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.
also if you havent skated in 10 years you are going to have a very tough time trying to stop pucks...
one of the biggest thing with being in goal is being able to control your edges....
To be fair I think it's a myth that you have to be a good skater to be a goalie, you become a better skater by playing the position and learning all the techniques. No beginner goalie is ever going to have strong enough edges to be doing T-pushes and butterfly shuffles right away
Maybe it's not a great idea to start hockey and start skating at the same time?
My mother brought up the fact that I can't stake...
It will definitely be harder when you add a puck.
Why not do Learn to Skate classes privately or in a group and make it a goal to join a beer league team after a couple months. Mostly stopping and turning are the major requirements for low level teams. You don't have to be a sniper or pull off dirty dangles to play low level rec hockey.
I played house league from aged 7-12 and stopped to pursue other interests.
I always kind of regretted it, but I got back on the ice last year @ the age of 27. There was about a year of getting comfortable skating and playing again, now I am playing 3 times a week and progressing quite well.
Why not do Learn to Skate classes privately or in a group and make it a goal to join a beer league team after a couple months. Mostly stopping and turning are the major requirements for low level teams. You don't have to be a sniper or pull off dirty dangles to play low level rec hockey.
I guess it's not helpful that it's June right now for that sort of thing.
When I was thinking about getting back into it, I went and scooped up a pair of cheap inline hockey skates. They were $125 @ Canadian Tire. I went to the local elementary school's tarmac area with a hockey stick and road hockey ball and started working on the fundamentals during the summer so that I'd be in good shape for the winter. Stick handling, skating and stick handling at the same time, cross overs, backward cross overs, etc. It helped a lot to be honest. I even did a few bag skates to build up my fitness level.
If cost is an obstacle, maybe if you offer to help out at the rink, they'll let you practice skating a bit in off hours. I know one of my teammates used to cut the ice and things at our rink and he was allowed to skate a bit before he did so.
If cost is an obstacle, maybe if you offer to help out at the rink, they'll let you practice skating a bit in off hours. I know one of my teammates used to cut the ice and things at our rink and he was allowed to skate a bit before he did so.
I have not found anything cheaper in the London-Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario. If you do, let me know.
I took 10 years off as well. Getting back to it was rough for starters, but I couldn't be happier that I got back into it. I think I love it more than ever now and I certainly didn't realize how much I missed it.
I have not found anything cheaper in the London-Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario. If you do, let me know.
spending $175 for something fundamental as learning to skate is not considered a lot in hockey. it's one of the most expensive sport
if your mom said you can't skate, go learn how to skate! you don't need group lessons or anything like that to learn how to skate well enough to play beer league. i've been skating for the last 5 months 2-3 times/ week and have progressed well. i've seen other people do the same thing at my rink. also, if you go to a rink, more than likely someone will offer you advice for free. here we have a few figure skaters and ex hockey players that help out the beginner skaters.
right now it's summer time but there are still rinks open that have public skate, you just have to look. you can get a cheap pair of skates for like 60 dollars that will be more than good enough to learn how to skate...
Hockey is probably the most expensive sport besides anything involving horses or cars. $175 for quality skating instruction is not that much in the long run.
Hockey is probably the most expensive sport besides anything involving horses or cars. $175 for quality skating instruction is not that much in the long run.
Youve obviously never played golf. $2000+ for a quality set of clubs, $200 for a bag, $50 per dozen for quality set of golf balls not to mention $50+ for each round of golf. Hockey is a cheap sport, IMO. For rec league play you can spend about $500 on low-end equipment and have everything youd ever need.
To the OP, Id suggest going to public skate for a while to remember how to skate again before you throw yourself to the wolves. If you cant skate, you cant play hockey. Once you can skate forwards, backwards, stop and balance on 1 foot, youre ready for hockey. Some people think that crossovers are important but I see plenty of people are drop-in who dont do crossovers.
Youve obviously never played golf. $2000+ for a quality set of clubs, $200 for a bag, $50 per dozen for quality set of golf balls not to mention $50+ for each round of golf. Hockey is a cheap sport, IMO. For rec league play you can spend about $500 on low-end equipment and have everything youd ever need.
To the OP, Id suggest going to public skate for a while to remember how to skate again before you throw yourself to the wolves. If you cant skate, you cant play hockey. Once you can skate forwards, backwards, stop and balance on 1 foot, youre ready for hockey. Some people think that crossovers are important but I see plenty of people are drop-in who dont do crossovers.
Cool story, bro. The point still stands, $175 isn't a lot.
Youve obviously never played golf. $2000+ for a quality set of clubs, $200 for a bag, $50 per dozen for quality set of golf balls not to mention $50+ for each round of golf. Hockey is a cheap sport, IMO. For rec league play you can spend about $500 on low-end equipment and have everything youd ever need.
Your comparison fails because you've said "a quality set of clubs" for golf and "low-end equipment" for hockey.
Your comparison fails because you've said "a quality set of clubs" for golf and "low-end equipment" for hockey.
Yeah. As someone who plays both, I would say the costs of the two sports are comparable. You can get low-end equipment for either sport for a few hundred bucks, and unless you play the ritzy courses, ice time and playing fees are comparable (on a time basis, at least - a round of golf may cost $40 or so at some of the courses near me but that's for 18 holes that will eat up 5 hours of my time). Compare that to $12 for an hour and a half of pickup hockey.
I played house league from aged 7-12 and stopped to pursue other interests.
I always kind of regretted it, but I got back on the ice last year @ the age of 27. There was about a year of getting comfortable skating and playing again, now I am playing 3 times a week and progressing quite well.
That sounds like me, played house 7-12 or so and then didn't start again until age 45 (2 years ago). I play 3-4 times a week now and am hooked. Better skater now then when I was a kid because I work at it.
I would agree, do some public sessions and get the basics down - forward, stopping, a little bit of backwards.
I picked up speedskating in 2001 and was basically self-taught. I did skate from time to time with a club, whenever I visited my parents. It's harder to learn on your own because you don't have anyone to give you pointers on things, but it can be done.
I was off the ice for 8 years, and just started skating and playing hockey in March. It's a totally different animal, hockey vs. speedskating. I've found that if I don't have my stick and I'm not skating after a puck, I can still move really, really fast in my hockey skates - provided I get low in a speedskating position and am going in counterclockwise circles around the rink! But adding the stick and puck, plus other people who are in your way and trying to stop you and get the puck away makes a huge difference. I'm not so fast when you add all of that stuff in.
That said, I've made so much improvement since March that I still can't believe it sometimes. I remember having so much trouble going backwards around the circle to the point that I was barely moving on the ice. Last week, I was just goofing around and started going around the circle and wasn't even thinking about it - then I realized hey, just a couple of months ago I couldn't do this AT ALL and now I'm able to do it without conscious thought?
You won't regret starting - but you might regret never trying it!
To be fair I think it's a myth that you have to be a good skater to be a goalie, you become a better skater by playing the position and learning all the techniques. No beginner goalie is ever going to have strong enough edges to be doing T-pushes and butterfly shuffles right away
fine, i stand corrected, you have to be a good skater to be a good goalie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustAnotherHockeyFan
Maybe it's not a great idea to start hockey and start skating at the same time?
My mother brought up the fact that I can't stake...
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustAnotherHockeyFan
That's $175.
another option is to watch a bunch of skating instruction videos on youtube, and then wrap yourself up in protection before heading to public skates to make a fool of yourself?
right now the public rinks are crappy for public skating since it's the summer
i believe only Earl Nichols Recreation Centre offers skating and that's only on Sundays. i went a couple weeks ago and it's brutal with all the little kids
however, there's free skating every day at UWO
i just finished grad school there and am hanging around there for the summer so i still go
it runs mid september- end of june (so one more month!)
mon- wed - 12-1
thurs- 1-2
fri- 11-12
it's tough if you're working during the day. there are 5-10 of the same regulars every time so it's great. a lot of room to skate
