they have a tendency to make you want to lean forward.  Just be careful and try to keep your weight back on your ankles by bending the knees more.

  Skate a lot, that's the only way to learn.  Once you feel your balance is pretty good, then start skating with a hockey stick and try different moves as if you're in an actual hockey game.  

  Also practice skating backward...you will need it.  

  Backward skating:  As always, keep good posture, keep your chin up or you'll fall forward.  Point your toes toward each other and start by taking small marching steps with the pressure towards the inside of each skate.

  Keep a consistant rhythm such as...step, step, step etc.  Keeping your toes pointed toward each other is what will make you move.  If the toes straighten out you will just slip when you try to push and you'll stop moving.

  This should be enough to practice for now.  Practice your forward skating.  If you're not going as fast as you'd like...then turn your toes outward and you'll pick up speed.  Then practice your hockey stop and T-stop and then work on backward skating too.  

  Good Luck, you can do it.  Just keep practicing.  If you need anything else, just write me again.

Pat

Answer
Hey Andrew,
  Sounds like your feeling more comfortable on those skates.  That's great.  

  Something to remember for everything that you do....your upper body will tell your feet what to do.  If you try to make your feet do something and they won't, then it's because your upper body didn't give your feet the correct information.

   As for the hockey stop doing a 180 instead of a 90?  I would imagine those are 2 different moves and I'm sure down the road in a hockey game you will use both depending on what you need at the time.

   If you want to do a 90, just move your right hip and shoulder to 12:00 instead of 9:00.  Do it the exact same way that your doing the 180 but don't rotate your upper body so far around.  Where ever your hip and shoulder stop, is where you'll stop.  

   Once the hockey stop is comfortable and comes naturally to you,  you won't have to focus on moving your hip and shoulder so much.  You'll just do it automatically.

   Keep up the good work.  Sounds like your making fast progress.  

   Sorry you had your first injury.  It's never fun but sad part is, falling is part of the sport.  No matter how good you get, at some point you're going to go down.  That's why it's good to wear as much safety gear as you can, especially for skating out doors.

   If you know your going to fall, sometimes it makes it worse by trying to fight it.  When falling is inevitable, get as low as you can and just sit down.  Or if you can roll out of it like a gymnast it's better yet.

   Thanks...I'm happy that my explanations are making sense to you.  Well, keep me posted on how it's going and if you need anything else just let me know.

   Just out of curiosity what part of the country are you from?  

Take care
Pat