Thread: Learning to skate

Originally Posted by Kopitar11Fan

i have played roller hockey for 13 years and the reason i never tried ice is because the closest ice rink is over 2 hours away.

i recently moved to Northridge for school and really want to learn to ice skate so I can start playing some ice hockey.

One question I have is this. In roller hockey, we wear pants, but I know in ice, obviously they where the big socks and shorts. It is really necessary to switch to the shorts and socks for ice? Or i could I stick with the pants while I am still learning to skate?

You can start out w/ your roller pants for sure but you'll eventually want to make the switch, some leagues wont allow them...

I skated for the first time today on my new skates. It was awesome, and having ur own skates is like a kajillion times better than rental skates, makes a huge difference.

i just wanted to post here with some info... since i read this a few posts up.

most companies are now going towards a MAP (minimum advertised price) and this should make the prices at your LHS (local hockey shop) and online store the same now.

so now you have no excuse to buy online unless you live hours away from a shop. different models fit different feet and if you want to learn how to skate, you NEED to try the skates on in a shop first to make sure they fit right and are comfortable. the wrong type of skate will not help if you're trying to learn how to skate and can cause foot issues later down the road.

I'm in the process of doing this same exact thing actually. Went down to Hockey Giant and got a pair of mission inlines and skated 2-3 times a week for about a month.

then i started doing the public skate session at my local ice rink (valencia) once a week. i bought my own ice-skates after the 2nd time. ive been doing that for just over a month now. im going to be signing up for a beginning skate class this wednesday and hopefully ill be able to jump into an ultra beginner league after i take 2-3 10 week classes.

any tips or pointers??

Keep knee's bent but stand up while skating.

Keep your head up. Literally

yea, i learned to keep my knees bent while skating inline. i've always heard the "keep your head up " thing over the years so ive tried to remember that.

skating backwards and stopping seem to be what's going to give me the most trouble. im assuming this is normal for anyone. turning backward while moving is something im not even gonna consider till ive got some gear on haha

One question I had on ice skates was whether or not it's normal for your foot to slip out from under you as you're pushing off? I went ice skating a while back and granted they were rental skates, but whenever I'd push off, the foot I was pushing with would slip out from under me.