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sticktime

How long to get "good"

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So I've been skating and playing now for almost a year. Was never on skates until then, played some street stick as a kid. Anyhow, I've been hitting up stick and puck 3-4 times per week since the beginning, always working on skating and stickhandling.

Started in the rec league in May, which was after skating for 4 months, and got around the ice, didn't all much. Scored a few garbage goals, but also had some good looks too. Did some good things in that 12 week season.

The current 12 week season has ended and we're in the playoffs next week. Scored only goal of the season last nite.

What my question is, is I'm definitely getting better at all phases, can do almost everything required on skates, but it's the speed at which I want to do things that I can't. Same with stickhandling. Everyone in the league can seemingly do everything fluidly, and with some speed, some alot more so than others. But I still don't do most things instinctively/reactively. Some things yes, but most I have to think about it first. And that hesitation most of the time causes me to have very little to no time and space.

I don't know....when I'm at stick and puck I can move all over the ice, control the puck, do alot of things, and even think wow I'm getting better. Then during games not so much.

I've always been pretty good at every sport I've tried, so it's kind of an ego shot to still not be as good as everyone else I play with.

SO, I guess my question is should I expect to be better at this point, meaning learning to play at 41? Or is skating and stickhandling things to master individually, and also together as you get better?

It's just that sometimes I have alot of confidence, like as stick and puck, or during games when I do the right things, make a good pass or shot, or other things during the game. And sometimes I get so down that I want to give it up.

Am I expecting to be better than I should be? sorry to everyone's brain who reads this and who responds.

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Its a matter of personal talent I guess.

I've been playing hockey twice a week for few years.

When I started I was getting better every time I was on the ice, but then the progress started to slow down.

I was getting hang on the basics, like skating, shooting and basic puckhandling, but other stuff of hockey cant be learn without somebody to tell you how.

I mean you have to get some sort of training on tactics, position and all the other stuff that makes you good hockeyplayer.

Even if you are a great shot and rinks fastest skater, you are useless on the ice if youre "blind as a bat" to the game, of if you constantly position wrong.

And never stop expecting too much from yourself, cos' thats the need that drives you to get better.

And biggest thing that makes a good player is communication. Good player can be good with any line, cos they communicate. It's a teamsport.

Thank you and sorry... :D

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You'll definitely continue with improve and become more comfortable the more you play. There is also so much more to playing the game than just scoring goals. You also (like many of us) might be overly critical of your own play. I've been playing a long time and have those games where I felt I was atrocious and have had others say I played great. Bottom line is to enjoy the game and have fun.

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I started playing in 1994 and have coached for near on 15 years, I will say that its not how long you play for but what you are learning in that time. Hockey is hands down the tuffest sport to master due to all the criteria that is needed, one thing that I notice with many older players and by that I mean 27yo+ is fitness. I cannot stress enough how this will impact your whole game so make sure you are doing off ice stuff like cycling and some gym work. Being in the best shape you can will give you a massive chance of out shining many better players in your league that may not put in the hours off ice. Also hockey should be played in short shifts not these 3-4 minute shifts I see some teams playing.

Learn how to play ONE position, as you get older the game does get faster and if you are trying to do to much on the ice it will show. Drills are another thing that Rec hockey really does not address as the MO for a rec league tends to be turn up, do 15 mins of warm up drills then scrimmage. Look at a top junior training session it is all about drills and playing in tight spaces, circle passing drills break in and break outs, you do so much of this the game is "second nature" and that is what you are seeing (well drilled players) hockey is a game of systems.

If you have the chance to do a power skating course then get signed up, you may think you are skating well but a few hours of intense coaching on your skating will most probably have you moving better and without excerting the same energy, as a club we would send our players off at the start of each season for a powerskating course to blow out the cobwebs.

So how long to get good? in a lower junior league I would say that if someone was new to skating and they trained 3 times a week they should be getting decent ice time within a couple of seasons if they work hard and do the off ice stuff. As you have found out you may be able to do all the stick handling and passing stuff but its the speed that the other players skate and think at that is the deal breaker..

Overall get some structure into you training (you may already?) and work on small goals, getting a skill pad and working on that is great if you get sometime at home as is having a net setup in the basement garden to work on your snap shots etc etc.

I know this might seem like over kill if you just want to have fun but you seem to be someone that wants to improve, also remember you have done the hard part of getting out there now just work your ass off to get where you want to be

regards

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As somebody who started playing at 27 and was bloody terrible, I would say about 3 years will get you from being the worst player on the ice game after game, to being somebody who could probably move up a division and is usually helping out the noobs.

That's my experience at least.

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As far as " how long to get GOOD", length of time will be different for everyone. Also, everyone's definition of "GOOD" will be different. As others have noted, learning to skate, shoot, stick handle, will get better with practice, drills, and more ice time.

But I think knowing the game and positioning on the ice is as important as any other aspect. One simple way to learn the game a little better is to watch a professional game and focus on a certain position. If you play right wing, watch the RW, if you play right defense, watch the RD. Notice where they set up in the defensive zone, who they cover, where they go if the puck is behind the net, where they go at the beginning of a breakout, and so on. Do the same for the offensive zone. Look for where the open lane will be or should be. The more you are in the correct position, the more opportunities you will have to make a good pass, take a higher percentage shot, break up the opponents play. The more I accomplish these things in a given game, the better I feel about how I played that game. I don't have to score or be one of the "stars" (although that's great) to feel I helped my team. That adds to feeling like and being a "GOOD" player. And in the end it makes playing hockey fun! :rolleyes:

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I'd like to think simply and say not doing stupid shite over and over again, playing better every game, is my goal. That said, I'm a newb and I make a lot of mistakes. I am also slow. But no one has more fun than me.

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I've seen a couple of hockey-obsessed college kids with lots of free time go from dusting it up at slow open pick ups to being impact players on the second-from-bottom house league tier within a year. No doubt those kids were skating, stickhandling and shooting in their driveways for hours every day though. How much time you're able to put into practicing and how motivated you are to "get there" is the big factor.

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One of the important things players need to realize especially new players is what kind of player are you? You can be good at different things on the ice and different positions. I always played a very stay at home defense kind of game growing up. When I got to college after a few injuries to teammates I found myself playing center. I still played a very stay at home center position. I don't really have the best hands for "dangling", but I have the speed to play a chip and chase game. Most of my goals aren't beauty highlight real goals they are from the dirty area silly garbage goals, but they are still goals. I guess what I am trying to say is don't get to caught up on trying to be able to go cost to cost and score bar down on a goalie. Just stick to your game find out what kind of player you are going to be and be that player.

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It's just that sometimes I have alot of confidence, like as stick and puck, or during games when I do the right things, make a good pass or shot, or other things during the game. And sometimes I get so down that I want to give it up.

This is pretty much me, and what we're both missing might be a) being able to perform under pressure and b) lack of "game-awareness" i.e. being able to read the play/flow of the game and being able to respond accordingly. The only way to get better at this is to play more games.

It's a lot like soccer kids that do karate once a week so shaky soccer mom can have her afternoon wine; after a while all these kids can do is choreographed stuff that looks really impressive on home movies, but put them in a real street fight and it all goes out the window and the kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks who had to fight all the time and can't even pronounce "karate" can fight like a pit-bull. It's situation-specific experience. You've only been playing a year which is nothing in terms of hockey experience, give yourself some time and credit.

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I started at 34, been at it 2.5 yrs. I can tell you that when I'm by myself at stick n puck I feel fine doing things. But in a game situation not as much.... Cuz there are other people around. Not sure if this makes sense but if I feel my skating has improved by 100% over the past year, that may translate into a 25% improvement in games. Like others said, a lot of it is positioning. If u are a wing, breaking out of the zone and catching passes from d-men while skating is harder than it looks for a newbie. Where to be, where to go in the offensive zone etc etc. I think when we learn to play at an older age we will get better faster than young kids, but will sort of stall. Something about being young, it gets ingrained in you. Those dudes who started when they are young, they don't think about things out tgere, they just do it.

My suggestion, always play above what u think ur level is. It'll help you get better. People will teach you how to play. Especially try to do pick up with better players. Maybe 1 league game, 1 pick up and 1-2 stick puck sessions a week.

You'll get better, but only so much. After playing for a year or so I was complaining to my friend that I couldn't do the datsyuk deke. My friend laughed and said a year ago u couldn't skate now you're complaining u can't do what datsyuk does...

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I think what Hockey11 said is very important, learn your positioning. I have skated with some guys that were way out of their league, but yet they were able to hang and help the team because even though skating wise they were not as solid, they knew where to be and how to move the puck.

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Good is a relevant term. Good in one league may not come close to cutting it in another. Hockey is a game you can't rush. Most people who feel they are "good" skaters usually are not as good as they think (no offense). Skating is more than forwards, backwards, stopping. It is being able to do all of these in transition, without effort, left or right. Stickhandling is more than keeping the puck on your blade while moving forward. The hardest part of being "good" is seeing the game and angles of attack. You need to see things before they happen not when they happen and know how to get there. If you wait for something to happen you are already behind the play. I think one way that you start to be "good" is when you are able to switch into autopilot and not really think or over think the game. All of this comes with experience and studying the game.

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I feel like i've learned so much already just by reading each and every response. And it's good to know that playing above your level is the right way to improve. Seems like knowing positioning, your own and every other position will also help to make you seem better than you really are while you are improving.

One thing i will start doing more is shooting more instead of passing. Last nite in a losing effort in our playoff game I took a pass from our D on the boards and skated it down the right side while angling towards the goal, and my opposite winger was parallel with me and their D man was kind of in between both of us, so instead of shooting I flipped a backhand pass in the air hoping to go over the D's stick but he caught it and cleared it. I should have shot it and def will next time.

So that, and working on keeping my head up and not looking down while carrying the puck and stickhandling is what I'm going to work on for the next 3 weeks until our next season starts. In addition to working on all other phases of the game.

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Get as much practice skating as possible. If you can get into any powerskating clinics, that'd probably do wonders. Also, as far as positioning, just think to yourself if you're in a position to support your teammate.

I've seen kids I've coached go from just learning to skate, to starting varsity in fours years. I've seen others who have started at the same time and just kind of stay on JV. The difference is usually this kids working on the little things outside of practice/games, whether on their own or at clinics/camps/etc. and those who just show up when they're supposed to.

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Good is a relevant term. Good in one league may not come close to cutting it in another. Hockey is a game you can't rush. Most people who feel they are "good" skaters usually are not as good as they think (no offense). Skating is more than forwards, backwards, stopping. It is being able to do all of these in transition, without effort, left or right. Stickhandling is more than keeping the puck on your blade while moving forward. The hardest part of being "good" is seeing the game and angles of attack. You need to see things before they happen not when they happen and know how to get there. If you wait for something to happen you are already behind the play. I think one way that you start to be "good" is when you are able to switch into autopilot and not really think or over think the game. All of this comes with experience and studying the game.

This is spot on. Couldn't have said it better.

I'll just add that it takes time. You can't watch a video of Ovechkin scoring incredible one-timers and then expect to be able to do it the next time you step on the ice. He's only doing it now because he's spent the better part of the last 25 years perfecting it. Training hard EVERY DAY... all day. The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. Just depends on how much time you can devote to the game.

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I started playing just 3 years ago...plays with guys who played all their lives. If you want to get good pick a skill and keep practicing till you master it. The mindset should be that you suck, let others thing you're good...you should constantly want to improve and you will. Play higher level and push yourself...playing lower level shinny is good to show off but if you want to learn be the pylon lol.

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That should evoke a happy face, not sad face...keep climbing up.

Mostly agree, but this would be my 5th new team in 5 years. Getting kind of tired of it.

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