Too late to join ice hockey?

[Whip 0]

I am currently 16 and considering joining ice hockey for this coming winter, now at 16 theres hitting and all that stuff, do you think I will be able to compete in midget, I have never played ice b4, only at ponds and rinks but nothing hitting and competetive. I am thinking I might be put into the lowest possible teir but since I havent skated in a long time and I dont consider myself a strong skater do you think I will manage at this late of an age?

Also what can I do at home to help me prepare and practice for skating?

Will rollerblading work?

Thanks

Whip

[Ratfinklives 0]

I started at 16 and while it was pretty damn hard and required a lot of sucking up of pride and hard work, it can be done. Get to as many public skates and open hockeys as possible, and try to find a good summer hockey camp. Also work on off ice stuff such as sprints and pylometrics... if your in good shape it makes it that much easier.

[SB39 2]

I completely agree with Rat... about swallowing pride, cuz you have to see every screw up and fall as a part of teh road to greatness, and just bust your ass. Just concentrate on getting better and don't be a perfectionist...

[PH_Hockey2 4]

Good luck buddy go out there and give it hell. To awnser your question about rollerblading, its a mixed felling between hockey players. Some players think that rollerblading destroyes your stride on ice, bottom line, I think skateing is skateing and i think that rollerblading is good training for ice hockey.

[Chadd 916]

Always play as hard as you can. As a coach I was always happier when players pushed themselves to the limit in practices rather than coasting through them. If you fall down, get up as fast as you can and get back into the play, coaches love that kind of effort.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Give'er a go for sure. Get out on the ice as much as possible realize you will suck to start, we all do, and have fun learning. Take it as it is, a good time. Your goal along with every other hockey players should be to love every second they are on the ice, not be a pro. You have equipment and if it's anything like it is around here people will stick up for you if you need it. Have fun and enjoy yourself. I whole heartely urge you to join. Stick with it and you'll love it.

[Briggy 0]

Dont know if this means anything but Eric Messier i heard didnt start playing ice until he was like 20 or something. He was playing roller all his life until a scout saw him and converted his skating to ice.

[Chadd 916]

Dont know if this means anything but Eric Messier i heard didnt start playing ice until he was like 20 or something. He was playing roller all his life until a scout saw him and converted his skating to ice.

Not really, but a funny story none the less.

He played junior for Bob Hartley and when Hartley got the job coaching Cornwall he called Eric and told him to come to training camp. When Hartley arrived at the rink a day or two later, Messier was sitting on the hood of his car waiting for him. He never hung up the phone and drove straight to the rink from his house. Hartley used to tell that story all of the time.

[CAINE 0]

I started playing when I was 22. There was a group of guys that played street hockey (no skates) in DC and asked me to play. I'd never touched a hockey stick or skated. By the end of the summer, I was hooked. By that next summer, I had spent a grip on roller hockey and ice skates, all the equipment, and I was playing some type of hockey 6 days a week. I never even roller skated when I was a kid so I was a complete beginner. I think that helped. There was so much for the young guys to crack on, they didn't know where to start :D but, the older guys were more than willing to help just because I kept bustin' my butt and coming back. Anyway, I've captained a few teams since then and none of the players I've met in recent years believe I started at ZERO in 1993. Set goals and focus on your weak areas everytime out. Good luck.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

I met a guy in his early-mid 30's who had been playing ball hockey most his life and several years ago decided to give ice a try. He started out a couple times a week playing pickup with a pretty beginner-ish crowd and took adult powerskating lessons as well. It took him about half a winter or less for him to start scoring and making plays since he already had the game skills from ball hockey. His skating improved over time and he was definitely enjoying the transition to ice. While he may not have been the strongest skater out there when I saw him last a year or two ago, his skating skills were good enough for him to have fun playing beer league type hockey.

I taught myself the basics of skating when I was 20 mainly from watching others. Ice skates for X-mas, bought inlines that following summer, did that for 3 years before I decided to try ice hockey having played zero hockey prior. Just getting used to skating with the stick took me a full season if not more to get the hang of. Over time my skills kept improving though they've slowed a bit once I got to a certain level. That's where hard work/obsession is required to get past that hurdle. While my game skills (seeing the ice, etc.) haven't developed as much as my skating/puckhandling/passing skills have the past 5-6 yrs., I can now keep with some of the better players in my organized pickup groups (some of the time anyway). I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished having started pretty late, though I'm always looking to further improve.

What I found helped me was to play pickup twice a week (no less, not much more) and powerskating lessons once a week. I find there's not enough time in a game to reinforce and concentrate on skating skills. Even if you're not out to be a late-bloomer NHL prospect, it's probably best to learn the skating/puckhandling skills correctly from a good instructor if possible. Inline skating is a good workout in general. It's also good for the general skating motion and getting your legs used to being bent when skating. I use inline as a way to keep in shape on my off-days. It's no ice, but does the job.

Best of luck.

[D3nZ 0]

Dont know if this means anything but Eric Messier i heard didnt start playing ice until he was like 20 or something. He was playing roller all his life until a scout saw him and converted his skating to ice.

If I remember well he played for the Montreal Roadrunners in the RHL. And Jordin Tootoo started playing I think he was 15 or something.

[kosydar 0]

Yeah I remember hearing Jordin started playing organized hockey when he was 15-16, but had been playing on ponds and stuff before that. I remember reading a book when I was younger and it had a section on Michel Goulet. He didn't start playing any sort of hockey until he was 14. But he knew the guy who closed up the rinks and he was down there skating for hours after the rink closed every night. Not bad to only play for four years, and then have an NHL career where you score over 1100 points.

[Guest 2048]

It's never too late to start. I started at 7, then took up hockey at 10, and took a hiatus between 12 and 15. I had to essentially reteach myself everything, but I've gone from being a tripod to about a point a game player in the league I'm in right now, granted it's the worst league on the planet, but it's not bad progress for two years. Being in any sort of shape will help a lot. My main problem now that I've gotten my skating and shot to decent levels is that I have no endurance and little upperbody strength, but I'm working on them as well.

[Cole13 0]

I started playin rec. hockey at the age of twelve and for my whole life to that point i didnt realy know how to skate.. but after playing for a while i realized that if i wanted the puck i had to skate.. so i skated at public skating and at any pickup hockey that i could.. I got a bit better and then went and played competitive hockey and i had to step up another notch and become and even better skater, im 17 now going into my last yr. of midget and sure im not the best skater in the league and i dont score boatloads of goals, but i have had lots of people tell me how much i've improved, so if u go out and work hard, u can do anything, i deffinatley think you should giver a shot... itl be tough... but itl be worth it

[bbruins8 0]

Dude this thread was started near 4 years ago...

[biff44 0]

I started when I was 17. Joined a fraternity team. You need to find a team/league that is pretty low level for the first season.

In retrospect, if I had taken some skating and shooting lessons, I would have progressed 2X as quickly. Skating is the big thing though. If you can skate around without thinking about it, then the hockey part comes quickly.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

I met a guy in his early-mid 30's who had been playing ball hockey most his life and several years ago decided to give ice a try. He started out a couple times a week playing pickup with a pretty beginner-ish crowd and took adult powerskating lessons as well. It took him about half a winter or less for him to start scoring and making plays since he already had the game skills from ball hockey. His skating improved over time and he was definitely enjoying the transition to ice. While he may not have been the strongest skater out there when I saw him last a year or two ago, his skating skills were good enough for him to have fun playing beer league type hockey.

This is basically what I did too... I played dekhockey from the age of 16 (years of outdoor ball hockey previously) until just before I turned 29. I got sick of the savage hackery involved with dekhockey, and the fact that any gorilla with a stick would play, and hack away. I'm just turned 30, and learning and having a great time doing so... they'll be ups and downs, but I'm a firm believer in "it's never too late to learn". I say go for it!!

[Bmplam 1]

As long as this thread is bumped, how about an update from Whip. How is your game 4 years later?

[Cole13 0]

my bad i was just goin through rlly bored lookin 4 stuff to reply on... plus other ppl in the same situation could go through and read it

[TheBeatGoesOn 0]

21. Just started skating and everything. We'll see what becomes of it. =/

[wildebeest 0]

I never even skated on ice until I was 26. I skated and played at open hockey from November 05 until April of 06, took a year and a half off after I moved to the hellhole that is PHX, then just started back up in October of 07. The best thing I ever did was start attending the adult skills sessions at oceanside ice in tempe.