1. Don’t look down.
When I first started hockey I spend most of the time looking at my feet rather than in the direction that I’m heading towards. My skates weren’t going anywhere and I still did it, It was a bad habit. It cost my team lots of goals and turnovers. I was putting my full potential to waste. Over time I practice keeping my head while skating and stick handling and made me a better overall player.
2. Get a good paire of skates.
If you’re just stepping on the ice for the first time, then renting a pair of skates at the center is fine. However, if you continue going on the ice then buying a good pair of skates is crucial. The rental skates at the center don’t have the best support, don’t have good sharpening but most importantly they don’t fit you. So, buying proper skates that fit your skating time will improve that skill.
3. Tie your skates comfortably
When I was little, I always let my dad tie my skates. It was the right thing to do, however, he never tied it right. It was way to tight. Then I learned how to tie my own skates and found the perfect balance of tightness. This made my skating not only more comfortable but a better skater overall. You have to make sure that your skates are not too tight or your feet will likely go numb while having your skates too loose will not provide the proper support for your ankles.
4. Find the best sharpening that fits you.
For many years I stade at the same sharpening. It was called regular and that’s the only one that I thought was out there. Then one day my coach asked my dad what sharpening my skate was. The reason is, I was falling a lot. It wasn’t because I kept on losing an edge but, it was due to my skates kept weren’t sharp enough. We were confused due to we literally just got my skates sharpened. However, we went to a skate sharpening place and got a full list of different sharping. We picked the one sharper than before and made my life ten times easier. I was flying on the ice and could stop and lean sharply. As my tip, find the perfect sharpening that is not only comfortable but efficient for your skating type.
5. Profiling that fits your position
Just like sharpening, there are different types of profiling. This isn’t as important but will give you the advantage that other players might not have. Profiling is changing the amount of blade that comes of contact with the ice. This is made by changing the shape (radius) of your blade. My profile was made for forwards. This means that my radius is bigger at the back of my skate which gives me the forward lean. For defence, they should get a radius bigger at the front. This gives them the back lean which make them skate much faster backwards. Even goalies have profiling. Depending on the profile you choose, it can help with acceleration, more straight away speed, a quicker turning radius, increased agility and there are additional benefits like greater stability and even a reduction of muscle fatigue. Increasing the amount of steel on the ice would increase the gliding speed you could achieve, however, decrease your turning ability.
6. Stick Length that
The first stick that I got was a good inch taller me. There was a reason for that I was defence. This allowed me to have a stronger slapshot, longer reach but less puck control. As the years went by, I switched to forward. Due to I need good puck control, strong and quick wrist shots, I need to shrink my stick between my chin and my eyes. With that in mind, each position needs a different size stick for the maximum efficiency.
Nic's Hockey 