Skating Machine

[kaptainkrunch408]

Anybody ever try those skating treadmills or machines? what's your opinion on those things? We're thinking of having our team pitch in for one machine cause nobody one our team can skate lol.

[sactosaxons]

Why spend money on a machine to skate when you've already got the skates? Why not just skate more? Doesn't have to be paid-for floor time - toss some old wheels & bearings on and skate outside - go for a "team skate".

[rlrhky13]

I have skated on them a few times and I personally don't think they are worth spending money on. I agree with the prvious post and just buy some wheels for outdoors and get out side..

[seyone]

I agree with the previous, but you could also spend the money on rink time.

[DannyG]

Not to belabor the point, you could always move to El Paso, where you can come down to the rink anytime and skate for free...or we can work on your area getting a well-run, municipal rink program, so you wouldn't have to move...let me know if you are interested. The video and materials will be out August 22nd of this year...

<font color=purple>DannyG</font color=purple>

[MDE3]

If the purpose of the &quot;skating machine&quot; was not just to give you exercise and practice, but to force you to use a more effective technique - it may be a valuable tool. Just skating more when you are not doing it correctly simply reinforces bad habits - although it may enhance your aerobic conditioning.

[Superstar9]

I agree there.. technic and stride are crucial... you wont get better w/ out a credible teacher or something to correct the problems. Practice helps the balance issue though.

[JohnHockey1798]

Danny what your email so I can send you my address so I can get the video and information.

John

[kaptainkrunch408]

Yes, that was what i meant by the original message. Half of the guys on team i volunteer coach for do not have proper technique or stride.

[MDE3]

Unfortuneately just street skating or practicing on a rink without proper technical instruction is almost useless, except when used to reinforce proper technique - aerobic gains not withstanding. As mentioned - it may help balance a bit - particularily at the novice level, but those gains can be offset by reinforcing improper skating technique.

The most important issue I've always had with teaching skating - for inline hockey, is getting kids to believe or buy into(as with ice) the "toiletta" position. Knees and hips bent at 90 degrees with head up and looking forward. And the second issue is finishing with a "toe kick" which I have been told cannot be done on inline skates except with a rocker chassis. There's quite a few missing pieces in between, but the old classic ice hockey skating training actually works very well for inline. The newer ice technique which has the skater driving with legs only and keeping the hips on the skating centerline - does not work as well for roller. Traditional ice hockey skating technique had you swing your hips from side to side as you skated, creating tension in the flexor muscles and more weight on the thrust skate. By doing this and changing your thrust angle slightly from ice hockey, you can actually develop an effective "toe kick" even with hi/low chassis (and assuming good wheels) The returning skate actually crossed back over the skater's centerline and the stride starts with actually pulling the lead skate toward the outside. The only way all this stuff works if the skater has his/her legs bent at 90 degrees, and the hips kept low also 90 degrees to the torso. Learning to skate to a beat - whether music or a metronome can be exceedingly helpfull (yes even hockey skating) because the movement is very rythmic, and when found, the rythm is very energy effecient.

Even an ice hockey school like the Robby Glantz schools are going back towards the more tradional skating training, and I know many NHL teams are as well.

The weight shift(executed by swaying the hips from side to side) is more important in roller hockey as you depend on the coefficient of friction between wheel and floor to prevent slipping. More weight on the wheels during the thrust phase - means less slippage and more efficient use of your skating energy. By delaying the weight shift a little longer than in an ice hockey stride you can actually maintain enough pressure on the wheels to execute a "toe kick" at the finish of the stride. Not finishing in this manner will cost you about 10 % skating efficiency. So the exagerated hip swing can really help your skating.

[rlrhky13]

AS I stated before I have used the treadmill and its not worth the money. There is another trainer on the market that is called a Power Skater. They can be reached at www.powerskater.com or 866-672-1700. They advertise in American Hockey Magazine all the time. I think the machine is in the thousands but its cheaper than the treadmill. The training facility where I go to train has the treadmill and I get nothing out of it.

[missionhockey21]

I've seen those advertised before, I wonder if they are truly worth the money though.