citrin@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Wayne Citrin) (12/31/85)
For all you hockey players out there, here's kind of a strange question that came up at a skate last night: Do you put on your skates before you put on the rest of your gear (pants, shin guards) or after? I always felt that it was more convenient to put them on after, and I've made that a habit, but someone last night told me that he thinks that you can seat your feet in your skates and tighten them better if you put them on first. What do you hockey players out there do, and why? Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin)
k9un@ihu1e.UUCP (j w ague) (12/31/85)
> For all you hockey players out there, here's kind of a strange question > that came up at a skate last night: > > Do you put on your skates before you put on the rest of your gear (pants, > shin guards) or after? > .......... I put mine on after my shin pads and pants are on. I do so because it would be difficult to get my stockings on over the skates. I do, however have more trouble with my skates when I am wearing full equipment as opposed to when I am running a clinic or practice and wearing just a jogging suit. I have found that the socks always interfered with my skates so I cut the bottom of the socks so that they don't strap around the bottom of my feet. This has been a big improvement. There is just enough room for one pair of medium weight socks let alone the stirrup from the hockey socks (I know some guys who don't wear any socks under their skates - but I doubt that this does much for the longevity of the skates). I also don't use the top eyelet in my skates. I skip the top one (as well as the eyelet on the calf guard) and find that I have much more maneuverability. By the way, I have Bauer Custom 100's size 8 1/2 (I wear a 10 1/2 street shoe). My son has been leaving the top eyelet undone for 5 years now, and is one of the best skaters on his team. He has never had any problem with it. I saw Keith Magneson (sp?) helping to run a high school practice last year and noticed that he had the top two eyelets undone. I realize that many of the pros even go so far as taping the entire top of their skates to their ankles, but you will also see several who leave the top eyelets unused. If you haven't tried it, do so - but give it some time to get used to the feeling. Wes Ague Naperville, Ill. ihu1e!k9un
jordan@nike.UUCP (Jordan Hayes) (01/01/86)
I always put my skates on after my shin guards and pants, but I don't tie
them for a good 10 minutes ... this warms up my feet, and gives me a
chance to get comfortable in them. I usually do taping or something in
the mean time. Then I tighten them and finidh dressing. When I'm done,
I stretch them out and re-tie them, since they get loose from stretching.
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Jordan Hayes {seismo,lll-crg,uwvax,im4u}!nike!jordan
Bendix Field Engineering
NASA Ames Research Center jordan@ames.arpacitrin@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU (Wayne Citrin) (01/03/86)
Well, I tried putting on my skates first last night and I think it made a difference. It helped me get through my dressing faster for some reason. (I think that putting on the skates are the most time-consuming item, and when they're left for last it slows you down when you get caught up in the locker room banter. Somehow I also seemed to have more energy to tie them when I put them on first. Anyway, the procedure is as follows: 1) put on stockings. (I, too, cut off the stirrups on the bottoms of my stockings because it let my feet seat better in my skates. It took me a few years to figure out why my skates felt so much worse with full gear than at public sessions.) 2) put on (and tie) skates 3) slip shin guards into stockings, attach garter, put on rest of equipment. (I wear a Cooperall with a short shell. I think it would be easier to slip conventional pants over skates than Cooperalls and a shell, but it can still be done.) I've heard that advise about leaving the top eyelets unlaced. I tried unlacing the top two pairs but lost all support. Sometimes I unlace the top pair, but I'm still not sure that I get any advantage to it. This was recommended to me by a guy in the Boston area named Zwicker who sold me my skates (size 7 Ultra-Tacks with narrow heel for a size 9-1/2 shoe). Supposedly Zwicker is one of the gurus of skates. (By the way, I insisted on the small skate, he didn't suggest it, but that's what I prefer.) He suggested getting the tendon guards notched to increase their flexibility. To compensate for any loss in support, some extra stitching is done around the ankles. I'd like to try it, but unfortunately I'm here in Berkeley, not Bedford, Mass. Notching apparently increases the length of the effective stride, and makes a lot of sense to me. The final result of puting my skates on first? Two assists, but I got two assists in the last game and I put my skates on last. The jury is still out... Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin)