Sledge Hockey Dad

2012-01-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

I was invited to play with the Sledge Hammers (National Sledge Hockey League) against Team Ontario. What an awesome time I had playing against and with with these very skilled players. That's me going for the puck against Donovan Snell (Matt Turcotte in the background) in a photo from the Ottawa Citizen web-site. I qualified for the Sledge Hammers this year but in these economic times (and currently without a job and many family responsibilities) I could not afford to participate. Maybe next year, if I'm still fast enough. I'd really like to be part of that before time catches up to me :). My son Jeremy has taken the year off from sledge hockey to pursue power lifting (school and part-time employment). Despite cerebral palsy that most severely effects his right leg, he's hoisting over 500 lbs in a dead lift in the 100 Kg class and holds records for his age and weight class in the Canadian Federation of Power Lifting! Me, I play some pickup able bodied hockey but I can't let go of sledge hockey.

Loose Stick Blades

2011-02-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

A reader wrote with me with some great advise on how to prevent blades from becoming loose after gluing them into their shafts. He's had the same issue with AB hockey sticks. He wrote:

I heat the blade and the shaft and insert them (roughly ½ inch) and observe the slope (on both planes) then I remove the blade hosel (part that inserts into the shaft) and add strips of tape (ripped to ½ inch wide by about 4 inches ) around the hosel (in the shape of a U) on the sides where a noticeable gap is. Then I take a hot glue stick and melt it (with a torch) and smear it on the hosel (over the tape is added). I then heat the shaft and blade until the glue is melted and insert it. I have had some blades that were so far off (small) that I had to add 2 strips of tape on the flat wide sides and 3 on the narrow sides just to get a tight fit. Using the tape to take up the gap (rather than the glue) works wonders for making the stick solid.

Thanks Bryan!

I've noticed that when I scavenge broken AB hockey sticks that often they are too narrow inside to accept the hosel. If they are wooden blades I don't have a problem shaving a little off but I'm wary of sanding the epoxy off a composite hosel. Anyway, just be aware that not all shafts have the same inside dimensions.

Bryan and others have also asked what types of blades are available and what are their advantages and disadvantages. Easton makes nice composite blades see http://www.totalhockey.net/ (I've never ordered from this organization but they seem legit). I've been using a pair of their blades for years. I like their curve and they are very durable. Even when the tape that rides along the ice wares off the epoxy is very tough. I didn't pay for mine (prototypes) but the price seems pretty reasonable. I've never laid eyes on their one piece composites so I can't comment. One draw back to composite inserts is that you would have to be a gorilla to get them to flex for a slap shot using an AB shaft. Easton seems to sell shafts but I doubt that they are more flexible. Their feature section seems to indicate extra layers to make them more durable which makes me think less flexible. This is not all bad since shafts take a lot of abuse from the picks of other players. I've had shafts fail for this reason. My son prefers wooden blade inserts from Unique Inventions (we both use their picks). They are less expensive but they do flex which can potentially increase the speed of your shot. The shape of the blade also is a little nicer for receiving passes and protecting the puck. They also come in a variety of heights which is nice if you have larger or smaller hands. The draw back is durability. My son's a big boy and he sometimes snaps them in two when going into a corner to fight for the puck. One player I know sometimes breaks them in face offs. Also, being wood, it is important to keep the bottom of the blade covered in tape otherwise they will start to splinter. For smaller or novice players most of this will probably not be an issue.

Bryan also asked about shaft length. My sticks are very long 95 cm. This is excellent for receiving poor passes and I'm flexible and strong so I can get a good shot off from a lot of different seating positions and the leverage makes me fairly fast despite my age and weight. However, like in AB hockey, the guys with shorter sticks can really handle the puck well. It is really preference thing. Don't forget to be sure to put a wooden plug in the pick end of the stick so when you tighten the bolts you don't collapse the shaft.

Hope this helps!

Organs and Bones

2011-01-31T09:13:00.000-08:00

We're back from the annual London Blizzard Sledge Hockey Tournament. Ottawa fielded two teams and both came back with bronze. My brain and body are still buzzing. It was one of the more physical tournament I've participated in. The referees had to start cracking down to try to keep us all safe. I don't think there was any bad intent, just a little too much unbridled enthusiasm. I even had to get stitched up after the last game (very close to an artery my doctor told me). But, as some female spectators and players told me... "Organs and bones. Unless they are outside your body you keep playing" :) Had to promise my wife (and myself) to dial it back :(

Picking Technique

2009-10-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well... a new season a new sled. Being old, heavy but still strong, I'm pretty tough on my sled. They usually lasts me about a season before something needs replacing. What is the correct balance point, height and how does it effect picking technique.

This year I have a little empirical evidence to quantify my sled setup since we are doing time trials at weekly at practices. Also I have my, now powerfully built, son to compare against.

Efficiency is the key. You don't want to have wasted movement that could otherwise be used to move you forward.

One item of technique is clear in my mind. If your sled rocks back and forth you're scrubbing off speed. A good rule of thumb is that if you can hear your blades on the ice you're wasting energy and it's slowing you down. This includes when you're pumping your arms during picking or carving a turn. If you can hear your blades crunching the ice or slipping around a corner, energy is gone that could have moved you down the ice faster.

Seat/blade position is key in eliminating the back and forth rocking motion of the sled. When you watch the national team skating, their sleds are dead level. Competing with my son I found that I brought my blades forward so that my head had to be over my knees before the toe of my sled touched down narrowed his lead, in a lap time from 3 seconds to 0.10 seconds. It was a little uncomfortable having to sit more forward, to prevent tipping, but well worth the speed increase.

Another hint is that if you're stabbing the ice too hard with your picks, you're again wasting energy. It's, of course, a fine line between having your picks skip, because you didn't stab hard enough and wasting energy driving them too hard into the ice but it's worth exploring where that line is. Save the power for the stroke.

Keep the sticks as parallel to the ice as possible. There is a limit since if you go too low your picks will skip (loose grip) but again it's worth exploring where this limit is.

The next parameter I intend to explore is seat height. Last year's sled had me sitting quite high. This year's sled I'm lower. I appreciate how easy it is to right my self when I fall over but I'm going to go higher again to see if I'm giving up speed.

All this being said, remember I'm an able bodied individual and not all hints may apply to all players. Still, it pays to experiment a bit and try to make yourself faster with a few tricks and some good technique!

Please comment and let me know if you have any other tips that you might want to share.

More on Sledge Hockey Sticks

2008-10-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Now into my 4th year of sledge hockey I've had more experience with sled hockey sticks (see http://sledgehockeydad.blogspot.com/2008/08/some-answers-to-previous-questions-and.html and http://sledgehockeydad.blogspot.com/2007/12/sledge-hockey-stick-care-taping-this-is.html). We've been trying out some blade/composite shaft combination's.
Obtaining composite shafts can be quite a chore even for someone who plays with 3 different sets of AB players on a weekly basis throughout the year. I work across from a 4 pad arena and even though the guys who work there seemed to have their hearts in the right place there is big pressure for these broken stick to build everything from ball hockey stick to chairs to rec room bars... Finally I lucked out and while dumpster diving at another arena close by (you can't throw a rock without hitting one here in Ottawa) and caught a young Zamboni driver going to his truck. He had a great cache.
We've be running with woven textured shafts for the last year but now we've had the opportunity to use the soft hydrophilic shafts you see on Easton's Vapour line. They're great. I was worried about the shafts not sliding through my gloves as you transition from pumping for speed, receiving a pass and shooting but this was not a problem. When you squeeze your glove around it you get a more postive feel with no slip.
I used my table saw to cut a bunch of 2 inch plugs to fit in the end of the shafts where you need to bolt in the picks. The corners needed to be beveled to get a good fit. Also, some sticks have a ridge on one inside narrow side so I cut a small table saw blade wide dado cut down one of the narrow sides of my plugs.
Be careful when cutting the shaft. Epoxy, carbon fibre and Kevlar are probably a bit of a health hazard in power form. Note that these shafts often taper near the blade end and are not suitable to use for picks or inserting blades.
Plugs and blades are glued into the shafts. Hot glue sticks seemed to work for the most part but I'm not convinced that all sticks are created equal. Being a larger individual the blades seem to break the glue loose after a few games. They seem to stay in the shafts but you can feel some play (maybe someone can suggest a better glue). Don't heat the shafts to melt the glue. I used a heat gun to heat the end of the glue stick and rubbed the melting end onto the plugs and blade insert end which were held in a vise. When it came time to insert the plugs and blades I heated them individually and pushed them in. Probably best to clean up the oozing excess glue while it's still warm.
We had been using some nice Easton carbon fiber blades for a year and they worked quite well. Good control of the puck. We also purchased a pair of thin wood blades that many on Team Canada uses. Now I understand why they can shoot so hard! These blades do flex! You can take some ice and store energy in the blade without destroying the muscle in your fore arms. Now, I doubt most junior players would benifit but if you can get the blade to flex you will notice a difference.

Another Season Starts

2008-09-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday Jeremy and I started our season with a pre-selection camp practice with the some of the national teams guys. Jeremy has been at the gym all year 3-5 times a week, 2 hour minimum a session and is shows. Jean took one look at him and jokingly said, "Here comes steroid man" but believe me it's all natural hard work and being that magic age of 18. The team all looked in very good shape too. Even Mark has filled out some. Kind of made this old guy feel a little bit inadequate. Oh well, I'm like a moose and as the season starts I'll start packing on muscle. Besides, I've been playing AB hockey all summer and when I stepped out on the ice for the first corporate shinny game I actually looked pretty good (I'm sure that'll change too when the rust comes off the other guys).

My buddy Lou the sledge builder was out too, trying out his new "Maple Leaf" sled and some material changes to his sticks. He's getting a little slower but he still knows all the tricks and is a very good puck handler.

Can't wait for the "Sled Head" movie to come out on Canadian Television, Oct 4th. They will play the 44 minute version (1 hr with commercials) but the grapevine has it that Gordie (Todd Nicholson's brother) will be arranging an extended length feature in Renfrew on October 6th!

As for the rest of you... tape your sticks, tighten the bolts on your sled, get some Neats Foot Oil on your gloves, don't forget to stretch and we'll see you on the ice!

Dot Drill

2008-09-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

-X1 passes puck to Y1 and starts skating to position X2

-Y1 passes puck to X at X2 and X takes puck to X3 and shoots and then returns to their dot of origin

-As soon as Y1 passes the puck to X at X2 they pass a puck to the next X at the dot and proceed to Y2

-The next X passes the puck to Y at Y2 and takes the puck to Y3 and shoots and returns to their dot of origin

-The same thing happens on the other half of the ice except that B should give the first pass.

-This continues indefinitely.

Goalies end up guarding the net from alternate sides.
Skaters give and take passes and cover a lot of ice.

Corner Drills

2008-09-02T10:49:00.001-07:00

Drill:

Great for practicing giving/getting a pass, turning, shooting and working as a team.

1) X skates beyond the blue line and turns toward the net (X1-X2).

2) Z get ready for their pass (Z1-Z2)

3) Y (Y1) passes the puck to X (X2) and immediately starts skating beyond the blue line and turns toward the net (Y2).

4) X shoots on the net (X3) and lines up on the opposite side they started (X4).

5) Z (Z2) passes the puck to Y (Y2) and immediately starts skating beyond the blue line and turns toward the net.

6) Y shoots on the net (Y3) and lines up on the opposite side they start (Y4).

Repeat indefinitely.

Hints:

-For safety try not to have players lined up directly behind the net.

-While it’s tempting watch your pretty pass, skate immediately after initiating the pass.

Bench Setup

2008-08-28T10:38:00.000-07:00

*All players on bench must be against boards in neutral zone (between Blue and Centre line)

*Spare Goalie should be closest to the centre line so they are not likely to interfere with, on the fly, line changes.

*Defense, on the bench, should be positioned closest to their own Goalie.Forwards, on the bench, should be positioned closest to the oppositions goalie.

Legend:
Case of letter used to differentiate teams
G or g = Goalie
D or d = Defense
F or f = Forward

Click on picture for a larger view

Some Answers to Previous Questions and Other Odds and Sods

2008-08-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

In the past I've posted questions at the end of my posts hoping that I had hoped readers may have answered though comments. So here are some of the answers I have found.

-One Piece composite sledge hockey sticks? ***Could be done for $600 to $800 dollars per pair.
-In AB hockey, one can lean on their stick and get it to bend, storing extra energy, before the puck is released. Is anyone doing this in sledge hockey? ***No known cases. The shafts are relatively short (less that half of an AB hockey stick) and so extremely stiff and considering that you are effectively sitting, the lie of the stick and using one hand very difficult to lean hard enough on the stick to get it to flex.
-Getting palms of hockey gloves to last?*** Use Pure (not prime) Neatsfoot Oil. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neatsfoot_oil for more info. I re-palmed my gloves for about $50 (the shells were very good quality already) and this oil is keeping them hole free and supple so far. I find I need to reapply every 3 or 4 games.

FUTURE SITE PLANS

I've been taking a bit of a break but hope to be posting more soon. Summer is not too busy for sledge hockey so the urgency is not there. I'm hoping to take a lead from http://www.cssha.org/coachs_corner.htm and publish drills we use here in Ottawa and others I've seen. I'll now be publishing local schedules and results on the www.sheo.ca site and not boring you too much with those details.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

My son and I took club equipment to his high school and for a week taught his AB class to play sledge hockey.

My son and I (for the third year in a row) spent a day with the "Active Living Alliance" http://www.ala.ca/content/home.asp at the "Ice House" introducing disabled kids to sledge hockey.

We also went to Long Island to play in the RoughRider's tournament http://www.lisledhockey.org/ for the 4th year in a row. We love this opportunity and they are most excellent hosts.

SHEO Website

2008-08-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

I am now webmaster for "Sledge Hockey of Eastern Ontario (SHEO)/Hockey sur luge de l'est Ontarien (HLEO)". Watch for updates at www.sheo.ca.

OCSHIP Sledge Hockey Challenge 2008 Results

2008-04-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Intermediate A:
Gold - Ottawa Barbarians
Silver - Long Island RoughRiders
Bronze - Connecticut WolfPack

Intermediate B:
Gold - Durham Steel Hawks
Silver - Windsor Ice Bullets
Bronze - Markham Islanders

Junior :
Gold - Sarnia Ice Hawks
Silver - Ottawa Valley Bandits (Red)
Bronze - Ottawa Valley Bandits (White)

Ottawa Wins Intermediate A Division at OCSHIP Sledge Hockey Challenge

2008-04-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

My son and I (and our wonderful team!) won the Intermediate A division of the OCSHIP Sledge Hockey Challenge 2008. Our team dominated and our goalie Angelo racked up 4 consecutive shutouts. Jeremy played defense in the preliminaries and forward in the final. It was the opposite for myself. While we all played skillfully there was a certain amount of "puck luck" with Logan shooting from behind the net hit the tops of the goalies feet and scoring and Pete hitting Jeremy's helmet and deflecting in. Special thanks to Kerry for his excellent coaching!

My parents came down for my birthday (49 for the first time). This was the first time they have seen sledge hockey being played and they took some great pictures. There is a slide show on the right and if you click on it it will take you to a version with larger pictures.
PS. A few more to come. Some nice ones of Kerry instructing the troupes between periods, in particular.

P.S.S. If anyone has additional pictures of any of the Tournament, I'd be happy to post them or link to them :)

2008 OCSHIP Invitational Sledge Hockey Challenge

2008-04-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

2008 OCSHIP Invitational Sledge Hockey Challenge

Friday, April 18, 2008->
Sunday, April 20, 2008

Ray Friel Arena Complex

April 18-2008
Intermediate-B B1 Pad1
17:00 Durham Steelhawks North Bay Ice Breakers
Junior J1 Pad2
18:00 Ottawa Valley Bandits Red Sarnia Ice Hawks
Intermediate-A A1 Pad3
18:30 Long Island RoughRiders Peterborough Patriots
Intermediate-B B2 Pad1
18:30 Markham Islanders Windsor Ice Bullets
Junior J2 Pad2
19:30 Durham Steelhawks Ottawa Valley Bandits/White
Intermediate-A A2 Pad3
20:00 Ottawa Barbarians Connecticut WolfPack
Intermediate-B B3 Pad1
20:00 Sudbury Northern Sliders Ottawa TechSupport

April 19-2008
Intermediate-A A3 Pad3
7:30 Long Island RoughRiders Ottawa Barbarians
Junior J3 Pad2
8:00 Ottawa Valley Bandits/Red Durham Steelhawks
Intermediate-A A4 Pad3
9:00 Peterborough Patriots Connecticut WolfPack
Junior J4 Pad2
9:30 Sarnia Ice Hawks Ottawa Valley Bandits/White
Intermediate-B B4 Pad3
10:30 Durham Steelhawks Markham Islanders
Intermediate-B B5 Pad2
11:00 Windsor Ice Bullets Sudbury Northern Sliders
Intermediate-B B6 Pad3
12:00 Ottawa TechSupport North Bay Ice Breakers
Junior J5 Pad2
12:30 Ottawa Valley Bandits/White Ottawa Valley Bandits/Red
Intermediate-A A5 Pad1
13:00 Connecticut WolfPack Long Island RoughRiders
Intermediate-B B7 Pad3
13:30 Sudbury Northern Sliders Durham Steelhawks
Junior J6 Pad2
14:00 Durham Steelhawks Sarnia Ice Hawks
Intermediate-A A6 Pad1
14:30 Ottawa Barbarians Peterborough Patriots
Intermediate-B B8 Pad3
15:00 Markham Islanders Ottawa TechSupport
Intermediate-B B9 Pad2
15:30 North Bay Ice Breakers Windsor Ice Bullets

April 20-2008
Intermediate-A A Bronze Pad 1
7:30 3rd Intermediate-A 4th Intermediate-A
Intermediate-B B Bronze Pad 2
8:00 3th Intermediate-B 4th Intermediate-B
Junior J Bronze Pad 3
8:30 3th Junior 4th Junior
Intermediate-A A Gold Pad 2
9:30 1st Intermediate-A 2nd Intermediate-A
Junior J Gold Pad 3
10:00 1st Junior 2nd Junior
Intermediate-B B Gold Pad 1
10:30 1st Intermediate B 2nd Intermediate B

My New Sledge!

2008-03-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

Being AB fairly hefty, strong, aggressive and gaining skill, I've been though a few sleds and sled adjustments. This has been a bit of a challenge for my buddy Lou the sledge builder. The evolution has included:
-narrowing the blade carrier (channel) to an inch wide
-increasing the material thickness of the blade carrier
-customizing the blade carrier to make it more monocot (none adjustable but we both know where my centre of gravity is.
-parabolic blades
-open bucket to closed molded "puck-stop" bucket.
-raising of seat height.
-adding "dump" to my bucket.
-added bracing from the blade carrier to the forward rails

My new sledge is a beast! While before, leaning into a turn I might touch down my seat onto the ice and go for an uncontrolled slide, the new height makes this virtually impossible unless I was checked. The height, while making balancing more tricky, also makes me more intimidating and more difficult to knock over. Turning now requires much less lean but if I do lean hard the turn is quick, tight and immediate although I do scrub off a little more energy than I use to. This later effect is now fading with a little technique adjustment.

Pictures on the "OCSHIP Sledge Hockey Challenge 2008 Ottawa Barbarians" slide show on the right.

Collingwood Ontario Paralympic Tournament

2008-03-31T10:31:00.001-07:00

Jeremy is finally big and tough enough to play a tournament with the big guys! The tournament in Collingwood was quite an event. Not only was our favourite sport “Sledge Hockey” but many other winter sports were represented. The crème-de la crème of Ontario were there to compete (short of national team players of course). Jeremy is a lot like his dad in style of play. Not the greatest puck carriers but very effective in engaging puck carriers J. In his enthusiasm he managed to bend his sled but luckily arenas are chocked full of metal railings and the problem was quickly remedied. This event was very stressful for dad since he’s use to being on the ice but being able bodied was unable to play. Eastern Ontario competed against 5 other teams in as many games and took home a bronze. It could have been easily argued it should have been silver but for an unfortunate pool draw. Western Toronto was unarguably the best team and took the gold. All in all the event was very well run. There were very nice accommodations and food for the athletes, nice facilities for the competition and above average officiating. Special thanks to our coaches. Very special thanks to the Canadian Forces who were on hand. They were very helpful and gentlemen all.

See new slide show for pics!

Parabolic Blade Revolution in Sledge Hockey

2008-01-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

Recently I acquired a new Sledge from Canwinsports ,which are now available with the same Light Parabolic Skate (LPS) technology available on high end AB hockey skates. The high quality steel of the blades actually allow them to arc as you load them into a turn and return some of the energy as you exit. Between the parabolic cut and the flexibility of the runner, it's like having a blade with a rocker that adjusts perfectly to your needs in real time. What this means is they are much more forgiving. As you carve a turn you don't have to pay as much attention to your centre of gravity vs. the arc of the turn to avoid scrubbing off speed (sliding and loosing energy), loosing control or skipping across the ice. It's like turning on a rail (I weigh over 200 lbs and you should see the depth of the groove left on a high speed turn). Of course if you already have a great deal of skill I'm sure you can get even more out of them. You can lean your sledge at radical new angles allowing much tighter turns, again without loosing much energy. This gives you the ability to pinch, loose, but still be able to re-engage quickly because you come out of turns at higher speed. Given the amount of lean you can utilize, you might want to consider raising your seat a little to avoid touching it on the ice and going for a slide. You'll definitely want to adjust your game style given the performance boost!
See http://www.canwinsports.com/. BTW that's Billy Bridges' and Bradley Bowden's new black sledges on the products pages (more about that later).

Sledge Hockey and Wikipedia

2008-01-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

When it comes to political issues wikipedia can be a bit of a sticky wicket. At one point an editor of theirs removed the record of sledge hockey teams citing it as an indiscriminate list. However, another more enlightened (albeit visually challenged) editor quickly put them back. I believe the list is there to stay. If you have a team or club that is not listed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sledge_hockey), and are web challenged, leave a comment with its name and web address (if there is one) and I'll be happy to put it up for you. Or mail me at webmaster@canwinsports.com.

Turning Drills

2008-01-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

Backward skating is not very practical in sledge/sled hockey. Quick turning under power is very important for challenging for the puck and effective defensive play.
Try skating around the face off circles on one blade. Try pumping with both hands. Try pumping with one hand. Try not letting your gloves touch the ice. Try different hand positions on the stick shafts, both symmetric and asymmetric (in a game you may not have your choice of hand positions). Pay attention to the sound of your blades. Try to avoid side slipping as much as possible. Generally, the quieter you keep your blades the less energy your wasting. How far your leaning forward or back can make all the difference. Don't forget to practice in both directions.

Another more advanced exercise is to perform figure eights around 2 small pylons. As you make your left turn, plant the picks of your left stick into the ice, carve your turn and as you complete the turn use the planted picks to push off. Repeat around the other pylon making a right turn and using your right stick. Once you start to become more accomplished, move the pylons closer and closer together until you are continuously planting one stick and then the other turning alternately left to right and back again.

Try these exercises in warm up before a practice or game!

Check Please

2007-12-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Body contact is usually tolerated in sledge hockey at much earlier ages and novice levels of play than AB (Able Bodied) hockey. Puck protection is so easily accomplished, by sliding the puck under your sledge away from your attacker, that some sort of contact is usually necessary to change puck possession. Ideally checks are suppose to be from hip and shoulder contact only with no actual sled contact. This is not always case however since it is always possible that one player or the other changes direction at the last split second. Certainly it would be easy to draw penalties by simply steering in front of an opposing player at the last second. This is a common defensive tactic. The referee must use some common sense to distinguish intentional sled contact from incidental or unavoidable. Other forms of checking include bringing the nose of your sledge into the space that other player is using to pick. This is legitimate if you are side by side with the other player but if you're chasing a break away and do this from behind you'll usually get called for interference (although this might be more closely related to tripping).

Some forms of checking are particularly dangerous and should not be used. Sledge contact approaching 90 degrees is sometimes called "T Boning". The correct term is "Charging". This is a good way to break sleds and legs. Impact from behind is big no-no in any sport but particularly in sledge hockey, since many players have issues with their backs. You should consider carefully, when checking against the boards, the distance between the player and the boards. If they go over you don't want them to be twisting their head against the boards. Also consider that boards are designed for AB hockey players checking each other. High up, the boards have a certain amount of give. Down low, there is virtually no give. Be sure to only use the force necessary and appropriate. Otherwise, you'll be making a lot of enemies very quickly or hurting someone beyond what is reasonable.

If you get knocked over it's a big energy expense and time waster, to get back up. Remember that even if you're on the giving end you may go down too. A common ploy is for the other player to fall and drape themselves over the nose of your sled making it impossible for you to proceed. If you get hit and are going down try to distribute your weight over the boards or ice to avoid all the energy of impact being concentrated in one area of your body. Get up as quickly as possible! Remember your fingers and hands are on the ice not to mention your ribs are exposed impact from other sleds (I don't believe anyone would purposely ram you but accidents happen). The best strategy may be to avoid getting checked. Speed, quick turns and stick handling help in this regard but not all of us are Bradley Bowden (one of the best finesse skaters I've very seen in the sport). Keep your head up always look for the pass. Remember the boards can be like an extra player on your team for making a pass around an attacking player. Since everyone is sitting, if you can raise the puck, lobbing the puck can be a way around a players too (obviously with less control). Teams sometimes have checking drills in practices just to teach players in a controlled environment how to take a check. Regardless if you dish it out or not, you may have to learn to take it.

Some players should not be touched at all. You can wait until they make a pass or move the puck where you can easily take it from them. Others, you might just pull close beside them and make it difficult for them to pick. A little stronger player you might lightly squeeze against the boards to impede their progress. If you are a strong player don't check at all if the other player moves the puck before you reach them. Modulate your play to the individual and situation.

These attitudes towards body contact can make the game very interesting. Some players don't move very quickly but hover at the corners of opposing team's net. Since, generally, you can't touch them (much at least) the opposing defense has the choice of either keeping position on them or ignoring them. I've seen such players make multiple goals in a single game from the defense choosing the later. Developing players get to handle the puck more often. Stronger players move and pass the puck more because heavy contact is allowed against them. Try to make the game fun but challenging for everyone!

How the Sledge Hockey Community Accommodates ABs

2007-12-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

The demographics of sledge / sled hockey are such that it is difficult to find enough players in a geographical area to make it feasible to play a game. Not very many people have a disability that would still allow them to play sledge hockey and not all of those would choose to play or could afford to play (although most clubs do make accommodations to the financially disadvantaged). The greater Ottawa area has about 1 Million people, we have around 60 players registered and I think at least 10 are AB (Able Bodied) players.

We aren't talking Team Canada caliber players either. While sledge hockey is touted as letting the abled bodied and disabled to compete equally, at the recreational house league and tournament levels AB players often have a higher potential that many other players don't (depending on their individual challenges) . Many touraments have rules like "only 3 ABs allowed on a team with only 2 on the ice at any one time and an AB player may not play goal". In a more familiar local setting there may be unspoken rules about how much body contact is allowed on particular players and by whom. This applies to ABs and more skilled disabled players. Having only started playing AB hockey 8 years ago I know the same sort of thing goes on in a pickup game (I suck) but in sledge hockey the differences in skill are usually more pronounced. The game becomes wonderfully complex on a physical and social level!

All that being said... I've been lucky enough to play with National Team players and I'm humbled by their strength and skill. While I've body checked many of them I'm glad they have only returned the favour with much restraint :).

It's a wonderful thing to be able to participate in a sport with a loved one. Most AB players are parents, siblings or friends. I even know of at least one grandmother! Often the coaches and/or organizers are parents. If you get a chance you should give it a try! If you know someone in the sport, give it 2 or 3 trys. It takes a lot of practice!

Sledge Hockey Aches and Pains

2007-12-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

Sledge/Sled hockey has its own list of common sport related injures. Hey, if it wasn't challenging and a little bit dangerous it wouldn't be worth doing would it!

Sciatic nerve pinches are common in ambulatory players since you are sitting down. The pressure points could be anywhere between the lower back and the knees. Common solutions to this are padding in the bucket and lots of stretching exercises. Your sledge builder might also put you in a shorter sledge or modify your sledge so that your knees are bent. This later solution of course will have impacts on your performance. The angular momentum of your sledge will be reduced and you'll probably be able to turn faster but on the other hand you'll not be able to reach as far in front of your sled and the length of your stroke, for propelling the sledge will be shortened.

Golfers (sledge hockey) elbow can be a problem. For us older folk, those who aren't much dependant on their upper bodies for mobility, heavier individuals or for those us who just don't know when to let up, the stress on the elbow joint on the side closest to your body can be excessive. The cause could be raising the puck, jamming the stick into seam along the puck stop at the bottom of the boards (learn to let the stick slip through your hands or let go of it all together) or repetative stress. Ice that elbow at the end of the game and several times a day for no more than 15 minutes at a time with at least 15 minutes inbetween icings. Perform some dumb-bell curls with your wrists. With the bottome of your forearm supported (by your leg, a table or arm rest) and using light weights, curl the weight using your wrists. Curl with your palm facing up and with your palm facing down. Perform 3 sets of each with at least 30 reps. You may find you'll require two different weights since your likely stronger in one direction than the other. If you're lucky enough to live in Ottawa, you can hit the canal in the winter time and perform 16 km of light skating!

The mark of/on a player in this sport is the pick mark. Punctures or scratches can occur anywhere there isn't padding. Picks sometimes even find their way under pads! Typically these scrapes are pretty superficial but at the more competative levels (national) there have been permanent marks made. Hockey equipment typically doesn't get washed that often and is filled with bacteria. So, clean those pick marks soon after getting off the ice.

Most sanctioning bodies have a list of manditory equipment. This usually includes a helmet with cage, a neck guard and shoulder pads. Elbow pads, proper hockey gloves and shin guards will also dramatically reduce the risk of injury. Hockey pants are usually not worth the trouble since they interfer with the fit of your sledge. A good hockey jersey may seem like pretty thin protection but in the face of picks and blades it does reduce penetration and allows these items to slip along the surface instead of penetrating.

Hockey Gloves

2007-12-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

While there are individuals at the junior levels who wear padded ski gloves and the like, it's not recommended. There are many ways to injure your hands in this sport and many players depend on their hands for mobility else where in life, so it's important to protect them. Besides being slashed or checked with another stick (very common in AB hockey) the chances of being hit by a puck or jabbed with a stick pick are greater since they are more difficult to avoid on a sledge. Also, the whole edge of your sledge is a potential pinch zone. You'll find your self colliding with other sledges, the boards, the goal posts, pushers and referees (Try hard not to hit the later two, it's a long way down to the ice!), and your hands are constantly running beside this zone. Consider the amount of protection around the wrists as well.

Your blades are not the only thing that touches the ice. When turning your sledge many players are riding on one blade and using the knuckles of their gloves for balance. When righting themselves they are pushing with their hands against the ice. When protecting the puck or receiving a pass they lay their sticks flat on the ice and dragging their gloves. Pick gloves with a tough covering material, they'll last longer! Of course the heavier you are or clumbsier you are (like myself) the shorter the life span of your gloves.

The palms of your gloves are likely to wear out much more quickly than in AB hockey. You're constantly gripping and slipping the stick in your hands. The heavier and/or stonger you are the more quickly you will wear out the palms. Black hockey tape dye is corrosive to the palms as well. If anyone has any ideas on how to make the leather last longer please comment!

The life of your gloves can be extended with duct tape. It's best to repair tears from picks and abrasions from dragging as soon as possible otherwise the padding is likely to fall out and become lost! When patching the top of a segment of a finger cut a piece of tape larger than the top and lay it flat. Cut slits in the tape from each of the four corners to where the tape meets the pad. Fold down the opposite sides of the tape and stick them to the sides of the segment. Repeat for the remaining two sides.

You can get some extra life out of the palms by sewing them up before they get out of hand. Any other ideas out there?

Keep your slicks (and gloves) on the ice :)

Sledge Hockey Stick Care

2007-12-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Taping
This is particularly important for wooden sticks. Keeping the bottom of your sticks taped helps prevent them from splitting and delaminating. If you do manage to damage the bottom of your stick use a little sandpaper before re taping. It will make your tape job last longer. Unlike AB hockey, the player is constantly gripping the tape and moving their hand from the tape to the shaft. If the tape sticks to your hand the stick can unexpectedly spin and/or stick to your glove causing you to miss a pass, shot or turn. Here are a few tips to minimize this possibility. Start your taping from the shaft and move towards the blade. This will minimize stickiness in the most critical direction. Run the head of a screwdriver handle over all the overlapped joints to seal them shut. Finally take some baby powder and work it into the tape. This will remove a lot of the tackiness from the tape. Colour of tape has its pros and cons. Black hides the puck well and might make it easier to protect however, it is corrosive to some materials in hockey gloves. Hope you find this useful. Looking forward to some comments.

Picks
Picks give you traction on the ice so it's important to maintain them properly. Poorly looked after picks will loose their grip on the ice and skip which is very frustrating. Picks usually come in pairs for each stick. Make sure they extend beyond the end of the stick equally (unless of course there is some other reason not to do so e.g. accommodate an upper body disability). Most bolts to hold on picks come with nylon threaded nuts which help keep them from slipping off. They still need to be checked regularly. You might find as you play this sport that your grip and forearm strength starts to become super-human :) be careful not to twist the nut so hard that it shears the bolt! (been there, done that). If the bolts extend beyond the nuts they should be sawn off with a hack saw or circular cutting tool so they don't catch on jerseys, players or equipment. Some players even wrap a little hockey tape around this part of the stick. Don't go too crazy with the tape or it will be more difficult to get it off to check the tightness of the nuts.

Keep your picks sharp! Each pair of picks usually has 6 or more points (3 or more for each pick). Only the outside points need to be sharpened. The inside points are there to distribute pressure so, should you stab another player (hopefully accidentally), you are less likely to harm other players (or if your clumsy like me, yourself). Remember, don't sharpen your picks to a point. That's dangerous and against most governing bodies' rules. Sharpen them to an edge. How you do it depends on the material the picks are made of. Mild steel can be sharpened with a small fine file. Several strokes on one side and the a light stroke on the other side to remove the bur. Hardened steel picks are too much for a file. The best way to sharpen them is with a small sanding drum on the end of a rotary (dremel) tool. Only lightly touch the metal otherwise you'll grind away the point in no time! Which type of picks you use are personal preference. Mild steel will require sharpening more often but are generally less expensive. Hardened steel requires less frequent sharpening but is usually more expensive and are more brittle and not impossible to break. Take your pick!

Shafts
Shafts can be made of many materials. Wood is common in one piece and made sticks. Softwood is good for junior or smaller players because they are so light. Hardwood is better suited to larger stronger players. Composite shafts with wooden or composite blades are now common too. These composite shafts are most inexpensively supplied by AB player who have broken their sticks. Stick length is again a personal preference. Longer sticks will give you a longer stroke and if you have good upper body strength will make you faster. Longer sticks are also good for receiving a less than perfect pass. However, when you're trying to dig a puck out of a corner or make a quick shot or pass they require more skill. Shafts don't usually require a lot of maintenance. Wooden shafts may need to be lightly sanded occassionally to prevent splinters and slivers. Painted shafts also reduce this risk. If you're sticks start to wear away somewhere in the middle they are probably rubbing against your bucket (seat). The usual culprit is hardware attaching the straps that hold you in. Cutting of bolts that extend beyond nuts and/or covering the offending area with a little hockey tape usually solves this problem.

Does anyone have any information on the following:
-One piece composite sledge hockey sticks?
-Proper attachment/reattachment of blades to composite hockey stick shafts?
-What the "lie" of a sledge hockey stick is?
-In AB hockey, one can lean on their stick and get it to bend, storing extra energy, before the puck is released. Is anyone doing this in sledge hockey?

2007-11-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

Jeremy has started a good fitness regiment with the goal of improving his sledge hockey. He's involved me in doing sit-ups, since core strength is critical to good sledge control. In the early sessions I was out performing him handily. Within a week he was easily doubling my performance! I'd been waiting for that day :)

2007-11-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

My son has a new sledge! His new bucket, unfortunately puts pressure on his Sciatic nerve and his right leg goes numb. Being a hemiplegic, his right leg has had a couple of surgeries and is a little less muscled than the left. We're going to have to try to pad that side to try to compensate. I'm thinking either something he wears (extra hockey socks under his shin pads up to his bum) or fitting some sort of padding in the bucket itself. The latter is the more common solution I believe. Of course we'll want the solution to be as light weight as possible. Any experience with this sort of problem out there? Any suggestions on sorting out the pressure point? He feels it in the leg but I've read that the pinch could be as far back as the lower back. I suspect the back of the leg or buttocks since the numbing is fairly immediate and disappears when he removes his foot straps or gets out of his sledge.