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Preseason Questions
I want to thank you all for your loyal readership and to thank all of you who attended our 1998 Summer Hockey Camps. To kick off another great hockey year, I will address and answer some of the most frequently asked questions I face at our Skills Training Camps. Chances are you have the same questions, so this series of articles should help make your season a little less confusing and much more enjoyable. Only a few are listed here, so look for more to come in the following issues.
Everyone has their own hockey philosophies and I am no different. However, the responses that follow are the result of questions and ideas that I personally have pondered and experimented with throughout my own hockey career, a compilation of information and experiences of thousands of Planet Hockey Skills Training Students around the world and are the attitudes and opinions of many College and Professional hockey players. Enjoy.
1. How often should I eat before a practice? An off ice work out? A big Game?
The rule of thumb is about 3 hours prior to the event. Many players like to play "hungry" but frequently replenish themselves throughout competition with simple carbohydrates such as Gatorade or Powerade, which are immediately available to the body as quick energy. Eating too close to game-time can make you sluggish and even cause cramping, nausea and even vomiting. Just what you want to put your body through in the heat of battle. Proper digestion is key to utilizing the nutrients and energy that food provides us.
2. What types of food should I eat before lacing up the skates?
Any time you ask your mind and your body to perform at a high level, they need ultra-octane fuel. Like a high-performance race car, a hockey player requires top notch fuel. In fact, your body is much more complex than any race car. On the ice, are you driving an ‘82 Pinto or a ‘99 Ferrari? A pre-game meal that is high in complex carbohydrates (pasta, potatoes, rice), contains moderate protein levels (fish, chicken) is a good formula. Be disciplined when it comes to high fat foods, foods containing poor fuel, especially prior to a game or workout (french fries, burgers, hot dogs, chips, fast food, deep fried foods, deserts).
If the high-octane fuel never gets to your engine, what’s the point. Stay away from the big T-bone steak and sides of beef as they tend to be much more difficult for your body to breakdown and digest in a short period. Allow 3-4 hours for complete digestion and avoid high fat foods. Lastly, drink plenty of fluids. This too will aid in digestion. Several glasses of water 1-2 hours before competition and frequent re-hydration during competition helps control your body temperature (sweating) and aides in digestion, energy utilization and helps control lactic acid buildup (heavy legs).
3. How often should I sharpen my skates? How do I know when it is time?
I run into this question possibly more than any other. The simple answer is, don’t sharpen your skates as often as you do. Most people are infatuated with sharp skates and grind the expensive steel from their $300-$400 skates much too frequently. Sure, skates need to be sharp, but they never need to be razor sharp. In fact, skates that are too sharp are much more likely to cause knee and ankle injuries and because of excess friction, will decrease your speed, agility and overall performance on the ice.
The function of your blade is to furnish two distinct edges, an inside edge and an outside edge. And the function of your edges is to grip the ice. There are two ways to grip the ice. One is with very sharp skates. Extra sharp skates automatically cut deeply into the ice providing too much grip and not enough "play" or "slide" which is needed when stopping and changing directions. The other way, and the best way to create grip, is to roll your ankles which digs an edge into the ice, allowing you to control the amount and degree of grip. You are now in control, not your skate. Your edges should provide a certain degree of slide, or play (this is called the flat of your skate). A skate that is too sharp does not provide ‘play’ and holds you to the direction of your momentum (similar to a heavy train trying to turn or stop).
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being extra sharp), most people maintain a 9 or 10. I recommend a 7-8. This lets your skates have more movement, but the trick now is to learn how to control your edges through precise angles and pressure. I say that the average player can easily skate 25-30 hours, unless you "lose an edge" (this number of hours may decrease if you are a player who covers more ice per hour or if you are a skilled player who uses their edges extensively). Get into the habit of lightly rubbing your finger along both edges at once. Most high-level players use this test before each ice session to give them the confidence that their edges are faithfully beneath them ready for duty. If when you rub your finger along your blade, you feel a ‘bur’ or a ‘knick’, or the blade is not completely smooth, consider getting them sharpened. Just remember that sharp skates are important, but not as important as blades that are smooth and ‘knick-free’.
The sharpness is definitely important, but even more so is the "hollow" or deepness of the edges. Some sharpening machines grind a deep hollow, which is bad news! Stay away from a deep hollow that will create the "death grip" to the ice and eliminate all ‘play’ (ability to slide when needed). To measure the hollow on your skate blade, turn the boot upside down holding the heal towards your body, with the toe facing away. Like looking through the sights of a gun, close one eye and look down the blade while holding it up to a light. Now place a penny on the blade and measure how much light shows under the coin. More than a slight sliver is too much, and therefore, too much hollow. As you run your finger along the blade, you should feel only a very slight ‘U-shaped groove’ in the blade.
Running your finger along the blade and flipping the boot upside down and looking at the light showing under a coin are the only tests that many top level players use to assure proper edge condition. In fact many players actually "take the edge off the edge". This means, they try to take some of the sharpness and hollow off of their edges by rubbing them several times along a piece of wood or another dulling device. If you are among those who race to the sharpening machine twice a week, you more than likely are not only throwing away money, placing yourself at risk of injury, but are actually decreasing your speed and agility on the ice. Just send me half of the money you save and I’d be one happy fella!
Just a few of the
topics explored in upcoming issues: How tight should I tie my skates? How
do I know which stick is right for me? How can I get the most out of each
ice time? Should I work out during the season? What can I do throughout
the season, off the ice, to develop my game? Should I play the "off-wing"?
This article was written by Shawn Killian,
Director of Planet Hockey Skills Camps and the Planet Hockey Ranch in Salida,
Colorado. For more information on all Planet Hockey Programs including Training
Videos and coordinating a Planet Hockey Skills Camp for your Association
or Group contact Planet Hockey at 1-800-320-7545 | www.planethockey.com
| shawn@planethockey.com