Fisticuffs

I just thought I'd link to an interesting article on fighting. This one particular quote from Wendel Clark, former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, pretty much sums up my opinion on the issue:

"Look, I'm not going to say I'm against it. I played that way. I think it's part of the game at the pro level. What I am concerned about is the amount of fighting going on in minor hockey. There are only two levels where it is allowed and there are specific rules for it - the pros and junior. Yet at the bantam and midget levels, not just at AAA but AA and A too, the amount of fights are going up. It is not part of the game there. There are no rules. You fight, you're kicked out. Yet it's increasing. Who is condoning this for our kids? Coaches, parents, whoever it is, it has to stop.

Fighting in the pros is one thing. They are adults. They are professionals. They are doing it for a living. But kids? I know in my case, I didn't have my first fight until junior. No one starts out wanting to be a fighter. They all want to be finesse guys, the next Sidney Crosby. Like I said, there is room for it in the pros in my opinion, but what's going on with the kids concerned me.”

What's in a Name?

We've gotten a lot of feedback about the blog so far, but the most commonly asked question is 'What's with the name? It's bad.' Is it? Tell us what you think!

Biomechanics of the Wrist

Every joint in the human body is designed to flex in a certain way based on the structure of bones, tendons, ligaments and cartilage in the joint. Knees and elbows are designed to flex in one particular direction. The joints of hips and shoulders provide nearly full freedom of movement in all directions. The wrists and ankles allow for motions unique to the joints’ needs. Today we’ll talk about the wrist as it relates to hockey.

The wrist is a Condyloid joint and is constructed from several small bones that are surrounded by a capsule and strengthened by ligaments. This construction allows for three degrees of movement (Up and down, left and right, and axial rotation) of the joint.

Holding your arm out in front of you, palm down, rotate your hand as far as you can in one direction and the other without moving your shoulder. You should notice that rotation in one direction allows your palm to face up but does not allow for much more rotation past that (about 180 degrees of motion). In the other direction, your hand can move to a sideways position (about 90 degrees) before stopping. Attempting to rotate your wrist past these limits is not a natural motion and can end up causing some pain. These ‘hard stops’ define the limitations of the joint, or the ‘freedom of movement’.

In hockey, whenever you stick handle, pass, receive a pass or shoot a puck, you are rotating your wrists; sometimes slightly, sometimes severely and usually quite quickly. Holding your stick in the correct position allows your wrists to rotate freely without ever hitting a ‘hard stop’, decreasing the chance of causing wrist pain or injury and improving the accuracy and speed of the shot, pass, or stick handing move.

We’ll talk about the proper way to hold your stick in a bit. Just remember to stay within your body’s range of motion and you’ll find the proper technique based on how it feels to your body.

Puck and Stick

Many coaches throw the term ‘stick handling’ around as though it happens every time a puck touches a stick blade. Skating unopposed up the ice, turning to go around an opponent, and making a deke on a goalie seem to always be called ‘stick handling’. I prefer to distinguish between these movements.

I find the term ‘puck control’ is a more accurate description of what a player does with the puck when they’re not around an opponent. The goal is simply to maintain control of the puck; to keep it in a position that allows you to move it as you like and eventually make a pass, take a shot, or ‘stick handle’. There isn’t a lot of fancy stick movement while controlling the puck, as excess movement creates the opportunity to lose control and turn the puck over. Sometimes good ‘puck control’ is carrying the puck up ice or even just pushing it out on front of you in a controlled manner. Everyone knows you have the puck, but no one is close enough to make an effort to steal it from you.

Simply skating around with a puck is a good ‘puck control’ drill. Maintaining good puck control can also entail the use of the skates to kick up and pucks that are lost in the feet. Any way to maintain control of the puck counts.

‘Stick handling’ comes into play once you enter high-traffic areas. At this point, you’re close enough to opponents that they can attempt to steal the puck or knock the puck away from you. ‘Stick handling’ moves are used to confuse the opponent and get him reaching for the puck. Continuously moving the puck makes this effort harder for the opponent.

When in close on a goalie, ‘stick handling’ comes up again. A simple deke is a 'stick handling' move intended to confuse the goalie and cause him to make the first move, or ‘commit’. Once committed, a goalie’s options are very limited and the chances for a goal increase.

‘Stick handling’ involves creativity and improvisation. Your actions depend on those of another skater or goalie and are constantly changing based on those reactions. A good ‘stick handling’ move is often unexpected or done quickly enough that an opponent cannot react in time. Trying a new ‘move’ in practice often leads to its use in a game situation.

Just remember, it’s all about controlling the puck. You can’t score without it and neither can the other team.

Hockey Science

By day, I’m not a hockey player or coach, I’m a mechanical engineer. Some people assume I got my engineering degree because I’m super smart. Honestly, I’m not. I made sacrifices and spent a lot of late nights studying and doing homework. Engineering involves a lot of math and physics, but engineering is mostly just a way of thinking. I call it "Engineering Common Sense".

When I explain a drill or a concept, I often get quite technical. This is because I usually spend some time asking myself “why does this work?” or “why do it this way?” It interests me, and I like to think that in this Discover Channel time, it might interest others. I like to know the science behind what we do on the ice; whether it has to do with why skates glide or how a slap shot works. I also think about equipment and why some designer or engineer created a particular piece of equipment a certain way. Was it for protection, weight savings, or is it purely for looks?

The basic components of a ‘hockey equipment set’ have been around for over 100 years. Shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, shin pads, pants, skates and helmets are the staples of hockey. But their appearance, construction and functionality have all dramatically changed over the years.

Science has a lot to do with why our equipment looks the way it does. Chemistry created plastics and other lightweight materials and made them stronger than anything before it. Biomechanical engineering gave us equipment that matches our movements and the exact shape of our bodies. And physics helped create equipment that has us moving ourselves and the puck faster than ever.

The next time you put on your gear, take a look at your gear and ask yourself why it looks and feels the way it does. The answers just might make you think about things like a scientist.

Stride

So now that we have seen center of gravity and balance, lets get into our stride. A good stride stems from a good hockey position, meaning knees are bent, not straight.

A good stride starts with your knees bent and a good push. You want this push to be in between straight back and straight out to the side. so somewhere around that 45 degree angle to the rear, or the southwest if you like the orientation of a compass, or 7:30 if you like the clock aspect, whichever you choose.


As you can see, his foot is turned with his toe facing outward, and it is the last thing to leave the ice, his toe that is.

When you push out, fully extend your leg, then finally push off with your toe. This will make your leg completely extended, with that toe point giving you your drive.

As you push off with that foot and bring it back to the recovery position, you want to keep it low, about 2-4 inches from the ice. This will minimize the energy lost while skating, and help you take longer shifts, and not be as tired when you get to the bench because you have been kicking your feet up past your own knee.

This leg drive and recovery is the most important thing when playing. After all, if you can't skate what else are you going to do out on the ice.

Breaking this down, we can see that it is a sequence of events that make up the stride:

1. Start with your feet next to each other, under your shoulders.
2. Turn your foot(left or right, does not matter) and turn it with the toe slightly outwards.
3. Push off with that foot back at that southwest direction as mentioned earlier.
4. when your leg is fully extended, push off with your toe and point it back and in line with your leg.
5. Bringing that foot back about 2-4 inches from the ice to underneath your shoulders, next to your other one.
6. Shift your weight form one foot to the next and do the same steps as before.

A good stride is something that will come with practice, so try to work on these things in practice. you will be rewarded in game situations when you need to beat an opponent to a puck.

Balance

A hockey skate blade is 1/8th of an inch thick. It is only straight for a small percentage of the total blade length and depending on how it’s sharpened, it can be slightly off center.

So my question is: if you can’t stand on one foot when you’re in bare feet, how do you expect to be able to do the same on that thin piece of metal?

It’s all about balance.

In biomechanics, balance is an ability to maintain the center of gravity [remember that term?] of a body within the base of support with minimal postural
sway.

The human body requires several sensory inputs in order to maintain balance. Visually, a balanced person requires references to tell them what their body is doing. To demonstrate this, try balancing on one foot, then close your eyes and try. When your brain is missing the visual references it constantly tries to rebalance its self and it becomes very difficult to stay balanced.

The brain also requires input from the inner ear.

The inner ear is responsible for the sensations of balance and motion. It is made up of fluids and detection cells and sends information to the brain about the attitude, rotation, and linear motion of the head.

(When you spin in circles and get dizzy, it’s because the fluid in your inner ear is still moving even when your body is stopped. All of a sudden, the information that your eyes and your inner ear send to your brain don’t agree, causing the dizzy feeling.)

Skating is a series of one-foot glides. You stride with one foot and glide on the other. Then you recover; putting that stride foot back down. Switch feet and repeat. It’s a controlled movement. Without balance, that recovery step resembles stomping on a bug; the foot crashes back down to the ice, speed is lost and all your weight is now on that foot. You’re forced to transfer your weight again just to take a good stride with the other foot. This is tiring, inefficient, and it looks incredibly awkward. Throw in opposing players trying to knock you off the puck and falling will become a common occurrence.

Balance comes with repetition; the more you get used to balancing yourself on one foot, the easier it gets. Stand on one foot when you’re watching TV, playing Wii, in the kitchen cooking or standing in line at the grocery store. Try bending your knees more. Try hopping in place. Try twisting your body. Lean forward. Purposely unbalance yourself and regain that balance. Toss a ball from your left hand to your right hand or toss the ball back and forth to a friend, all the while maintaining your balance on one foot. Soon, you’ll find that doing things on that 1/8th inch piece of steel gets a little easier.


Work on your balance while stationary, gradually working towards balancing while in motion. Then work at placing your foot down in a controlled motion. Over time, your balance will come and so will your stride.