Second Hand Skates

Supplying Second Hand Skates to the UK

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Ice Hockey Helmet www.secondhandskates.co.uk

With safety being top priority on head injuries and concussions in the professional and amateur hockey leagues, the helmet will be your most important investment. This is probably the one piece of equipment you should get "new the first time around ", so that you know it properly fits you. As an adult player, my personal preference and advice to all is that you should get a cage . Kids can also use a cage but a visor is usually better or kids as they are still learning to play.  You might think that a cage would diminish the view, but it didn't when I played. Your helmet will have straps with push-button fasteners to latch the cage to the helmet. There will also be a chin strap. Be aware that you can get replacements for these! Its  good to own two helmets, once you become established just encase one gets broken while playing a puck to the helmet can cause some impressive damage that you wouldnt imagine! Also consider the colour as it would be good to try keep to your teams colours. Since you'll want the helmet to fit well, try these out in a store (at least to get the size) if you do decide to buy a used one! www.secondhandskates.co.uk

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Other Ice Hockey Equipment www.secondhandskates.co.uk

Hockey pucks

Good idea to keep a few of these in your kit bag. In pick-up ice, you won't have a bucket of pucks with which to warm up with. Having a puck or two in your bag will allow you to contribute to the scrimmage.

Like golf balls you find in everywhere imaginable on the golf course, you can sometimes find a puck or two kicking around in the corners of your local ice rink. If you see one, it's "finders keepers", but expect to lose your fair your share of pucks during practice time and even games.

Gum Shields

I never used a Gum shield, but some of the players on our team that did. I thought that, since I was wearing a cage helmet, I really didn't need to protect my mouth. I don't know if I was "lucky" that nothing serious happened to my mouth playing this sport. Consider how important your own health as you decide whether to wear one or not. As a beginner, the game may not be "fast", but it's still a contact sport! & because they are so cheap to buy they are a worthy investment.

Extra pair of laces

​I have seen countless team mates breaking  laces on their ice skate, and they never had a spare Its good practice to keep at least one spare in your bag. Also if one of your team mates need one they will thank you. (Make sure to find out what size laces your hockey skates need, there is usually a chart on the reverse of the box they come in which tells you the length you need ! 

Water Bottles

Bring two bottles to each game.

I remember one game where my bottle fell to the bottom of the bench, and before I could pick it up, I stepped on it, with my skate it cut it open spilling water everywhere. Not having water is "a  really really bad thing.". dont forget to rite your name on each bottle with a black marker.

One other thing to consider is that if  you want a  stretch straw, or if you want a plain nozzle.

Tape/Velcro (for Shinguards)

You will need some "regular" tape (not stick tape) for securing your pads to your body.

I have seen players using velcro to secure their shin guards, and I thought that was pretty economical, because you could keep reusing it. I never found any velcro for myself, but I didn't try very hard. Instead, I bought regular tape in bulk, because this gets used on a regular basis.

www.secondhandskates.co.uk

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Learn how to play ice hockey tips & advise

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Learn to Play Ice Hockey www.secondhandskates.co.uk

Learning to play hockey:

If you want to give ice hockey a go, you wont need to spend your months wage on new hockey skates equipment . All you will really need are cheap hockey skates, elbow pads, shin pads, a stick and importantly a helmet. If you look around our site's stock page you could find most items  you will need.  I would recommend a decent helmet, as you cant put a price on protecting your head. There not very expensive new or second hand. (second hand will still do the job, we wont sell you a useless helmet). For more information on what equipment you need visit our hockey equipment guide for adult & children players. In most adult leagues shoulder pads, a mouth guard, and a neck guard is optional, but are really worth every penny if you can stretch you budget that far, but  again this is usually optional. ​ You should absolutely learn how to skate first: ​ If you want to play hockey, you will need to know how to skate, turn and stop. The best way to learn is by getting a lot of ice time and finding someone to teach you. Planet ice have some very comprehensive programs to help you to learn to skate, but most skate rinks in the UK do have learn to skate lessons. I recommend planet ice as they have a very structured program. ​Also check out the videos Youtube, but I strongly suggest you find skating lessons at a your local rink.  Look for adult skating lessons, adult hockey lessons, or power skating.  ​These lessons will strengthen your skills & put you in good habits right from the start, this will make your path to becoming a hockey player much easier (and quicker).

After you have taken some skating lessons suggest you get on the ice as much you can. This means going to public skating and stick & puck sessions.Phone your local rinks:Find & call the closest rinks  in your area.  Ask if there are any open public ice sessions where the public can skate or play hockey. Public skating is usually about £6.00 - £9.00 and stick and puck ranges from £12.00 - £17.00.  Your first few sessions will feel a bit intimidating, but it’s a long path to success and you will improve more and more every time you step on the ice. ​Another good tip is to play any type of hockey you can. Play inline, street hockey, and even shoot pucks in your garden or car park. All of these things will help you improve significantly Work on your shooting and stickhandling.The three biggest skills you need to learn are skating, shooting, & puck control.Skating needs to be done on the ice (some roller blading will help improve your skills) but stick handling and shooting can be practiced at home. ​ ​All you really need is a shooting pad and something to shoot at, a hockey net is a good way to practice, but anything that stops pucks will work! For second hand ice skates check us out @ www.secondhandskates.co.uk

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Selecting Ice Hockey Stick www.secondhandskates.co.uk

There's something brilliant an satisfying about the ice hockey stick that makes it more than just a tool. It could be the amount of time spent preparing them for battle ;-), maybe it's the wide variety of sticks available, and maybe it's just because it separates hockey from figure skating.

Hockey players love their sticks and some of them could talk for hours about them! I frequently see questions online, "What stick should I get?", "What type of curve can help my shots?", ''what is flex?'' and of course "Are £200 sticks worth every penny? There are  dozens of sticks, shafts, blades, and accessories to help my shot. I haven't been thrilled with what I've seen out there in terms of explaining what to use and why, so I we will  give it ou best.Most important  thing to bar in mind is that no stick out of all the sticks in the world will make you a better hockey player, but using the wrong stick will effect your shot, passing, and confidence.

The first you need to know when buying an ice hockey stick is, which way should I shoot? Most of us already know, but for a beginner or a child just starting, it's an increadably important question.In hockey terms, a right-handed shooter holds the butt end of the stick in the left hand and the shaft in his right. A left handed shooter will hold the butt end of the stick in his right hand and the shaft in the left. So a left hand players stick blade is on his left side, and a right handed's stick blade will be on his right. Because about 9 out of 10 people are right-handed, we should expect the same to carry over in the hockey world, BUT! Actually, most players are left handed. Why ? It is because the top hand controls most of the movement of the stick when shooting, stick-handling, and poke checking. If you are right handed in writing, eating, etc, etc, and you place that particular dominant hand on the top of the stick, you'd be left handed in hockey terms.So why aren't 9 of 10 hockey players left-handed? Because most of them were taught to play a certain way, how to hold a stick, or just became comfortable shooting one way or another. And once they start down that path, it's almost impossible to change direction. ​My advice to parents who are just starting to teach their kids to play at there local rink, is select a stick with the straightest blade as possible and let them try and figure out which way to take shots. If they don't have a preference, encourage them to try it both ways. All good hockey players throughout history have shot both ways, so it's not going to make or break them in this way if it is possible.

​Experience is obviously the best teacher, so if you can, borrow a team mate's stick, find a store that lets you take some shots, or buy second hand used sticks, blades, and shafts that are available at www.secondhandskates.co.uk .

[keepcalmandcarlyon]

You can take the girl out of Canada, but you can’t take the Canada out o the girl. On Sunday January 20th Dave & I went with three friends to see the Guildford Flames vs. Sheffield Steeldogs (ice) hockey match.

Guildford is about an hour’s train journey from Wimbledon. On the day we travelled, there was lightly falling snow for the duration of the journey, making it feel like we were inside a snow globe.

Upon arrival at Guildford we were joined by our two Canadian friends Jay & Olivia. The walk to the Guildford Spectrum is about 25 minutes so we broke up the journey with a trip to the pub. Inside it was warm & cosy, & after a hearty meal & a few drinks, we were off (still with the snow falling all around us).

The Guildford Spectrum is what we would describe as a “sports complex.” It has snack bars, the ice rink, a pool, & an amazing looking indoor water park. The arena seats about 1500 people & on the day we went, it was packed full. We saw a few NHL jerseys but I was surprised by how many people had a Guildford Flames jersey. One of the souvenirs sellers commented that Guildford were better than any team in the NHL because they had played a whole season whereas the NHL had just started!

Being that the arena is so small we got to see the players really up close (check out the photo above!) & our seats were front row so it was easy to get into the game. They start by playing God Save The Queen & after that, it’s just like a regular match. Although this is a professional league, the atmosphere was more like watching AA at home - no mascot, no beer drinking, & many passionate fans yelling at the players like they know them. I did feel a bit like I was back at George Bell, just surrounded by crazy hockey Moms.

A few fights, a few goals, & lots of classic rock songs later… the Guildford Flames won the game 4-2. It was a good day out, & fun to have a little bit of Canada in London!

[theyslayedthedragon]

live motion hockey cards (6 of ?)

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Cool live cards!

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[adaptinghoul-deactivated2025101]

[smoulderandbraids]

joyfulseeker: #here’s what I love about this#pk subban is always willing to start the dancing off right#aka as ridic as possible#but I judge those that dance along as highly quality people

[thecoggs]

I am so here for Chucky’s shoulder shake you guys.

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How to hockey stop www.secondhandskates.co.uk

How to Hockey Stop. ​ Fast hockey stops feel great and looks great & impresses the newbies - or if you just want to spray some ice everywhere. Hockey stops are one of the trickier skills  to learn, so you will need to take it slowly and do it t one step at a time!Before your learn how to hockey stop, you will need to get used to the feel of your skates sliding sideways along the ice. To do this, hang on to the barriers allong the edge of the ice rink (players bench) where there's no glass to get in the way. Bend your knees and push one skate away from you, while keeping most of your weight on the other foot. If your skate is getting caught on the ice during the push, you will have to put even less weight on it to get a smooth push. Be sure to work on both skates.When you get a good feel for it, push your skate out more abruptly so it ends in a hard stop. Try to spray some ice! ​Next step is to stop using the snow plow. Take a few strides, glide a little, bend your ankles and knees, and point your toes together. You must try not to bend at the waist, or it will be harder to keep your balance. Pretend like your sitting on a chair with your back straight.Once you've got the basic snow plow down, twist your hips as you stop so that you turn and stop at the same time. Practising is the key for this, keep trying until you can stop at a moderate speed.The next step is the trickiest part. You will now have  to get your back foot to stop parallel to your front foot. To do this, you will 'unweight' yourself by first bending your knees deep, then straightening your legs just before you turn to stop. This will raise your center of gravity and makes it easier to rotate your skates 90 degrees. Place your weight on the balls of your feet, so that your heel edges don't catch as you turn. Return to your deep knee bend to come to a complete stop.When practicing your first instinct might be to skate towards the boards, hoping to hang on to the boards in case you fall. It's actually safer to skate towards open ice so. If you're wearing your hockey equipment, you won't get hurt! www.secondhandskates.co.uk

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ice Hockey Power Skating & Sculling secondhandskates.co.uk

Taking a Power Skating session is by far the best way to improve your skating skills and improve your game. If you are new to ice hockey & looking for a power skating drill you can practice on your own, sculling is a great place to start. ​This sculling drill will help you increase your  power of your stride & also help you skate fast with more control.You will need to start this drill by getting low into a hockey stance, dig into the ice with your heels, then push all the way out for a full leg extension, bring your feet all the way back together directly under your body. ​Extend your leg without lifting your skate off the ice. You can do this drill forwards or backwards, also when you are moving forward, the weight should be on the heel of your skate, when skating backwards, the weight should be on your toe.You can also practice this drill by skating around a face-off circle. Keep your inner skate on the edge of the circle and pump with your outside leg.But be sure to keep your upper body at a consistent level, as opposed to bobbing up and down as you skate! www.secondhandskates.co.uk

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Ice Hockey For Kids secondhandskates.co.uk

Ice Hockey for kids. More and more children in the United Kingdom are starting to learn to skate & to play hockey every year. Some of the kids in Canada & USA's hockey clubs  are so fully booked that kids have to practice as early as 5:00 AM and play as late as 11:30 PM. Be prepared for some early morning and late night weekends if you sign up your kids for hockey. Skating lessons at your local ice rink will be a great place to start. Lessons generally are not expensive and kids have lots & lots of fun & make loads of new friends. Once your kids have learned the basic skills of ice skating you can either join them into a 'Learn to play' hockey or speed skating. Planet-ice skate rinks in the UK are very good for kids to learn & thy have excellent programs. ​Kids can generally start playing hockey as early as 5 years old, but don't feel that your son or daughter has missed there calling if they decide to start at a later age. ​Most ice hockey clubs have a league which has been created especially for beginners of all levels and of course one for the more advanced players. Most kids will enjoy the ice hockey programs at there local rink as they will be wearing the full body hockey gear & will love a good ice hockey scrimmage with all the drills. Classes are typically one weekend day, or after school for around 30-45 minutes. The coach's Focus will be on your childs skill development, and fun. This is also a excellent socializing event for anybody. ​Basic skating skills will be the single most important thing to have when playing hockey, a power skating class will also help your child's hockey skills development tremendously. But regardless of their enthusiasm, not all kids will stick with hockey once you sign them up (All kids over especially the teenagers).This is why it would be a smart move to buy second hand equipment for their first couple of years. Kids also grow out of there equipment so fast, just like they grow out of there shoes, they will there skates,second hand equipment is often in fantastic shape at half the price. No need for the £400.00 skate quite yet. At secondhandskates.co.uk we understand that spending a fortune on skates an equipment is not always viable.

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Ice skate fitting secondhandskates.c.uk

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Fitting tips when selecting your skates. When selecting your skates you will want to ensure that it fits you perfectly to ensure that you are comfortable & above all safe on the ice! You want every momen on the ice to be fun! An excellently fitted skate will ensure you get the maximum control and power from the boot. Important tips to remember: Make sure that your heel sits comfortably in the pocket of the boot. The best way to do this is to sit in a chair with the boots on each of your feet then kick back on each heel, this will move the heel into the deep correct position of the skate . Does the toe & heel fit properly into the boot ? ​ Once both boots are on & laced up with your heel as snug as they can be in the back of the boot your toes should hardly touch the end of toe cap at the front of the boot. Move your knees so that they are bent & lean slightly forward. Your toes will move slightly back from the toe cap. If your foot moves around to much or if your foot & toes are squashed then the boot size is no good. Sizing across the popular brands vary. They can even vary across the same model but produced in different seasons. www.secondhandskates.co.uk

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Learning to ice skate fail.

This is why you should never use hire skates ;-) secondhandskates.co.uk  

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Selecting your first ice skates secondhandkates.co.uk

When you decided that enough is enough with the horrible hire skates at your local rink there are a few different things you need to take into consideration when buying your first pair of ice hockey skates.Some of these may seem some what obvious but they are easly overlooked. Firstly size is the single most important thing that you need to know about. They are measured by length and also width, generally the cheaper skates tend to come in a standard with where as the more expensive skate will have a wider foot option. Another very important factor to be aware of is that each different brand of ice skate will fit very differently to its competitor. For example CCM's generaly are a little wider and cater for the arch of the foot where as Bauer are a slimmer tighter fit. Again each brands boot is different.Each brand of skates have there advantages & disadvantages. It very much depends on the skaters personal prefrence of comfort.  ​ What is boot stiffness and why is it important to know ? Well it is important to know how stiff, or how much flex your boot has when you first come to buying your skates. This is because the stiffer the boot is the harder you as a learner will have difficulty learning how to skate . Stiffer boots are for the more advanced skater e.g a hockey player or someone who has been skating for a long time. It is highly recomended that all beginers get a boot with allot of flex. This will enable you to move the boot around comfortably on the ice whilst you are still learning different techniques like stopping, crossovers, and turns.Wow those Reebok 30K's look nice, i want them!Most beginers when they are looking to move up from the horrible hire skates at the local  ice rink usualy have an idea as to what they want to buy usualy by seeing the other more advanced skaters on the ice, & taking a sneaky peak in the skate shop (been there).One important thing to remember that you will only slow down your learning progress if you go mad and buy a very expensive skate. the more expensive the boot is the stiffer the boot will be, and the less you will learn! Skate cost & features. When you are learning about the different skates on the marketplace again you wll learn that the more expensive the boot is the stiffer the boot will become. High the £ = Stiffer boot. You also do get some really good features which  will give you a better skating experience once you are at that advanced level such as: Increased ankle protection More responsive to your movements Anti lace bite cover on tongue. A full composite insole that moulds to your feet Strength of blade material, better quality rivets, & blade holders These are just a few advantages to give you an idea as to what an advanced skate will have. This is one of the reasons why we provide second hand skates, because it is so easy to spend allot of money on a new pair of skates only to be dissapointed.

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Secondandskates.co.uk was founded over with a single goal: to offer safe, fun, competitive adult & child's ice hockey skates & equipment to anyone desiring to play. 

We strive to provide quality that’s of a fair price, and of course all items will be usable & safe to use.

Each week, we update our stock with used items for sale, including reviews that are relevant to that specific product (if one it exists).We evaluate the quality of each product sold by us with an a score of 1 - 5 

(5 being the best quality). 

Please note that we do not sharpen hockey blades as this is something that you will need to do at your local ice rink. Each rink has a different hardness or softness to its ice so it would be best to discuss this with your local rink to see what grind they recommend.

We are local to the Guildford spectrum, Planet ice  Basingstoke & occasionally we goto Bracknell. We can bring items to these rinks!

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Ice Skate Grinding / Sharpening secondhanskates.co.uk

At secondhandskates.co.uk, we place our pride into getting you & your family the right quality hockey equipment. This doesn’t mean the most expensive equipment, either – we’re talking about the PROPER  usable equipment.Not many in house pro shops in the UK really take the time to explain the basics of skate sharpening and the pain's that come along with it. So we hope this will give you an idea of what exactly goes on when your skates get sharpened.We want you to be as educated you all as much as possible in all things hockey, and we hope this brings you a better experience on the ice!Skate Sharpening  --  What Is going on? A skate is sharpened by grinding a semicircle into each skate blade. The semicircle is called a “hollow.”The hollow creates the edges both inside and out. ​The “hollow” is created by a diamond tipped dresser on the ice rink or skate shops skate sharpening machine. The hollow can be ground in a variety of depths anywhere from 2” to ¼”. Each depth will have a different feel when you are on the ice. The most common grinds  are:  Goalies: 3/4” – 1″ (shallower), Figure Skaters: 1/2”- 3/4″ and Players: 1/2 – 5/8 (deeper).

​”The smaller the number, the deeper the hollow will be; the larger the number, the shallower the hollow will be.Conventional Skate Sharpening A deeper hollow will give you more “grip” on the ice, thus your skate blade will “feel” sharper.Advantages: Edges will “bite” more in turns, giving more control to hold the edge(s).Disadvantages: Could cause you to lose speed due to the fact the blade is digging into the ice surface more.A shallower hollow will still have “grip” – but less than that of a deeper hollow. Thus having the feeling of not being as sharp.Advantages: a smoother gliding feeling due to less drag. Easier stops and starts.Disadvantages: Less “bite” in turns. Edges may feel like they are sliding out from under you. Choosing a grind will depend on your personal preference. www.secondhandskates.co.uk