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.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Another Season Starts
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!
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!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Dot Drill
-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.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Corner Drills
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.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Bench Setup
*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
Monday, August 18, 2008
Some Answers to Previous Questions and Other Odds and Sods
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.
-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.
Friday, August 1, 2008
SHEO Website
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.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
OCSHIP Sledge Hockey Challenge 2008 Results
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)
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)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Ottawa Wins Intermediate A Division at OCSHIP Sledge Hockey Challenge
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 :)
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 :)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
2008 OCSHIP Invitational Sledge Hockey Challenge
Friday, April 18, 2008->
Sunday, April 20, 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
Monday, March 31, 2008
My New Sledge!
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.
-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
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!
See new slide show for pics!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Parabolic Blade Revolution in Sledge Hockey
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).
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).
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sledge Hockey and Wikipedia
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.
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