Monday, September 24, 2012
Canada's First Sledge Hockey Wedding
A teammate got married on the ICE with a pick up game following! Come take a look at www.sheo.ca/events.html.
Sledge Hockey Drills
Back again for a new season. Hopefully more posts this year than last. I'm taking a web development course, since I've been unsuccessful in finding work doing embedded software development (dang economy). I gave my club's web-site a nice face lift and wrote a flash animation of a standard sledge hockey drill. Please visit www.sheo.ca/drills.html. to have a look!
Monday, January 9, 2012
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.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Loose Stick Blades
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!
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!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Organs and Bones
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 :(
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Picking Technique
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.
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.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
More on Sledge Hockey Sticks
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.
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.
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