Being away from hockey

[mew1838 0]

What was the longest time you weren't playinhg hockey and do you feel "rusty" after coming back on ice?

[Overtime 0]

Half a year, took 10 ice times to get back my shot.

[Muzza_77 0]

1 year, man did I suck after that year, I couldn't skate properly and couldn't stickhandle properly. I just didn't feel safe skating, I tried to play like I used to and I was a mess.

[kosydar 0]

Right now I'm coming off of an almost 2 year absence. However, I reffed 2-3 weekends a month, so my skating never went away. My stickhandling still sucks though, not that I was ever any good at it.

[ed_fubes 0]

3 years. Just got back last week, I'm sucking pretty bad. Lack of confidence mostly. Will I be able to regain my form?

[Muzza_77 0]

Yeah, you will, it is like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it.

[All Torhs Team 0]

2 weeks which was Christmas Break. Other then that if I dont have hockey, I rent the rink out and make my own games.

[jm47 0]

I went three years without even setting foot on the ice or picking up a stick. My first time out I was terrible. I got used to playing after about 10 games or so.

[KingstonMike 0]

22 years for me! Didn't even own skates during that period of time. The first time I went rec. skating it was as if I had never skated before.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

I didn't play for 16 months except sparing a couple times and playing shinny outdoors a dozen or so times the past winter. I just started up again a couple weeks ago. I did some public skating with the girlfriend and inline skated during the summer as well, so my skating technique wasn't overly rusty. Getting my timing back, my conditioning, and my sense for the ice is taking a little longer though. I even forgot which order my equipment went on at one point.

[rogue 0]

5 years. Stopped playing before highschool just started again this past summer (sophomore in college)

[jbyun04 7]

this coming sunday will be my 8th week away from hockey because of poor ice time scheduling and my ankle injury, but hey.. I'm finally playing this sunday

[nate 0]

The longest time I go without ice hockey is when I play roller in the spring. And the transition back to ice is a disaster. It takes me a long time to get used to the edges and rocker for me. My friends can go back and forth pretty easily but it takes me at least an icetime to get used to it.

[willc7786 0]

longest i went was 3 months because i had over a dozen stitches in my forehead that came along with a concussion. First time out on the ice i didn't take off one of my skateguards :lol: of course I fell the second that skate hit the ice and first thought I had was "oh my god, I'll never be able to skate again"... also one of the most embarassing moments of my life :lol:

[Kevin 5]

Yeah, you will, it is like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it.

I've seen guys totally lose all skills. If you take five years or more off, you do not get better.

[dieselbro 0]

most I have ever been away was about 4-5 months, took me about 10-15 ice times to get comfortable and be able to do everything I used to

[Maka 0]

I was off for 3 years to focus on varsity volleyball, but I picked it up again last year. After an entire season, I figured out that I'm not nearly the same size relative to the other skaters as when I was a 2nd year PeeWee. But after a season of skating, I feel like I'm back into the swing of things and playing better than ever.

[ed_fubes 0]

hmm...after seein these comments, i guess it'll probably take me a season to get comfortable again as well. I'll have to be patient i guess.

[Neo5370 132]

Going on roughly 3 years away from competetive inline, and wow maybe 8 years from competetive ice hockey!!!

I make sure to go to public skating and work on drills and stride, maybe drop in every once in a blue moon to get outskated by everyone. Due to school and work I've put in no time in the gym. My fitness level is nowhere near where it needs to be to play well.

And my timing/hockey sense is, well. Not good.

[jbyun04 7]

longest i went was 3 months because i had over a dozen stitches in my forehead that came along with a concussion. First time out on the ice i didn't take off one of my skateguards :lol: of course I fell the second that skate hit the ice and first thought I had was "oh my god, I'll never be able to skate again"... also one of the most embarassing moments of my life :lol:

LOL that would be scary

[hockeymom 2]

Well if you guys can handle another “horse story†I think I have something to add to the difficulty of getting back into a sport after a lay-off.

I used to train horses and got within an inch of turning pro – so I was pretty skilled. (‘course that inch might as well have been a mile). Got myself a real job and ended up being a year without swinging my leg over a horse’s back. When I got back into it I couldn’t do anything. I was just awful, thought I’d never get the skills back to what they once were… Part of it was fitness and rust but it was my timing and the rhythm that was REALLY messed up because I was second-guessing myself about what I should be doing.

Riding, like hockey, is a matter of split-second decisions and transitions – you don’t have the time to think about what you are doing. As soon as I just relaxed and didn’t worry about how I wasn’t as good as I used to be or what I should be doing and when I should be doing it, everything started to come back together.

It is hard to shut off your brain and get out of your own way and just be “in the moment†but that’s the way to do it.

[Storm 0]

Love your horse stories hockeymom but I wish I had the cardio of a horse after a long lay-off. :)

[hockeymom 2]

LOL Metro - of course I never had to worry about MY anaerobic conditioning. But had to have unbelievable core strength and legs of iron to push around a 1200 lb horse and make it look like you're just sitting there.

[Storm 0]

Your going to make me (us) believe you need to get in shape to ride horses.

And train your "core"?

Just having a little fun with you. I know that it takes hard work to make things look easy.

Riders must really work hard cause it sure looks easy. LOL. Just kidding..couldn't help myself. :)

[hockeymom 2]

Well Metro having done considerable field studies on the relative merits of hockey players and riders… I have to say there are certain advantages to each discipline. I’d give it to the riders for their tight buns but you can’t ignore the explosive strength of hockey players.