The last few Piranha games, we've been short on players. I decided I better start getting used to playing on the Blue line for the good of the team. The Coyotes are a team who struggle offensively, so playing defense in their practice would be ideal. We worked on breakouts, and I acted as a fore checker. I'm already fine with this, but it was nice to get some practice on skating back hard, turning, and playing defense one on one. The bigger drill for me was a triangle passing drill. It really helped me with my positioning and anticipation of a pass. Racing down into the corners, and then trying to get the puck out is more exhausting than I remember from previous times on the blue line.
Skating backwards and stopping are two weaknesses of mine. When going forward stop decently on my right foot, and I'm very hit or miss on the left. I think I found part of my problem today. When I skate, my left foot is always on an angle, where as my right foot is always strait. When I go to stop, my foot isn't square, and as a result, I can't push off on it. Without visuals, I cannot explain it correctly, but as I fiddled with the position of my left foot, it helped.
Showing posts with label drills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drills. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Force / Mastodons Practice 2011-06-23
It had been a week and half since I last been on ice. The break was nice, but it goes against my recent ideals of play frequently and play well. Tonight followed the pattern. I practiced with the Force and Mastodons in HNA.
Watching the ice be resurfaced, I was quickly reminded that it was June and ice sucks from June to September. Bensinville is the worst of the worst. During warm ups, the puck was sliding like it was on smooth concrete. Even then still bumpy. You really had to work to move the puck. As the night went on that got better but holes developed in the ice. Good skaters would just fall for what just seemed no good reason.
The Force did a drill for about 15 minutes that I found confusing at first because it was a 3 on 2, with everyone wearing the same colored jersey, and I didn't know anyone, or the drill very well. After my third attempt, I did better but I dropped the puck a lot.
The scrimmage was interesting. It was clear the Mastodons were intense, which makes me wonder how they play in games. They played hard the whole night, and I liked that because they were the less experienced team. The force had a few players that could move, but I was able to keep up. I played center, which was nice because I had planned on perhaps switching there sometime down the road. I was so tired though that I couldn't keep up. The ice just seemed bad, and the Mastodon's physicality was just too much for me after not playing for a while. Several times I would try and stop but the ice was just so jagged that I couldn't get the blade over. There were multiple times that my laziness and poor ice just caused me to trip in addition to me not picking my skate up cleanly.
I wasn't going to play physical. Not when I'm tired, in something meaningless on bad ice. I was chasing down a puck and a Mastodon was going after it as well. I let up and let him pick it up. But when he went to stop, he went flying and dropped the puck. I took my time, picked it up and passed it to the winger who bounced it off the post.
It was a good workout because of my positioning, and how difficult it was to skate. It was a great reminder of what the Piranha's summer league will be like. I enjoyed playing against the Mastodons, and with the force.
Watching the ice be resurfaced, I was quickly reminded that it was June and ice sucks from June to September. Bensinville is the worst of the worst. During warm ups, the puck was sliding like it was on smooth concrete. Even then still bumpy. You really had to work to move the puck. As the night went on that got better but holes developed in the ice. Good skaters would just fall for what just seemed no good reason.
The Force did a drill for about 15 minutes that I found confusing at first because it was a 3 on 2, with everyone wearing the same colored jersey, and I didn't know anyone, or the drill very well. After my third attempt, I did better but I dropped the puck a lot.
The scrimmage was interesting. It was clear the Mastodons were intense, which makes me wonder how they play in games. They played hard the whole night, and I liked that because they were the less experienced team. The force had a few players that could move, but I was able to keep up. I played center, which was nice because I had planned on perhaps switching there sometime down the road. I was so tired though that I couldn't keep up. The ice just seemed bad, and the Mastodon's physicality was just too much for me after not playing for a while. Several times I would try and stop but the ice was just so jagged that I couldn't get the blade over. There were multiple times that my laziness and poor ice just caused me to trip in addition to me not picking my skate up cleanly.
I wasn't going to play physical. Not when I'm tired, in something meaningless on bad ice. I was chasing down a puck and a Mastodon was going after it as well. I let up and let him pick it up. But when he went to stop, he went flying and dropped the puck. I took my time, picked it up and passed it to the winger who bounced it off the post.
It was a good workout because of my positioning, and how difficult it was to skate. It was a great reminder of what the Piranha's summer league will be like. I enjoyed playing against the Mastodons, and with the force.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Chicago Bruins - Adult Beginner Hockey Class - 2010-12-01
I missed the Monday practice because of a cold. I'm not ready to push myself into playing when sick, and the rest did me well. Wednesday I was ready hit the ice, or at least I thought I was.
I've had nothing but good experiences the past two weeks on ice. I had no reason to not expect it to continue. But I felt I just didn't do well at practice. My skating was a little bit off, and my stick handling was atrocious.
Part of it was I believe mental. A goalie made a comment, and I took it the wrong way. I make similar comments all the time, and I do it in jest. I don't know why it bothered me so much. It eventually ended up me being angry instead of challenged after that. I was more focused on impressing than improving. A bad approach in that situation.
The scrimmage went poorly as well. I felt completely out of shape. I know I hadn't skated in a week, and that is my own fault. Stupid Thanksgiving. I played on the blue line, and I just felt out of place. Any time a winger would come down the ice, I'd let him come down, instead of keeping him to the outside. I'm also not very comfortable going backwards.
After the first shift or two, I noticed I was having a bad night and was determined to work to turn it around. Bad move. I ended up tripping a guy (but he deserved it - let us take it out of our zone when you're playing scrimmages like we were). I also used my body in a good way along the boards to prevent the puck from coming any deeper into our own zone. It was too rough of a play though for the situation.
My skating has improved. I've been reading a little bit about power skating, and I can feel a difference. I won two key battles to loose pucks because I was the faster guy. But I couldn't control the puck at that speed to get it off the boards, or to stop and take control. Big issue.
I did make improvements on stopping though. In the skate around I focused on that for a little while, and I could feel myself do it right. Stumbled a lot, but it is part of practice.
I've had nothing but good experiences the past two weeks on ice. I had no reason to not expect it to continue. But I felt I just didn't do well at practice. My skating was a little bit off, and my stick handling was atrocious.
Part of it was I believe mental. A goalie made a comment, and I took it the wrong way. I make similar comments all the time, and I do it in jest. I don't know why it bothered me so much. It eventually ended up me being angry instead of challenged after that. I was more focused on impressing than improving. A bad approach in that situation.
The scrimmage went poorly as well. I felt completely out of shape. I know I hadn't skated in a week, and that is my own fault. Stupid Thanksgiving. I played on the blue line, and I just felt out of place. Any time a winger would come down the ice, I'd let him come down, instead of keeping him to the outside. I'm also not very comfortable going backwards.
After the first shift or two, I noticed I was having a bad night and was determined to work to turn it around. Bad move. I ended up tripping a guy (but he deserved it - let us take it out of our zone when you're playing scrimmages like we were). I also used my body in a good way along the boards to prevent the puck from coming any deeper into our own zone. It was too rough of a play though for the situation.
My skating has improved. I've been reading a little bit about power skating, and I can feel a difference. I won two key battles to loose pucks because I was the faster guy. But I couldn't control the puck at that speed to get it off the boards, or to stop and take control. Big issue.
I did make improvements on stopping though. In the skate around I focused on that for a little while, and I could feel myself do it right. Stumbled a lot, but it is part of practice.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Chicago Bruins - Adult Beginner Hockey Class - 2010-11-22
The Chicago Bruins are having an adult beginner hockey class at the Addison Ice Arena. I really like the ice there, and I've been thinking about joining a league that plays there and at Seven Bridges Ice Arena. I sort of assumed that some of the players in the league would be in this class. There are 8 classes over 4 weeks for $125, and we get the ice at about 9:00. You really can't go wrong.
I decided to do the league for multiple reasons. It would help me work on my skills of course, and if I can learn to stop, it is going to change my game dramatically. These types of classes are great conditioning when you're trying to come back from an injury, like I am. The price is right - about $15 a class. And I'm looking to be recruited onto one of the teams in that league.
This was the most fun I've had in months, on and off the ice. The drills were just the right difficulty for me, and fun at the same time. I could really see myself benefiting from these drills. Last night it was just skating and catching a pass or two, but I learned more in the 1 hour of drills than I did in the HNA class.
One area that I never thought about was how you hold your stick when you're turning. Now I've said in the past I believe you should learn to skate without your stick, then introduce your stick when you play for assistance. It'd just make you a better skater. It was brought to my attention that my blade should be on the inside of my turn, and not the outside. I thought about it, and it makes total sense. It'll help get you lower to the ground, and you can lean on it to help you turn faster, all while giving you better balance.
The other thing that was brought to my attention is how tightly I hold my stick. I usually keep it relatively loose, unless I'm actually battling with someone for the puck. When I receive my passes though, I need to tighten up on my stick, or else the puck will bounce, and not just lay flat. I'm not talking about having the puck hop over your stick, but when you do catch it, to keep it flat. It keeps you from having to settle it down, and then skating.
The scrimmage was a blast, and great for my conditioning, as it was on the Olympic ice and there were only two lines to a team. The skill level of everyone there is very balanced. No one is too outstanding, and no one is too raw, which makes it more enjoyable for me. To top it off, most of the people in the class had already taken it, so they know each other. They're very friendly and outgoing. It wasn't intense at all and there were people around my age, which is actually rare it seems.
It was a good workout the night before the game I have tonight with the Goaldiggers. I'm sore just enough to know that I played, but I'm rested enough that I feel I confident going into tonight.
I decided to do the league for multiple reasons. It would help me work on my skills of course, and if I can learn to stop, it is going to change my game dramatically. These types of classes are great conditioning when you're trying to come back from an injury, like I am. The price is right - about $15 a class. And I'm looking to be recruited onto one of the teams in that league.
This was the most fun I've had in months, on and off the ice. The drills were just the right difficulty for me, and fun at the same time. I could really see myself benefiting from these drills. Last night it was just skating and catching a pass or two, but I learned more in the 1 hour of drills than I did in the HNA class.
One area that I never thought about was how you hold your stick when you're turning. Now I've said in the past I believe you should learn to skate without your stick, then introduce your stick when you play for assistance. It'd just make you a better skater. It was brought to my attention that my blade should be on the inside of my turn, and not the outside. I thought about it, and it makes total sense. It'll help get you lower to the ground, and you can lean on it to help you turn faster, all while giving you better balance.
The other thing that was brought to my attention is how tightly I hold my stick. I usually keep it relatively loose, unless I'm actually battling with someone for the puck. When I receive my passes though, I need to tighten up on my stick, or else the puck will bounce, and not just lay flat. I'm not talking about having the puck hop over your stick, but when you do catch it, to keep it flat. It keeps you from having to settle it down, and then skating.
The scrimmage was a blast, and great for my conditioning, as it was on the Olympic ice and there were only two lines to a team. The skill level of everyone there is very balanced. No one is too outstanding, and no one is too raw, which makes it more enjoyable for me. To top it off, most of the people in the class had already taken it, so they know each other. They're very friendly and outgoing. It wasn't intense at all and there were people around my age, which is actually rare it seems.
It was a good workout the night before the game I have tonight with the Goaldiggers. I'm sore just enough to know that I played, but I'm rested enough that I feel I confident going into tonight.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Why is balance important?
I had a teammate who is first starting the game and is really working on his skating. He’s come a long way. It somehow came up that I was talking about how important balance is in hockey. On Wednesday, he asked me why balance is important. It took me a long time to come up with the right answer. The basic answer is so you don’t fall. When you’re trying to race for a puck, getting hit, changing directions, you’re doing it all on two thin blades. If you can’t master how to stay up on those blades, you’re going to be tentative, and falling on the ice more.
Some guys learn to skate with a stick in their hands. I hate this. You’re learning to stay balanced with an aid. If you learn to stay balanced without your stick, and then play with the aid, you’ll be better off – especially when you don’t have control of that aid because it is pinned up against the boards, being smacked around, etc.
I’ll have a post in a little bit with some dry land training that can be done to help with your balance.
Some guys learn to skate with a stick in their hands. I hate this. You’re learning to stay balanced with an aid. If you learn to stay balanced without your stick, and then play with the aid, you’ll be better off – especially when you don’t have control of that aid because it is pinned up against the boards, being smacked around, etc.
I’ll have a post in a little bit with some dry land training that can be done to help with your balance.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
HNA Practice - 2010-02-16
A few weeks ago I joined the HNA beginner's class. Based on what I had been told about it from friends and people who ran the league, it sounded like a solid step for me. I made the first two weeks, but I then missed two weeks (one for a Goaldiggers game, and then another for my lung).
When I look at the other 40 something players out there, I know they're all at about the same level as me and that really makes me feel better. I am more likely to talk to someone, or just be more outgoing.
Anyway, this week was a practice. It was probably what I should have done before I went into a full game like last night. It was very light paced to my tastes, but enough to really improve. It is clear that I need to improve on my skating. Crossovers are just not coming easy to me. Stopping is still a problem. I'd like to be a faster skater too. We also ran some drills passing to each other and taking shots on the goalie. My favorites were the 2 on 1s where I played defense. But I noticed I knew what to do, but I didn't do it. I think that's a common problem for me, doing what I know I should be doing.
We made three teams, and I volunteered to captain one of them, but someone else had already taken some of the responsibilities. Instead, I became an alternate. I'm looking forward to it. I think forcing myself to be a leader will not only help me be more vocal in games, but to build some confidence and social skills away from the ice which I admit aren't that strong.
When I look at the other 40 something players out there, I know they're all at about the same level as me and that really makes me feel better. I am more likely to talk to someone, or just be more outgoing.
Anyway, this week was a practice. It was probably what I should have done before I went into a full game like last night. It was very light paced to my tastes, but enough to really improve. It is clear that I need to improve on my skating. Crossovers are just not coming easy to me. Stopping is still a problem. I'd like to be a faster skater too. We also ran some drills passing to each other and taking shots on the goalie. My favorites were the 2 on 1s where I played defense. But I noticed I knew what to do, but I didn't do it. I think that's a common problem for me, doing what I know I should be doing.
We made three teams, and I volunteered to captain one of them, but someone else had already taken some of the responsibilities. Instead, I became an alternate. I'm looking forward to it. I think forcing myself to be a leader will not only help me be more vocal in games, but to build some confidence and social skills away from the ice which I admit aren't that strong.
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