Roller Goalie switching to Ice, tips?

[rony]

Just about under 2 years ago, I got started in Roller Hockey as Goalie. About just over a year ago, I got to the point where I needed some coaching. I had done as much as I could reading books and I needed some guidance. Only problem, no Roller Hockey coaches around here. So, I bought a pair of Goalie Ice skates and hit the Ice.

I haven't looked back, I love playing on Ice. I do plan on playing Roller Hockey this up coming session, but I will be skating out.

[Thiazi]

Originally Posted by King

Wow! I decided to attend Oceansides Adult Hockey Skills clinic last night...what a great time. I actually had the chance to run through some drills, take some shots, and play in a scrimmage.

Had a blast on the ice...much more comfortable the second time on the surface.

I felt like every movement was exaggerated...that is, I was sliding all over the place at first trying to make saves! I was actually able to perform a few B-fly slides...I was better sliding to my right side...down pushes were still a no go however...I just don't understand that motion well.

The "coaches" told me to settle down and to not worry about "reacting" yet...that I needed to focus on just making the "simple" save...It was cool. Also, the other goalies were showing me how to shuffle...they were kinda chuckling and telling me that "I look like a roller goalie".

Eventually, by the time the full ice scrimmage rolled around, I had much more confidence and actually made a few nice saves...

It is good to know that those sessions sound like they are worthwhile. I really like the idea of having a chance to work on skating, go through drills and then scrimmage a little. I like playing at open hockey, but once I swore to never play on a tennis court again, I have lost most of my opportunities to work on drills.

Hopefully I can start those sessions once I go back to working days in mid-December, but until then I'll need to stick with whatever hockey I can find on Friday and Saturday's. I still think that I'll play one more season of inline, since I am making a lot of progress right now, but I am really looking forward to all of the opprotunities to work with coaches that playing ice will allow me.

Also, how hard did the shots seem compared to inline?

[King]

Originally Posted by Thiazi

Also, how hard did the shots seem compared to inline?

Since most there were relative beginners and intermediates, I did not really take any hard slappers...most wrist shots...

I will say this...the puck is noticeably heavier...whether it was in my glove, or off my chest or pads.

[elite]

When I added ice hockey to my hobbies (notice I didn't switch to ice hockey; I think it's important for goaltenders to play both... you learn something from both), there were a number of differences I encountered:

• Sliding: my first shot was a breakaway. I skated backwards, dropped into the butterfly, and slid into my own net. It was pretty much downhill from there.
• Puck: holy crap that thing is heavy and hurts. Sure, I had shot around an ice hockey puck before, but getting shot at was different. That took some getting used to.
• Skating: skating is different. I feel heavier on ice. And stopping is much easier on ice. I had some experience from just skating around with friends.
• Equipment: I was an idiot, and wore skater skates my first time. And for about two months after that. ..until I took a shot in the foot and broke it. Also like an idiot, I continued to play.

I would recommend, if it's your first time playing ice, to do a well rounded warm-up before taking shots. I'd go with the following:

• Shuffle/butterfly slide: start on your knees since that's probably where you're going to end up half the game. If you're an inline goalie, your inclination is going to be to shuffle. That's OK; try shuffling and get the feel for the ice. Then transition into a few butterfly slides. It might be difficult at first, but they'll save you.
• Recovery: now get up. Harder than it sounds. If you have to use your knee, that's OK. It'll get there. Don't overextend yourself; if you slip, you might hurt your groin, and then you're out of BOTH hockeys for a while.
• Skating: why third? Because you might end up doing the first two more. Hopefully you won't do too much skating if you aren't proficient with it. If you're smart you'll buy goalie skates for the game; if so, get out to some free skates and get used to it. It's nothing like player skates (much easier!). I would recommend a "regular" goalie cut. I use a 11/16th cut (very rare) which makes me able to slide and push extremely well, but would not be recommended for a stand-up goalie, which you might be due to having deer legs if it's your first time out there.

Hopefully those will help future inline-to-ice goalies. Good luck!

[bruins4777]

It's good to see you post again elite.

[elite]

Thanks, man! It's been a long break, but it's nice to be back.

[King]

Elite brings a good point about sharpening.

I thought I needed my skates sharpened until I spoke with the guy at the rink...I felt my blades and was like "whoa" these are sharp for goal blades. Fact is, I bought them used and still have no clue what the hollow is...

I have been trying to decide what to do with my first sharpening..I was thinking 5/8, but 11/16 may be better...fact is, I am still not sure!

[elite]

Try out 11/16. They'll give you a really funny look and might even say they've never done it. But I love the cut; I'll never go back to anything else. They're sharp enough that you'll get very good push offs in the butterfly, but "dull" enough so that you can have very quick foot movement. I've only known one or two other 11/16 goalies, but once you try it, you won't go back (unless you're a stand up goalie, then you're better off with a regular).

[King]

Originally Posted by elite

Try out 11/16. They'll give you a really funny look and might even say they've never done it. But I love the cut; I'll never go back to anything else. They're sharp enough that you'll get very good push offs in the butterfly, but "dull" enough so that you can have very quick foot movement. I've only known one or two other 11/16 goalies, but once you try it, you won't go back (unless you're a stand up goalie, then you're better off with a regular).

I will...I would like to describe myself as a B-fly goalie....with a bit of a reaction save mentality though! Gotta keep'm guessing!

[Thiazi]

Thanks for the advice Elite and I definitely agree that there is a lot that you can learn by playing both inline and ice. I'm signing up for at least another inline season and then I'm going to try and work on ice during the weekends.

I am sure that it will be a bit weird going back and forth between the two surfaces the first few times, but I am looking forward to a new challenge and hopefully playing ice will help to make me a much more well rounded goalie.

As for skates, I was at least smart enough to pick up goalie skates. They're new, so I'll need to break them in, but the XIX boot already feels much more comfortable than my inline boots, so I am hoping that it won't be as trying an experience as when I broke in my inline skates. I'm going to a public skating session tomorrow night to help get my bearings on ice and then I'll play for the first time on Saturday night. Hopefully, it will just be my friends and I, since they'll take it a little easy on me and at least know not to shoot high until my new C/A arrives next week.

I'm looking forward to finally feeling how heavy the puck is. I know that the transition from a hockey ball to an inline puck took me about two sessions to adapt to, but it will be interesting to see how long it takes me before I stop thinking about the weight of the puck.

As for sliding and butterfly slides, this will be a whole new element to my game. I kind of play a bit of a hybrid style right now, so I kind of expect that I'll favor shuffling early on, but the sooner that I learn to butterfly slide the better. I am really looking forward to seeing how this alters my game.

I know that learning to play ice hockey won't always be easy, but I'm hopeful that once I adapt to the surface and get a handle on butterfly sliding that it will be a bit of an easier game. I like to think that I have some sort of advantage coming over from inline, but we'll see how it works out.

[EdwardL]

The first time you step on the ice in goalie skates its gonna feel really weird. Just keep trying. By the end of the game you'll be used to it and the next day it'll be like you've been skating for years.

[elite]

If your experience is anything like mine or any goalie I've talked with that switches between ice and inline regularly, you're in for a ride. I find that when my ice game is really on, my inline goes down. Conversely, I notice if my inline game is on, my ice game goes down. So good luck with that.

I think you'll notice these benefits by working on both:

From ice:

• Recovery, especially from the butterfly
• Sliding: it's easier to do in inline than you think. Use the cowling.
• Vision: you'll be tracking 10 players instead of inline's 8. That really helps with tracking and vision throughout the ice.

From inline:

• Skating: yes, skating from inline. This isn't wholly true since there are vast differences, but you'll find that you need to skate better on inline since you don't slide as well. Use that to your advantage in going across the crease in ice.
• Positioning: because you can't slide that well, your positioning is key in inline. You can't cheat. Use your great positioning to your advantage in ice.
• Odd-man situations and breakaways: with only 4 guys on the floor and no icing/offsides, roller hockey is really open. You're bound to get many odd-man breaks and breakaways. This really helps your ice game where those are generally more rare.

So there are definite benefits to playing both. But, like I said, it's a double-edged sword: you'll most likely notice that when one game is really good, the other one sucks. Work through it, and the more times you play both in a week, the easier the transition will be.

[Thiazi]

I went to my first public skate this afternoon. I was expecting to fall on my face the moment that I stepped on the ice, but amazing that didn't happen. I won't say that I was a strong skater my any stetch of the imagination, but I was able to go out on the ice in full gear and start skating laps. The other people there were looking at me like I was insane, but I was glad that I got a chance to get out in the ice, start breaking in my new C/A and getting a chance to work on skating, shuffling and butterfly sliding.

The skating like I said before wasn't too bad. I definitely couldn't pull off any sharp turns and it still takes me a while to stop, but I certainly felt like I was skating well enough that I could start playing. Shuffling was surprisingly easy. I made to sure to remember to keep my skates on the ice and I was able to shuffle back and forth across the crease with ease. Butterfly sliding was weird, there wasn't a net out on the ice, so I couldn't experiment with pushing off of the post, but I was able to glide from side to side along the ice. I definitely won't claim that I glided with any measure of speed, but I can already tell that recoveries should be easier on ice.

A couple other things that I noticed is that figure skaters are dangerous. I am obviously not at a point, where I can quickly get out of the way yet, but those damn figure skaters would come out of nowhere with their skates at throat level. I also had another skater run into me along the boards, she had a bit too much momentum and even though I was trying to get out of the way, here attempt at stopping failed and she face planted and slid into me. Other than that, I didn't cause too much havoc out on the ice.

I did notice that ice skating seems to use a slightly different part of your legs than inline skating did. My feet did okay, though I could tell that my skates will take a little time to break in, but I felt like I was getting shin splints after a while and I had to take a couple breaks. I definitely felt a lot heavier out on the ice, but I'm hoping that's just my body trying to adapt to ice skating.

Edit: I forgot to mention that butterflying felt effortless.

[Thiazi]

Are there any problems that I need to be aware of in using the same leg pads for ice and inline?

[elite]

I guess it could depend on the pad, but I use my pads for both inline and ice. But they're RBK Premiers, so if you have shoddy inline pad, I would definitely look into upgrading if you're going to be playing regularly and against relatively skilled competition. Otherwise you should be fine.