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MikeD · 01-29-2009, 06:58 PM

To get a solid rotation involves a few simple machanics. When strapping your pads you want to have the skate gusset integrated to the skate very well. Some skates have strap/s that go thru the back, last opening in the blade holder. Some have a single strap going thru the opening at the arch of the foot. Some have both....

Snugged, these make the pad face follow the top of the skate. Many goalies transitioning from Dek, floor or street have a habit of hopping off the skates. As they drop into a butterfly. When the skates leave the ice the natural movement puts the top of your feet downward to face the ice. Looking down your leg to the foot would show the shin, top of foot inline and in a position much like standing on your toes. This results in the pad face coming down on the ice. It also results in many goals because that HOP opens the ice for a split second, allowing the puck through.

with a stance at least slightly more than shoulder width apart and a slight forward lean, the toes, knees and shoulders should form a slight forward leaning line. Your stick would be between 12 and 16" in front centered on the five with a slight angle, toe further away than the heel(natural position with elbow tucked in). As you begin the movement, your knees begin to come together as you open up at the waist(unless shot is coming into the chest). The end result is that most of the downward movement happens from the waist down, your head dropping only a few inches from the level when in stance.

As your knees drive inward you will roll the skates inward onto the inside edge of the skate blades, toes pointing outward(reverse of a snowplow stop when skiing). IF you practice this slowly, in skates and on carpeting(no pads), you will see and feel the natural tendancy of the toes to point outward When the inside edge of the skate gusset portion of the pads touches the ice they will slide over the top of the skate allowing your skate cowling to contact the ice. If the toe straps/laces are too tight, the pad contact will lift your blade free earlier resulting in less lateral drive(Bfly slide) and an increased amount of knee lift to regain that edge for further lateral drive while down or to regain up to your stance. The end results have the inside of your skates and your inside ankle bone facing the ice, toes pointed outward.

Straps at the calf should allow to to stand upright and not feel pressure at the back of the calf. Knee lock straps would be snug but knee strap also only tight enough to make sure that when you do butterfly, your knee will stay on your landing gear, also not feeling pressure when standing totally upright. Thigh strap.....why do they still put this throw back strap on pads? Just secure enough to be out of the way. That strap could be removed from your pads and you wouldnt know it was gone. Do not OVEr tighten the strap going to the heel or under the arch of your foot. Just enough to give good integration. On recovery to your skates from a good "profly" the pads should return to front on their own. IF they do not, you may have the strap too lose(feel floppy when moving around) or too tight(have to push the pad back to front against resistance)

Technically, with good hip flexation, your ankles/feet should end up MUCH WIDER than your stance. IF they do not, also take a look at the stretching download on the mentioned tips page below to widen your butterfly and google search for HIP STRETCHES. KNEE stretches will NOT widen the butterfly and can be bad for your health(IMHO) Modern goal pads will rotate and recover front much easier but ONLY if you follow the basic mechanics needed to "pro-fly". Even my old Coopers and Heaton 6800's will profly given the simple steps detailed above. However, slamming my knees into the ice with out any landing gear is not quite fun to do.

There are two PDF files that will offer you very good instruction on basic and advanced butterfly as well as good self development drills. you can access them at my website @ Hawksice.com Tips page Please do save a copy to your computer if possible rather than return visits to access so as to conserve bandwidth usage. Adobe Acrobat Reader will be needed to open/read the PDF files. If you do not have it there is a free download at : adobe.com All of these downloadable files are assured computer safe and virus free.

01-29-2009, 06:58 PM	#12
MikeD Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buffalo NY Country: Posts: 1,066 vCash: 500	To get a solid rotation involves a few simple machanics. When strapping your pads you want to have the skate gusset integrated to the skate very well. Some skates have strap/s that go thru the back, last opening in the blade holder. Some have a single strap going thru the opening at the arch of the foot. Some have both.... Snugged, these make the pad face follow the top of the skate. Many goalies transitioning from Dek, floor or street have a habit of hopping off the skates. As they drop into a butterfly. When the skates leave the ice the natural movement puts the top of your feet downward to face the ice. Looking down your leg to the foot would show the shin, top of foot inline and in a position much like standing on your toes. This results in the pad face coming down on the ice. It also results in many goals because that HOP opens the ice for a split second, allowing the puck through. with a stance at least slightly more than shoulder width apart and a slight forward lean, the toes, knees and shoulders should form a slight forward leaning line. Your stick would be between 12 and 16" in front centered on the five with a slight angle, toe further away than the heel(natural position with elbow tucked in). As you begin the movement, your knees begin to come together as you open up at the waist(unless shot is coming into the chest). The end result is that most of the downward movement happens from the waist down, your head dropping only a few inches from the level when in stance. As your knees drive inward you will roll the skates inward onto the inside edge of the skate blades, toes pointing outward(reverse of a snowplow stop when skiing). IF you practice this slowly, in skates and on carpeting(no pads), you will see and feel the natural tendancy of the toes to point outward When the inside edge of the skate gusset portion of the pads touches the ice they will slide over the top of the skate allowing your skate cowling to contact the ice. If the toe straps/laces are too tight, the pad contact will lift your blade free earlier resulting in less lateral drive(Bfly slide) and an increased amount of knee lift to regain that edge for further lateral drive while down or to regain up to your stance. The end results have the inside of your skates and your inside ankle bone facing the ice, toes pointed outward. Straps at the calf should allow to to stand upright and not feel pressure at the back of the calf. Knee lock straps would be snug but knee strap also only tight enough to make sure that when you do butterfly, your knee will stay on your landing gear, also not feeling pressure when standing totally upright. Thigh strap.....why do they still put this throw back strap on pads? Just secure enough to be out of the way. That strap could be removed from your pads and you wouldnt know it was gone. Do not OVEr tighten the strap going to the heel or under the arch of your foot. Just enough to give good integration. On recovery to your skates from a good "profly" the pads should return to front on their own. IF they do not, you may have the strap too lose(feel floppy when moving around) or too tight(have to push the pad back to front against resistance) Technically, with good hip flexation, your ankles/feet should end up MUCH WIDER than your stance. IF they do not, also take a look at the stretching download on the mentioned tips page below to widen your butterfly and google search for HIP STRETCHES. KNEE stretches will NOT widen the butterfly and can be bad for your health(IMHO) Modern goal pads will rotate and recover front much easier but ONLY if you follow the basic mechanics needed to "pro-fly". Even my old Coopers and Heaton 6800's will profly given the simple steps detailed above. However, slamming my knees into the ice with out any landing gear is not quite fun to do. There are two PDF files that will offer you very good instruction on basic and advanced butterfly as well as good self development drills. you can access them at my website @ Hawksice.com Tips page Please do save a copy to your computer if possible rather than return visits to access so as to conserve bandwidth usage. Adobe Acrobat Reader will be needed to open/read the PDF files. If you do not have it there is a free download at : adobe.com All of these downloadable files are assured computer safe and virus free. Last edited by MikeD: 01-29-2009 at 07:11 PM.