I took a HUGE step forward in this hockey scheme. I now have a skating /hockey instructor. He got a hold of me after I emailed Big Bear, my local ice arena, asking about adult lessons. They didn't have enough interest to fill a class, so they sent my name around. He's called Mike and he's about 12.
Last night was our first session and I was destroyed when it was over. We met at the rink for one of their Puck and Stick sessions. Those are crazy. There were about 12 skaters on the ice- with 5 or 6 nets set up. It was the first one I'd been to. It looked like there were a couple of kids working together on passing drills and then a few other kids working with coaches and dads. The kids under 18 were in full gear, and us adults were in helmets and gloves. I was the only raw beginner. Being the self-conscious type I am, I was nervous for just that reason. I don't think I really needed to be. I got into my skates- which feel better every day- and gloves and helmet.
We did a run down of the things that he wanted to work on in the course of the next few weeks. We did some skating drills, which I found really difficult. Mike said that since I want to get to the point of not having to think about my feet at all, I'd have to think about them a lot in the beginning. We did single foot push drills, which I couldn't really seem to master. Nor was I able to do the drill where I was attempting forward motion by only using my feet in a fish tail like motion- although I was able to use the same motion to a better effect when I was going in circles- using only one foot to accelerate. The plus side of all this is that I have something to work on when I go to public skate on my own.
The stick skills were a little easier to handle, since I've been practicing puck handling and shooting at home for a long time. The hardest part with those drills was having a solid platform.. aka, my skates. Passing and puck handling went pretty well, and I think I have a good feel for how it's supposed to work. Practice needed though. Shooting was the most fun of the night, although it includes a lot more elements than I ever realized. The transfer of weight from the back foot to the right foot threw me, again because of the instability I have on my skates. Mike does think I have the beginnings of a decent snap shoot though, which is pretty encouraging. Now I know what specifics to work on at home though.
He also told me that he has a good idea what we need to work on for me to play in the social league, as he works as a score keeper and watches the games. I'm looking forward to the next lesson!
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