The RinkFor the not so ready for prime-time players, coaches, referees, and the people that have to live with them. Discuss experiences in local leagues, coaching tips, equipment, and training.
The Koho would be more expensive since I would need a helmet and chest protector, but it would be new and seems like a good deal.
I called 5 local Play it Again sports and they don't have much for Senior goalie :/ They helpfully offered their new gear at a higher price than goalie monkey
The Koho would be more expensive since I would need a helmet and chest protector, but it would be new and seems like a good deal.
I called 5 local Play it Again sports and they don't have much for Senior goalie :/ They helpfully offered their new gear at a higher price than goalie monkey
Well, as a beginner goalie, you want to get serviceable equipment for as little as possible (in case you decide it's not for you). To that end, I'd get the Craigslist stuff. My only concern is which Itech mask it is. There were a couple Itech models that earned the name "Widowmaker" because they were prone to breakage.
Unless you already know what your sizing and preferences are, going to a store will be the best bet, and you won't have to pay for the awful shipping prices.
The person lives close enough that I could try it on. I tend to get really focused on something once I decide to do it -- I'm also skipping baseball this year (next season I'll be 30 and can join the old fogey league.)
I'm concerned most about the helmet. I've taken some nasty foul tips as a catcher and I do have some qualms about a used helmet. Granted I'll be in an instructional league for awhile, but I like my brain.
It helps to fall a few times with your pads so you can learn a hugely important lesson: the pads WORK. It doesn't hurt at all to fall. Once that "clicks" you can start pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and you'll break through the confidence barrier in no time. If you're not falling, you're not pushing yourself hard enough.
If you're not sure about wearing full gear, don't - wear gloves, elbow pads and knee pads. I actually went out and got some other sport knee pads (no shin guards) just for these public practices. No one has to know I am even wearing gear, but if I fall it doesn't hurt.
They mimic the weight and glide of a puck. Its not perfect, but you can definitely keep working on your stickhandling skills. As long as you have a smooth surface, you have everything you need.
I just watch TV and stickhandle. Keeping my eyes on the TV forces me to trust my feel and peripheral vision, and its a little more entertaining that way.
Smart balls are great.
I'd go further and say if youre going to order a smart ball and carry to Hawaii you might as well bring a few other items like a Swedish stick handling ball and maybe a weight for your stick.
Last edited by Lonny Bohonos: 03-21-2012 at 12:34 AM.
Let me preface this by stating that i couldn't stop reliably as recently as five days ago, and i'm about the last person you should be taking skating advice from...
That being said, seach youtube for "hockey canada edge control". Those are the drills I've been working with as a cold-start beginner and - with the caveat that i don't know where or how specifically I'll need each skill later - I seem to be progressing for now.
You might instinctively want to go slower on figure eights than you need to to get it done - at least i did. The kids in the example video just sort of casually glide into it, and if i try it that way i don't get nearly enogh forward momentum to stay balanced on either edge for more than a few seconds. If you're not getting it after a lot of trying, swallow fear of falling, pad-up, and try it faster. I found more forward momentum helped greatly with figure eights.
Next week I wear a helmet and start crashing my way to backward crossover success. Fun!
the CCMs are 80 76 76 72. However, by the time ive ordered new skates ill only have been on them for 2-3 weeks. I can always change the wheel setup myself right? I know the Hi-LO setup is supposed to give you sharper turn radius, what does straight 80s give you? more speed?
Also, the CCMs are 9s and it seems like the right size, should i go with that for missions/rbk?
You can make some changes with the wheels but not all. For example you will never fit 4 80s on a Mission skate, there is just not enough clearance. Straight 80s are supposed to give you more top end speed.
For missions you can go with pretty much your regular shoe size but you have to make sure you have the right width. Not too sure with RBK.
You can make some changes with the wheels but not all. For example you will never fit 4 80s on a Mission skate, there is just not enough clearance. Straight 80s are supposed to give you more top end speed.
For missions you can go with pretty much your regular shoe size but you have to make sure you have the right width. Not too sure with RBK.
again thanks for the help.
ive ordered the missions. i wear a 10 shoe usually so i went with 8.5D as they are post 2009 models. i guess generally you go 1.5 sizes down, and the 9s ive been skating in are a little loose. if they are not the right size then ill send em back, but im guessing they will be what im looking for.
itll be a slight change in wheel setup as the CCMs are 80767672 i think, and the missions are 80 80 76 76. either way ill get used to them.
I wish my skating class and open skate were spread out during the week instead of being on Saturday and Sunday. I feel so antsy.
I passed on the used gear set. It is tempting to save some money, but I don't want to get a used helmet. I only have one brain.
I'll be making another trip to Sportsmonkey on Friday. I didn't give myself enough time during my last trip, so I'm taking half of the day off to try different brands and sizes on.
I'll be nabbing a goalie helmet, goalie chest protector (I called all of the Play it Again sports and they didn't have any Sr/Large ) , goalie jock, throat guard and a neck collar.
I'll try on different pads to figure out which size and brands I like. I should be able to scour up a set although I might go for the Koho 700s.
Color choice is tricky. I kinda want to get white pads with black/gold trim, but don't want to get chirped too bad
Color choice is tricky. I kinda want to get white pads with black/gold trim, but don't want to get chirped too bad
As a goalie you will never get "chirped", you could be the worst goalie with the ugliest gear and every skater could not care less because a goalie is there!
As a goalie you will never get "chirped", you could be the worst goalie with the ugliest gear and every skater could not care less because a goalie is there!
This. And besides, white pads with black/gold trim doesn't even sound "chirp" worthy to me. If you went out and got something like pink pads, which a goalie in my league actually did do, then maybe you might hear something!
I got in my first fight this week. There is this one guy on the top team in our league and he's a complete jackass. He's always dirty, slewfooting, boarding, you name it.
This week, he boarded my brother and that is a no-no. I gave him a good two-hander before the refs got over and while sitting in the penalty box he started talking crap.
So I told him to take off his pretty boy AO tinted visor and then we'd have some fun. To my surprise, he did.
So I told the ref (a buddy of mine) to actually let us fight, and he did. Wasn't much of a fight as there isn't much you can do when he turtles after two punches. He hit my helmet once and then my shoulder. But after I hit him he turtles. It was quite funny, granted we both got kicked out, my team won 6-5. Pretty awesome if you ask me.
As a goalie you will never get "chirped", you could be the worst goalie with the ugliest gear and every skater could not care less because a goalie is there!
Haha we had this one guy named Patrick in my league, and wow did he get chirped. By both teams. He was just plain terrible but had the goalie complex where "I go, you guys have NOTHING!" but in reality, the shooter tutor would have outplayed him at every turn. So everyone chirped this guy about anything, his stupid fox helmet or his bright orange gear.
That said, most stuff as a goalie won't get you chirped. Maybe a cage helmet, but I personally think those look cool anyway.
That's a really crummy and selfish attitude for a goalie or any player. Goalies are scarce, but I have pride. I know I'm going to give up a bazillion goals in the start, but I'd play and practice my hardest to get better.
Good weekend of skating. I put the blue superfeet in my skates and they feel much better. I'm much better at stopping, right side is good, left side, well that will need more work.
Had some good luck today. I went to my local rink next to the HS for their open skate. I was talking with the guy who was running the cash box and he let me know about more skating times.
Another turn of good luck was he knew that the top goalie at the HS had an extra set of leg pads to sell. He called the goalie and he popped down 5 minutes later with a pair of black/red/white 36" 9k Reeboks. In pretty good shape, they've seen plenty of action, but they're broken in and fit really well. $80 later I have legpads.
I tried skating in my goalie pants, but I'm going to need suspenders or a chest protector. Damn things kept on slipping. Next weekend during open ice I can work on skating with legpads on. It should be wonderfully awkward!
Last edited by ganave: 03-26-2012 at 09:34 AM.
Reason: Fixed a typo
That's a really crummy and selfish attitude for a goalie or any player. Goalies are scarce, but I have pride. I know I'm going to give up a bazillion goals in the start, but I'd play and practice my hardest to get better.
Good weekend of skating. I put the blue superfeet in my skates and they feel much better. I'm much better at stopping, right side is good, left side, well that will need more work.
Had some good luck today. I went to my local rink next to the HS for their open skate. I was talking with the guy who was running the cash box and he let me know about more skating times.
Another turn of good luck was he knew that the top goalie at the HS had an extra set of leg pads to sell. He called the goalie and he was popped down 5 minutes later with a pair of black/red/white 36" 9k Reeboks. In pretty good shape, they've seen plenty of action, but they're broken in and fit really well. $80 later I have legpads.
I tried skating in my goalie pants, but I'm going to need suspenders or a chest protector. Damn things kept on slipping. Next weekend during open ice I can work on skating with legpads on. It should be wonderfully awkward!
Might be hard to believe but I lived in a city like Winnipeg with about 50 rinks and never played in a game until this year. Started playing goalie this year and have loved it. Going to get serious about it this summer and start taking lessons at MTS Iceplex.
Might be hard to believe but I lived in a city like Winnipeg with about 50 rinks and never played in a game until this year. Started playing goalie this year and have loved it. Going to get serious about it this summer and start taking lessons at MTS Iceplex.
Forgot to mention I'm 26 and was inspired t start after reading a similar thread at goaliestore.com. Some guys there started playing net at ages above 40!
2 of the players are guys that play in leagues so it was nice to try and match up with them.
3 of the goals i scored were a little ways out and wristers, it was hugely satisfying since ive been practicing them all week. i made some defensive plays and stole the puck a few times. overall i feel like im improving.
i dont know if its because we are on a half court but i still have trouble skating with the puck, i can handle it, but as soon as i try to go around someone it usually gets poked out, im partially going to put this on the skates because they dont fit well and i hardly get any energy transfer in my stride, but i know part or most of it is body positioning and handling the puck away from them. i just cant accelerate fast enough i guess.
2 of the players are guys that play in leagues so it was nice to try and match up with them.
3 of the goals i scored were a little ways out and wristers, it was hugely satisfying since ive been practicing them all week. i made some defensive plays and stole the puck a few times. overall i feel like im improving.
i dont know if its because we are on a half court but i still have trouble skating with the puck, i can handle it, but as soon as i try to go around someone it usually gets poked out, im partially going to put this on the skates because they dont fit well and i hardly get any energy transfer in my stride, but i know part or most of it is body positioning and handling the puck away from them. i just cant accelerate fast enough i guess.
I'm not a particularly good stickhandler, but I am 6'1" 225, so I prefer to just protect the puck with my body. Try placing yourself between the puck and the defender.
Hey everyone, first post! I am 36, male, 6 feet, around 210 lbs., and just played full pad ice hockey for the first time ever Monday night at a weekly session that is advertised as being for those new to hockey but was anything but that, as there were clearly some advanced players there who were not new to the sport. I have gone to several public skates but was new to hockey skating. I am a long distance runner, so my muscles are built for endurance, not so much speed, and I knew I was in over my head right when the drills started! This is a program that runs all year, so there is no real starting point or end point, and I really need a starting point with a slower instructional progression. I was not sure what to expect. I contemplated leaving the ice and going home when I saw how much better everyone else was.
Thankfully, one of the leaders of the session was willing to take me aside and work one-on-one with me for a bit on basic strides, and a couple other players took me under their wing and got me into a couple drills. I managed to complete one-man and two-man breakaway drills and even got two shots past the goalie (though I think he went easy on me on at least one of them). I managed a forward crossover at one point, which the leader saw and praised me on. I had tried those in a public skate.
I played in the scrimmage, and while I was usually trailing the play due to being so slow, I touched the puck a few times, managing a pass and blocking a shot with my skate, and I thought it was fun. Great workout, for sure! Nobody chirped me or anything, thankfully.
The only fall I took was when I was working with the leader on my stride, hit a bunch of bad ice along the boards, and fell flat on my chest before I could brace my fall. Knocked the wind out of me a bit. Stupid bad ice! I have intercostal muscle pain on my right side now, maybe from the fall, so I am taking it easy for a couple days. Just took over a month recovering from the same thing on my left side after slipping in my bathroom and cracking my rubs on the bathtub. Figures. I am not usually clutzy and have good balance overall. This should heal faster, though.
I am now looking into signing up for an 8-week Adult Hockey 101 class that seems to be more instructional and has a starting and ending point, and starts next week at the rink closest to me. It costs a bit more, but I need more instruction and a slower pace to get the basics down first, even though playing with good players was not a bad thing. I may return to the Monday program at the other rink, because it is cheaper and there is more ice time, and I thought the leaders were very encouraging and helpful, but I was very intimidated by the skills of the other players and felt like I was just getting in the way at times. There were a lot of guys who appeared to be buddies who also play in leagues there, I guess using this as an extra night to play. I definitely appreciate how much I have to learn and the shape I need to get into to build speed
I decided to learn to play because my son will be starting hockey soon, and I thought it would be fun to learn a new sport since I've been an athlete all my life.
Welcome aboard Ilrider! I've been playing for a little over a month. I find that I learn more playing pickup games with better players than I do at my weekly lesson (maybe it's because I'm the only adult there) so just keep at it. I also did a lot of moderate distance running before starting hockey so I know that feeling as well. I find that hockey is more similar to interval training than anything else (full on sprint for a short period of time and then recover on the bench between shifts). I also think it's great when parents learn to play hockey with their kids (playing hockey is starting to make me want to have kids eventually which is something I never thought would happen).
Now, a question for folks. How do you transition from forward to backwards skating? I keep trying to do it in games but end up either turning or coming to full stop and then start moving backwards.
Welcome aboard Ilrider! I've been playing for a little over a month. I find that I learn more playing pickup games with better players than I do at my weekly lesson (maybe it's because I'm the only adult there) so just keep at it. I also did a lot of moderate distance running before starting hockey so I know that feeling as well. I find that hockey is more similar to interval training than anything else (full on sprint for a short period of time and then recover on the bench between shifts). I also think it's great when parents learn to play hockey with their kids (playing hockey is starting to make me want to have kids eventually which is something I never thought would happen).
Now, a question for folks. How do you transition from forward to backwards skating? I keep trying to do it in games but end up either turning or coming to full stop and then start moving backwards.
Soooo after going from zero experience to 24 weeks of instructional/pickup games, I joined my first Beer League!...even though I'm only 20 and can't legally drink, . I like chirping at my far older teammates.
I arrived really early before my first game, so I could watch the game preceding mine. I saw how everyone was flying all over the ice, and I immediately became nervous. I'd say the league is half B and half C players. Luckily for me, my new teammates had all played together before, and were very welcoming.....they made me take the opening draw, as a faceoff virgin. Of course I lost, but I managed to go 1/4 on the night! They asked me to be a forward because they saw how speedy I am, which was what I was hoping for. I was able to keep up reasonably well, but was easily deked. I think it's funny that as a new guy, the opposing teams give me all this space when I have the puck, not knowing how easily I cough it up.
We won our first game 7-6! And our second game we lost 8-3....BUT! I scored my first two career goals! One was being in the right place at the right time, flicking it into a wide open net on the power play. My second was skating as hard as I can to get the puck behind the net, like I was preventing an icing, and I whipped it as hard as I could at the goalie's feet, and it his ditziness gave me a goal. It felt awesome.
Congrats! This thread is pretty inspirational. Maybe we could form a barnstorming Hockey Noob Chronicles team!
Got in more ice time, working on c-cuts, shuffling, stopping, T-pushes and figuring out the crease. It is really gratifying to be able to pick a spot on the ice and stop there, although in goalie pads I feel like a Ford Pinto
I'm glad I have long legs and keeping up with my gym work. Slowly losing the extra 10-20 pounds. Could go faster if I wasn't working on both the beer and hockey aspects of beer league hockey.
My first instructional class and scrimmage should be the first weekend of May. Taking that Friday off to get the rest of my gear in one more go.
. I like chirping at my far older teammates.
One was being in the right place at the right time, flicking it into a wide open net on the power play. My second was skating as hard as I can to get the puck behind the net, like I was preventing an icing, and I whipped it as hard as I could at the goalie's feet, and it his ditziness gave me a goal. It felt awesome. 
