How do you guys feel about players who start late?

[Lester8 11]

I didn't play ice hockey when I was a kid. Asian, frail, poor, dumb, you name it. I only got started at the end of high school and had loads of help from guys at open hockey. It was unspoken, but widely known, that you try to play at the level of your opponent--If you're better, you step down; if you're worse, you step up. Guys who over did it usually got worked over by guys who knew the code. Majority rules. Most shared the puck evenly, so the game speed was up and down. Beginner guys were given a little more time and space, but still got some pressure, so as to challenge, but not discourage. On the benches, most were generous with pointers if you asked. That was how it would go in every (adult) session.

I think the most grief I got was in the first couple seasons of men's league. I didn't know the quick plays, or have any ice awareness, so I goofed often. There were a couple teammates here and there that were less than patient, but that experience did help me learn. I had to know I did something wrong, though the criticisms could stand to be more constructive.

I went to every free skate, every shinny, and every game available. Built up my strength and endurance, studied the Huron/Human Kinetics books, learned from Coach's Corner, and followed the discussions on the EMB/CB/MSH. You can start late and get pretty good. It's not easy, but it's far from impossible. A few years into college, I was getting suggestions to try for varsity.

Now when I see players starting out, I am eager to get them involved, protect them, give 'em pointers, talk them up, make jokes, and make 'em feel welcomed. It's just continuing the tradition. It's a reward in itself to share the culture surrounding the game. No one is turned away. It could be his/her first time on the bench, and I may have just shown them it's acceptable to ask your neighbor to slide the water bottle down. That's one more step towards enjoying and excelling at this great game.

If your friends aren't getting this, then something is rotten in Minnesota. The only recourse I know is to spoil the fun for the jerks out there. Don't pass to them, or give 'em suicide passes, can-open 'em, ignore 'em when they talk, leave them out of discussions. Just make them not want to come back. They could have all the talent of Pavel Bure and not be missed. It's hockey, so the jerks are out numbered, and majority rules. Best of luck.

[tlminh 0]

I feel this is the exception rather than the norm.

To put it rather bluntly, I suck at sports. I'm asian, my upperbody strength was fairly non-existent as a kid.

Baseball - sucked so bad the coach had me batting 9th, played in right field, other kids would yell "dood, you suck!"

Football - I have butter hands, can't throw a football farther than 20 yards, always picked last and no one ever threw the ball to me. Felt bad out there . . .

Basketball - by far my worst sport, and by far got the most grief from it. I would get heckled, pushed around, you name it. And in basketball, most players I know of are pretty damn cocky

BUT hockey

Hockey - I can't take a pass, barely control the puck and my slap shot isnt very strong. BUT when I play, guys just want to have fun and they encourage me out there on the ice, we're all just joking around out there.

[thorpedo26 0]

I feel this is the exception rather than the norm.

To put it rather bluntly, I suck at sports. I'm asian, my upperbody strength was fairly non-existent as a kid.

Baseball - sucked so bad the coach had me batting 9th, played in right field, other kids would yell "dood, you suck!"

Football - I have butter hands, can't throw a football farther than 20 yards, always picked last and no one ever threw the ball to me. Felt bad out there . . .

Basketball - by far my worst sport, and by far got the most grief from it. I would get heckled, pushed around, you name it. And in basketball, most players I know of are pretty damn cocky

BUT hockey

Hockey - I can't take a pass, barely control the puck and my slap shot isnt very strong. BUT when I play, guys just want to have fun and they encourage me out there on the ice, we're all just joking around out there.

yea i was horrible at baseball :(

[stickfixchaska 0]

Dude, yeah, it's insane. Not to mention all of the camps and stuff we have going on. I have played a few intramural games at around 2 A.M. because that's the only slot they can give us. The National Hockey Center is pretty accomodating to everyone though. They even waste that slot for 'open skate'.

Err.. I don' leave campus much. What's the MAC? Is it one of the outdoor rinks? I was looking into those for this coming year.

Nice to see someone who knows the place on here!

The MAC is the "Municipal Athletic Complex". It's up on 8th St N. They have 2 sheets of Ice there now and may have some open skate/hockey times that you can take advantage of too.

We had some late games at the NHC, but nothing like a 2am skate. That should help you guys sober up for class in the morning! :lol:

[Jarick 5]

Down in the cities, your buddy should check out JMS. Semi-organized pick up from never-on-skates to former HS players. Split up into four levels so you learn as you go.

I played with former HS and even a few better guys starting out...most of them were decent about it but about halfway through the games I'd feel like I couldn't keep up and it was discouraging. I made some progress and I probably got better because of it. But the big thing was lacing up 4-5 nights a week and heading to the ponds to work. I really wanted to be good and get in shape and it was a ton of fun. I jumped on the net and read all I could and watched video then spent a couple hours at night working on skating and shooting. Played open hockey twice a week.

Most of the guys I've played with at open hockey tolerate but aren't really supportive of beginners. A couple guys each time would be dicks but a couple guys would be really cool about it. But most of them were pretty fresh out of HS so not a lot of maturity.

Now if I'm playing someone who's at a lower level, I won't try to dominate but I will challenge. If I've got the puck, I might dangle a bit but REALLY obvious so they know what to look for next time. On D, I'll step up to challenge but won't always grab the puck. I figure it's more fun to beat someone who's giving you a run for your money than it is to have them just give up.

[Nutella 0]

Down in the cities, your buddy should check out JMS. Semi-organized pick up from never-on-skates to former HS players. Split up into four levels so you learn as you go.

I played with former HS and even a few better guys starting out...most of them were decent about it but about halfway through the games I'd feel like I couldn't keep up and it was discouraging. I made some progress and I probably got better because of it. But the big thing was lacing up 4-5 nights a week and heading to the ponds to work. I really wanted to be good and get in shape and it was a ton of fun. I jumped on the net and read all I could and watched video then spent a couple hours at night working on skating and shooting. Played open hockey twice a week.

Most of the guys I've played with at open hockey tolerate but aren't really supportive of beginners. A couple guys each time would be dicks but a couple guys would be really cool about it. But most of them were pretty fresh out of HS so not a lot of maturity.

Now if I'm playing someone who's at a lower level, I won't try to dominate but I will challenge. If I've got the puck, I might dangle a bit but REALLY obvious so they know what to look for next time. On D, I'll step up to challenge but won't always grab the puck. I figure it's more fun to beat someone who's giving you a run for your money than it is to have them just give up.

Oy, that reminds me of an intramural game that was pretty terrible for one of the teams playing. It was playoffs so they mixed A and B league for some reason. This B team was playing an A team and getting SMOKED! At one point all of the guys from team A stop skating and let team B score. It was pretty hard to watch, felt so bad for team B. How unsporting of team A. It was just nasty.

Perhaps St. Cloud is filled with dicks. I don't know.

[Quintin 16]

I can't remember who it was but someone started playing at 16 and played in the NHL

[Law Goalie 147]

I've got nothing against new players - hell, I spend a fair bit of my time introducing new guys to the sport, and I play way below my level to help out one of our intramural teams and give them a fighting chance.

There is, however, one extraordinarily annoying species of new player: the clueless, talenltess wannabe hotdog. They seem to be bred primarily in roller hockey (nothing against roller per se - just an observation). Their defining quality is their absolutely refusal to participate in sensible hockey. The concept of a warmup is completely beyond them: they'll make fifteen dekes on a goalie who isn't even done stretching. They never, ever backcheck, refuse to pass, and generally just circle around centre waiting for a loose puck. They will then make a series of utterly stupid moves, likely trying to emulate something out of EA Sports, on the goalie. They also refuse to get off the ice: if they get tired (very frequently) they just circle centre a little more slowly.

There was one moron who did this continually in my university pickup games. After the first couple of weeks, people stopped passing to him. He was not phased. After a month, they started yelling at him - to no avail. I stopped even pretending to take his shots in warm-up, and he began to talk shit to me - despite not having scored in about eighty breakaway attempts. After a while, he did score at the end of a three-hour session, and got a little lippy.

I have a rule against pokechecking in pickup. It's a bit dangerous, for both me and the attacker, and I generally reserve it for people who look solid on their feet and aim for the puck. It only took a session of me poke-checking his ankles before he started limping, and halfway through the next one he left the ice and never came back.

Bottom line: encourage new players who are even remotely genuine, but don't spare a jackass his due just because he's new.

(Sorry for the essay. It's been bugging me.)

[stickfixchaska 0]

I can't remember who it was but someone started playing at 16 and played in the NHL

I think it was Jovo-Cop that started at 14yrs old.

[Tyler B 0]

last season was my first season of competative hockey. only played on the local c team. I allready had a good skill base when i came cause ive been a decent skater since i was little and two years ago when i began to relaly get into playing i would play with all my buddies at the out door rinks. Most of them play AAA or AA so i learned to keep up with them fast just on the out door rink. Even though they were still miles ahead of me. they gave me pointers and what not just for shinny hockey and that eventually came subconciously to me and showed up in my competative hockey aswell. Only thing that i found dificult and got called on for was getting used to playing on indoor ice. But once that came everything was good. Aside from that im much better at inline than ice.

[sabre09923 0]

I can't remember who it was but someone started playing at 16 and played in the NHL

I think it was Jovo-Cop that started at 14yrs old.

Travis Green, too. Although, he isn't exactly a star... But it IS the NHL, after all.

[Smitty34 0]

I hate it when good players give beginning players hell because they aren't very good. We played in hs d2 last year, and all of us were pretty good and experience, but one of our guys hadn't been playing hockey for very long, and stepping into d2 right away wasn't a walk in the park for him. He wasn't very good, and he was harshly bashed daily. Its too bad that guys spent more time bashing him rather than helping him.

[Quintin 16]

I can't remember who it was but someone started playing at 16 and played in the NHL

I think it was Jovo-Cop that started at 14yrs old.

Travis Green, too. Although, he isn't exactly a star... But it IS the NHL, after all.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Doug Weight start playing hockey at 16?

[Keroleen 0]

I personally started playing roller hockey in a men's league when I was in my late 20s and played 4 years b4 going to ice hockey..I started as a player in a women's league last year. I finding that the average age is in for ice hockey is a bit older than in roller hockey (For obvious reasons). My coach's mom started playing too..at age 57!!

I do agree that better players often a lot of better players check the weaker players harder than they should (if you are a good player, it doesnt take much for you to just knock the puck off a newbie player, you dont need to knock the player over hard)

As well let the newbie skate with the puck a bit and then steal the puck. Ive heard numerous times women stop playing or too scared cuz tehy dont get enuf puck time cuz guys are gonna be on thier tail right away. Give them some room, let them skate..most of the time we cant do much anyways..let them learn.

As a whole I find MEN more respectful of weaker players and of each other in hockey than women are with each other.

Saying that if i had to start all over again, I recommend to all women to start playing with women and then move on to men's or co-ed.

[Bleeding Blue Note 0]

As someone who's in his 30's and just taking up the sport, I think the key point was made above: temper the expectations and play for fun. Beats running on a treadmill or riding a bike.

I agree. My sister got all the sports growing up (I got Boy Scouts). For me, getting into actually playing at 31 has been one of the greatest achievements of my life.

I never thought I'd be able to play, but living in Minnesota for a few years and having organizations such as the AHA and JMS made playing a real possibility.

All the vets on the ice have been really supportive and helpful. Sure, there's some hot dogs out there, but most of the vets would spend their time helping the game along, even if that meant playing D most of the game.

[ktang 34]

I personally started playing roller hockey in a men's league when I was in my late 20s and played 4 years b4 going to ice hockey..I started as a player in a women's league last year. I finding that the average age is in for ice hockey is a bit older than in roller hockey (For obvious reasons). My coach's mom started playing too..at age 57!!

I do agree that better players often a lot of better players check the weaker players harder than they should (if you are a good player, it doesnt take much for you to just knock the puck off a newbie player, you dont need to knock the player over hard)

As well let the newbie skate with the puck a bit and then steal the puck. Ive heard numerous times women stop playing or too scared cuz tehy dont get enuf puck time cuz guys are gonna be on thier tail right away. Give them some room, let them skate..most of the time we cant do much anyways..let them learn.

As a whole I find MEN more respectful of weaker players and of each other in hockey than women are with each other.

Saying that if i had to start all over again, I recommend to all women to start playing with women and then move on to men's or co-ed.

Lots of players hear the memories of their old coaches yelling at them to play more aggressively, so they prey on the weak by instinct. The instinct can be unlearned, though. I'm just presenting the "other side" a little bit.

Also, some may be embarassed to let a weaker player take more than 1 stride with the puck (peer pressure from current team-mates or the memories of their old coaches, captains, and team-mates yelling at them).

[Jarick 5]

Hey Bleeding, you still in JMS?

[Bleeding Blue Note 0]

Hey Bleeding, you still in JMS?

I wish I was. I moved back home to St. Louis a couple of months ago. I'll be up there to visit friends in early November. Hopefully my buddy can scrape together enough spare pads so I can play a JMS session while I'm there. Taking a hockey bag on a plane is not a good idea. :D

When I was playing JMS, I was usually playing level 2 (intermediate back then I believe). I liked St. Louis Park and Ritchfield (the big rink) the best.

I also skated with the Enken Bears a few times too out at Breck. Those were always pretty intense sessions.

[sonsplayhockey 0]

"Good" is a relative term.

Starting playing hockey when your in your early 20's and still have stamina in a couple years you could be at the top of a lower level beer league if you play a team game and do it right (not a puck hog).

Your probably not going to play juniors or NHL though.

If they are doing it to have fun, the'll likely always find a place to play.

[Luckystrike 0]

Bleeding, where do you normally play? I live in STL as well.

[tlminh 0]

Bleeding, where do you normally play? I live in STL as well.

I too am in St Louis (MetroEast)

Where are there places to play out here?

[Luckystrike 0]

well, HNA is here, Brentwood rink and Summit Center in Chesterfield have leagues. Those are the only organized leagues that I know of. Other than that you just need to meet some other players and get invited to pick up games. HNA is great for that because teams rent ice time and have scrimmages with other teams for practice.

what is your age and skill level?

[tlminh 0]

well, HNA is here, Brentwood rink and Summit Center in Chesterfield have leagues. Those are the only organized leagues that I know of. Other than that you just need to meet some other players and get invited to pick up games. HNA is great for that because teams rent ice time and have scrimmages with other teams for practice.

what is your age and skill level?

I'm a little older, 28

I can skate but cant control the puck or take passes worth a damn

[Hockeydog 8]

I can't remember who it was but someone started playing at 16 and played in the NHL

I am pretty sure that Nick Wallin of the Hurricanes started when he was

16-18. He is no super star but he holds his own in the NHL.

I started in my 30's. I play in leagues that are designed for my level so I have not had any problems. I do avoid open hockey not because I get treated like crap but because I would just end up skating around as the hotshots would never pass to me or most anyone else, and they always have the puck!

[Bleeding Blue Note 0]

well, HNA is here, Brentwood rink and Summit Center in Chesterfield have leagues. Those are the only organized leagues that I know of. Other than that you just need to meet some other players and get invited to pick up games. HNA is great for that because teams rent ice time and have scrimmages with other teams for practice.

what is your age and skill level?

I'm a little older, 28

I can skate but cant control the puck or take passes worth a damn

I actually just moved back to the area a couple of months ago and am just starting to get back into shape from a hockey-related injury earlier this year. I'm also looking to get into pick up games here and there this fall, so let me know if you guys know someone to talk to to get involved.

I just skated a stick and puck session at Brentwood this past Tuesday, which turned out to be more of a scrimmage/practice than stick and puck. I miss being on the ice quite a bit.