Is it possible to transition your floor hockey skills to the ice?

[Reverend Mayhem]

He’s not going to be able to compete with elite kids his age any time soon, but the gap may not be as big as some think.

I skated when I was a kid. Never got particularly good. Then I laced up skates again in college and was stunned by how easy it was to develop skills and technique just because I was so much stronger once I was older. I had some very basic instincts from when I was young but within a year or so, I felt like I could skate with most amateur players.

Much easier to learn at 11 too. I think he'll be fine if he has the drive and practices a lot. The first year is going to be REALLY rough. Maybe he'll always lag a bit behind other players, but remind him that the puck moves a hell of a lot faster than skates do and use his teammates.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I mean.. judging from my own experience I think I did fairly well.

I actually didn’t get on the ice until I was 8 - which is actually considered ‘late’ by some hockey circles. I played roller hockey with friends in my old neighborhood that had a cul-de-sac like Rocket Power (lol). I remember being out there every single day not knowing what ice hockey actually ‘was’

I’ll never forget that first time hitting the ice.. it was like I had done it before already. My first ‘Learn to Skate’ program had three levels. (Low - Bronze, Med - Silver, High - Gold). One of the instructors had to pull me aside and asked me if it was truly my first time out there. I was promoted to Gold status on day one.

(Mind you - I wasn’t blowing kids away my first time lol. Everyone in the bronze program had pylon cones giving them support and structure to skate in baby steps. I remember just skating around the rink as if I was bored)

 

[ManofSteel55]

Skating is the single most important skill in hockey. If he picks up how to skate quickly - and not just how to get around, but edging, transitions, power skating, etc, then he might figure it out. But he has to know how to skate to play competitive hockey.

 

[beakerboy]

But he knew how to skate, which is the biggest obstacle.

Huh. Everything I can find about him mentions he switched from soccer at 11, but doesn't mention whether he knew how to skate already. Some article on the draft mentions he had only been on the ice for 7 years, but that may have been bad phrasing.

The more you know!

As for OP's cousin, if he's a freak athlete, he might be able to pick up skating well enough if he has the drive. There is no reason to not try. And at the very least, he's opened himself to beer league as an adult.

 

[Sky04]

You’d think so, but every ice player who comes to my league is completely out of gas after the end of the 2nd period.

The cardio required for ball hockey is much greater than ice hockey. You can’t glide around, it’s nonstop running.

Sure but that's because it's a different kind of cardio, throw your guys on the ice and they'll be worse than pylons to good skaters. The stick handling and shot will still be there, stick handling as a ball hockey player to ice won't translate nearly as well if at all.

 

[puckpilot]

Huh. Everything I can find about him mentions he switched from soccer at 11, but doesn't mention whether he knew how to skate already. Some article on the draft mentions he had only been on the ice for 7 years, but that may have been bad phrasing.

The more you know!

If you're interested, check out the Spitin' Chiclets Podcast interview with him last year. He says he skated on the pond and played street hockey, just not organized hockey. He joined a house league at 11. After maybe his first practice, a AA coach spotted him and told his dad he should try out. He made the AA team and it was up from there. Here's a link. The relevant part starts just a little before the 2:05 mark.



A couple of things gave him and edge here. One, apparently he was a big kid. At that age size can make a huge difference. Two, his Dad played semi-pro soccer. Different sport, but knowing what it takes mentally to get to a high level and push can be an invaluable thing to pass on to a kid even if it's just in the form of fatherly advice.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Sure but that's because it's a different kind of cardio, throw your guys on the ice and they'll be worse than pylons to good skaters. The stick handling and shot will still be there, stick handling as a ball hockey player to ice won't translate nearly as well if at all.

I’m not saying ball hockey players would do great on the ice at all… many of them are novice to intermediate skaters.

Stickhandling isn’t a hard transition, the puck lays flat on the ice and doesn’t bounce quite as much as the orange ball does.

Also you have the ability to saucer pass cleanly on the ice… with the orange ball it’s not an option, the ball bounces and spins off target.

It’s not to say one sport is better than the other, I played both competitively. Each has their own requirements.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I’m not saying ball hockey players would do great on the ice at all… many of them are novice to intermediate skaters.

Stickhandling isn’t a hard transition, the puck lays flat on the ice and doesn’t bounce quite as much as the orange ball does.

Also you have the ability to saucer pass cleanly on the ice… with the orange ball it’s not an option, the ball bounces and spins off target.

It’s not to say one sport is better than the other, I played both competitively. Each has their own requirements.

Most ball hockey players I’ve come across trying to handle a puck, be it ice or roller, generally struggle for awhile with the weight and low profile of the puck.

Snapping off a saucer pass or even shooting the puck so it doesn’t flub around is also another major hurdle I’ve seen these guys have to overcome.

It’s also way easier to lift a ball, be it backhand, going bar down, whatever. Ball players like to flip the ball over sticks, in the air, etc and run around guys… then realize it takes way more skill to do that with a puck.

I’ve honestly never seen a strictly ball hockey player easily transition to a puck.

Most of them eventually got the hang of it to various degrees, but it was almost always awkward looking for awhile.

 

[LudwigVonKarlsson]

Doubtful, and in my case absolutely not. I started playing ball hockey when I was 15, learned to skate at 16 and never really got better. I was always the worst one on the rink even though I'm also one of the better players in the gym. Shooting and dangling skills will translate somewhat, but there is no way to prepare for the ice without learning how to skate properly first.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Doubtful, and in my case absolutely not. I started playing ball hockey when I was 15, learned to skate at 16 and never really got better. I was always the worst one on the rink even though I'm also one of the better players in the gym. Shooting and dangling skills will translate somewhat, but there is no way to prepare for the ice without learning how to skate properly first.

OK, but if you only started playing ball hockey at age 15 and started skating at age 16 were you really a "ball hockey player"?

In my limited experience as a beer leaguer, someone who understanding the game and knows where to position themselves on the ice can still be a meaningful contributor, even if they have lousy skating. The counter example - someone who knows how to skate, but doesn't understand the game, doesn't know where to position themselves, and is constantly going offsides, is not going to be much of a meaningful contributor.

 

[LudwigVonKarlsson]

OK, but if you only started playing ball hockey at age 15 and started skating at age 16 were you really a "ball hockey player"?

In my limited experience as a beer leaguer, someone who understanding the game and knows where to position themselves on the ice can still be a meaningful contributor, even if they have lousy skating. The counter example - someone who knows how to skate, but doesn't understand the game, doesn't know where to position themselves, and is constantly going offsides, is not going to be much of a meaningful contributor.

I don't see why not as that's what I was doing back then and now in the HTBHL.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

OK, but if you only started playing ball hockey at age 15 and started skating at age 16 were you really a "ball hockey player"?

In my limited experience as a beer leaguer, someone who understanding the game and knows where to position themselves on the ice can still be a meaningful contributor, even if they have lousy skating. The counter example - someone who knows how to skate, but doesn't understand the game, doesn't know where to position themselves, and is constantly going offsides, is not going to be much of a meaningful contributor.

I had a buddy who was a few yrs older than me, he was a ball hockey player only. He introduced me to a lot of ball hockey guys I ended up getting to know well.

My buddy played on an unreal ball team that won something like 5-6 city championships in a row…

I’d go and watch these guys play and they could do insane things with the ball.

I was maybe, 14 at the time and they were 16-18 year olds…

One day my buddy asked if he and 7-8 of these guys could come down to the lake and play against me and a few of my ice buddies who had been skating forever.

Apparently many of the guys who wanted to play us from his ball team had started playing roller hockey a couple yrs back and had been on the pond a bunch learning to ice skate.

It was… ugly. These guys could skate some and handle the puck ok, but we had to give them our best player to even make it somewhat competitive.

Eventually our guy we gave to them halfway through whipped his stick across the ice and screamed “can any of you f***ers give me some help!”

I felt bad and kept apologizing, but the ball hockey guys basically said they felt humbled.

I’ve seen this kind of scenario play out a ton over the years when strictly ball hockey players try to take up ice/roller, but don’t quite understand the years of hard work it takes to learn to skate and handle the puck at high speeds.

I always encourage people no matter what age to get in skates and have fun, but to try and keep their expectations in check so they don’t get upset and enjoy the game.

 

[Sky04]

I’m not saying ball hockey players would do great on the ice at all… many of them are novice to intermediate skaters.

Stickhandling isn’t a hard transition, the puck lays flat on the ice and doesn’t bounce quite as much as the orange ball does.

Also you have the ability to saucer pass cleanly on the ice… with the orange ball it’s not an option, the ball bounces and spins off target.

It’s not to say one sport is better than the other, I played both competitively. Each has their own requirements.

A puck weighs significantly more than a ball, it's easier to go from something that weighs more to less than the other way around. I've played competitive DEK hockey with a group of guys for years in the top division, put them on ice and they look completely new to hockey, it's pretty much 2 different sports if you're trying to convert ball to ice however I've seen University ice hockey players come in and play top level ball hockey with ease.

Skating --> Running and Puck --> Ball is just significantly easier to transfer over than the other way around, I mean look no further than Huberdeau and Pasta joining their national ball hockey teams with zero practice.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

A puck weighs significantly more than a ball, it's easier to go from something that weighs more to less than the other way around. I've played competitive DEK hockey with a group of guys for years in the top division, put them on ice and they look completely new to hockey, it's pretty much 2 different sports if you're trying to convert ball to ice however I've seen University ice hockey players come in and play top level ball hockey with ease.

Skating --> Running and Puck --> Ball is just significantly easier to transfer over than the other way around, I mean look no further than Huberdeau and Pasta joining their national ball hockey teams with zero practice.

Huberdeau is a bad example, he played dek for 15 years. He had to stop once he turned pro on the ice.

In the article below (in French, sorry), he talks about how dek hockey helped him develop better hand eye coordinatio, because the ball bounces so much. He became better at tips and deflections .

Jonathan Huberdeau et les bienfaits du dek hockey

Le joueur des Panthers de la Floride devient ambassadeur d’un fabricant d’équipement québécois

www.lapresse.ca

As for Pasta, ball hockey is popular in Czech, I wouldn’t be surprised if he grew up playing regularly.

Anyway, NHL players are an extreme example, the gap in skill level and training between them and anybody else is immense regardless of the sport

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

A puck weighs significantly more than a ball, it's easier to go from something that weighs more to less than the other way around. I've played competitive DEK hockey with a group of guys for years in the top division, put them on ice and they look completely new to hockey, it's pretty much 2 different sports if you're trying to convert ball to ice however I've seen University ice hockey players come in and play top level ball hockey with ease.

Skating --> Running and Puck --> Ball is just significantly easier to transfer over than the other way around, I mean look no further than Huberdeau and Pasta joining their national ball hockey teams with zero practice.

I think most ice players like myself grew up playing some form of ball hockey, even if it’s just in the streets.

So that helps any time we jump into a ball hockey game.

However, I stopped playing any type of ball hockey in my mid 20s and would only play with my Uncles/cousins/bunch of friends in an annual Turkey Cup every Thanksgiving.

I wouldn’t need any warm up or to practice with a ball before the days leading up to the game.

Most of these guys played A level dek (top league) and I could jump on with them and play well, with basically this being the only time I touched a ball throughout the year.

It’s just not that difficult to transition from ice to ball hockey, even if you get way out of practice handling a ball.

I’m not trying to disparage ball hockey though, as I feel it helped my hands immensely and my hand eye coordination.

Ice is just a different beast though and I don’t believe an elite ball hockey player could spend a few years training on ice and could catch up to a talented ice player with 10+ years experience is kind of fantasy land stuff.