pick up hockey (shinny) pet peeves

[HDHockey 19]

Current pet peeve is guys signing up months in advance for our drop ins and then not showing or letting anyone know they can't make it 24-48 hours in advance. I help run an organized drop in and in the summer months ice time is scarce for us. We top the list off at 20 skaters and two goalies, and lately we've only had 7-8 a side. Lucky for us the rink manager doesn't charge us for the no-shows because we bring in steady money during the summer months, but it's still annoying for the other players who will show up who can't because they can't get on the list.

I hear you there! I run a skate for the summer and had at least 5 guys that committed that they would show up for 10 of the 11 skates for the summer and have only shown up 1 time. The best are the last minute "I won't be there, I am on vacation". Thanks, I guess you didnt know you were going to be on vacation until 3 hours before the skate!

[JoeyJ0506 192]

New one: The guy that runs a pickup game that begs and pleads for skaters to show up to his skate because "...the numbers haven't been good..." and then there, consistently, ends up being 20+ skaters per side and an extra goalie. Honestly, when I sit for 10-15 minutes between shifts, I would have rather saved the gasoline, money, and time.

[Znqt 3]

My number one pet peeve of all time in shinny hockey is people that don't go for the puck. If someone dangles your ass, or if they beat you wide, either accept that your beat or go catch them. To be a lazy ass who trips up guys, or if you jam your stick in their skates or hack their forearms is just lame and annoying. Like someone else said, it isn't game seven, if someone makes a good move around you, then just accept it or try and keep up and knock the puck away.

[leftwinger37 43]

Lately my problem has been with the guy who won't make any effort to catch a pass unless it's right on his tape. I play with one guy in particular that does this and I find it so frustrating. It's one thing if it's a couple strides in front of you/behind you and you don't want to pull your groin stretching out for it, but he lets passes go right through his wheelhouse all the time. I would cut him a break if it weren't a regular occurance for him to show zero hustle and zero awareness of what's going on in the game unless he has the puck on his stick. I thought it might be a hand-eye coordination issue at first, but he does the same thing when there's a loose puck; unless it's in the O-zone, he won't even take one extra stride to retreive it. Shameful...

The part of it that I really hate to see is when a lesser-skilled player is working hard to make a play, i.e. get the puck out of the zone or get it to a teammate, only for him to bail on the play. When the play falls apart due to homeboy's lack of effort, the lesser-skill guys get discouraged or down on themselves for not making a better play.

[Hipster 5]

How about the 2-3 guys who always come together, insist on playing on the same team regardless of what makes for the most competitive game, try to manipulate the shifts so they are always out on the ice together and then only pass to each other? You can be wide open for a one-timer on the far post and they'll look you off and pass to their buddy at the point who is totally covered.

[MThockeydad 469]

Everybody hates those guys. They're probably worse than long-shifters..if not a damn close second!

The part of it that I really hate to see is when a lesser-skilled player is working hard to make a play, i.e. get the puck out of the zone or get it to a teammate, only for him to bail on the play. When the play falls apart due to homeboy's lack of effort, the lesser-skill guys get discouraged or down on themselves for not making a better play.

[stage whisper]"Hey new guy, don't beat yourself up about it. Tom is just really shitty at catching passes."

[strosedefence34 175]

How about the 2-3 guys who always come together, insist on playing on the same team regardless of what makes for the most competitive game, try to manipulate the shifts so they are always out on the ice together and then only pass to each other? You can be wide open for a one-timer on the far post and they'll look you off and pass to their buddy at the point who is totally covered.

i usually try to play on the other team. During school breaks most of the local high school teams show up. The guy who used to run the pick up told them to separate between the two teams. I know the guy very well and I said to him after a skate put all the high school guys on one team, because they don't pass to anyone but themselves. The next skate he listened to me and did that. We ended up playing a very one sided game, but the regulars thanked me, because it was nice to be able to touch the puck.

[Munsons 2]

Definitely frustrating to play with these guys, but playing against them is great. You know they're only looking to pass to each other so it's easy to pick off their passes.

[Cosmic 178]

My number one pet peeve of all time in shinny hockey is people that don't go for the puck. If someone dangles your ass, or if they beat you wide, either accept that your beat or go catch them. To be a lazy ass who trips up guys, or if you jam your stick in their skates or hack their forearms is just lame and annoying. Like someone else said, it isn't game seven, if someone makes a good move around you, then just accept it or try and keep up and knock the puck away.

Two weeks in a row at this one spot I play, from 2 different guys, I been catching hooks on my forearms, and body work. Kinda crazy because I am the biggest guy there, who is known as the gentle giant, and these were guys of considerably less size. I just think that people that play rough in pickup are D-bags. In leagues and tourneys, fine- you wanna bump and block and push a little, let's do it- there are refs to sort us out so I got no issue with it. But pickup, c'mon- unnecessary and obnoxious.

On each occasion, these guys received a direct look and statement, "Keep your stick off me, and keep your body off me, unless you wanna play full contact. And if you wanna go full body, then just tell me, and I'll be happy to put through the (expletive) glass." The glass does pop out easily from not much in the cheaply made rinks we play in, so it is a pretty certain reality if we decide we wanna go full contact. I should say too that on good rinks with good boards and good ice, I sort of do not even mind if guys wanna play a little physical. But on this one particular rink, with the garbage ice and garbage boards, the rough stuff is just not cool because it does not take much to cause injury around all of the hazard zones (like half of the rink).

So last week (2nd guy), I think he must have mistakenly thought that this meant it was on, because every time we went into his corner (he was LD, I was RW) together and he was a half step ahead of me, he would make a feeble attempt at puck retrieval and just skate away and leave it for me. It was not on though, I had no intention of clobbering the guy, at any of the points that he skated away meekly. I did go in hard with him, as if I was gonna hit him, but I always peeled back at the last second, with no intention of ever finishing the clobberment.

[Hills 712]

One of my friends wont bring 2 sets of equipment to the rink because "it is too much work" in case there is more than 2 goalies. So I had to end up playing goalie... and the teams were 10 vs 5... because people need to play with their friends that desperately...

[leftwinger37 43]

Everybody hates those guys. They're probably worse than long-shifters..if not a damn close second!

[stage whisper]"Hey new guy, don't beat yourself up about it. Tom is just really shitty at catching passes."

Hahaha, that's pretty much how we handle it. Even though he only started playing as an adult, he doesn't like to hear any type of constructive criticism (looks past you and pretends not to hear anything you say), so plan B is everybody on the bench sewers him while he's on the ice.

How about the 2-3 guys who always come together, insist on playing on the same team regardless of what makes for the most competitive game, try to manipulate the shifts so they are always out on the ice together and then only pass to each other? You can be wide open for a one-timer on the far post and they'll look you off and pass to their buddy at the point who is totally covered.

I have a couple of guys like this at my skate. Great guys, off the charts skill, and good team players, but they don't like to seperate. I just don't understand how it's fun for them to make everyone else to look stupid.

[Tondog 12]

People who have not played any organized hockey, and started as adults chirping about stuff they don't even understand. They get irritated and start yapping about things like not playing D when you're down about 30 goals and haven't even completed a pass INTO the neutral zone, let alone into the rough vicinity of a team mate. If you're new, welcome!....now shut your pie hole and learn the game. Take your opinions about who you deem as players you'll grace with one of your hack wobbling foot off the ice "passes", and shove them up your ass! Hockey is a passing game...PERIOD!

Last night was one of those puke fests where an entire bench came with newb opinions about how to play pick up, and instead decided to play fuck fuck in their own zone while getting shellacked 20 to 1 shots on net. Maybe I'm just grumpy because it's 9/11 but hell...

Hockey is a passing game. If you're coming out of your own zone, or passing through the neutral zone, you should be looking for a pass. If you're behind the net with the puck, look for the pass. If there are 3 guys in front of the goaltender and between you and the net, pass it dick! If you notice that you are getting pressed in the neutral zone by 3 opposing players, this is the pass opportunity of the century to create an odd man rush! If you enter the zone wide and are in danger of colliding with the Zamboni door, pass it to someone who has an opportunity to set up a play instead of trying to rush behind the net, (where you should be looking for a pass from anyway).

If you're over 25, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...you're not going to be drafted to the NHL. If you're starting the game and over 25, "welcome...what took you so long...now again, STFU about what you think you know and learn! Oh and...enjoy your waning health." If you want to bitch on the bench about someone "not trying hard enough" when you don't understand how to play the game yourself, don't ever be too surprised when you wake up staring at the lights on the ceiling.

Oh and....how do you think those new players will learn the game if you pick up all-stars never once pass a puck to them so they can learn how to play as a team?

[IPv6Freely 2093]

If you want to bitch on the bench about someone "not trying hard enough" when you don't understand how to play the game yourself

I agree with every word you said except for this part. I don't care how new or shitty you are, if you're putting in an effort you have every right to complain about somebody who isn't, no matter how good or bad THEY are.

[Tondog 12]

I agree with every word you said except for this part. I don't care how new or shitty you are, if you're putting in an effort you have every right to complain about somebody who isn't, no matter how good or bad THEY are.

While that WOULD be true in probably 99% of cases, with age comes wisdom and I have recently learned of a guy we're playing with that has prostate cancer, and that he is not wanting to share the information with anyone. The wisdom comes in understanding that each one of us are out there for different reasons which is going to motivate people in different ways. He, no doubt, just wants to forget about it for a bit and have some fun. If he is receiving treatments at all at this point, he is a beast for even being out there at all and is "putting out" more than any of us could ever measure up to. He might not have the "effort" on tap that you would expect of a healthy player but he'll be damned if he's going to tell people about it for whatever reason of his choosing.

I kept noticing a name on the roster last night that stuck in my head as someone who I don't recall playing with previously. I thought nothing more of it but was on Facebook today and noticed that there was a memorial tribute up for his early 40's aged wife that passed away just 2 weeks ago. He has two sons playing as well that he'll be raising alone now, but was out there with us last night!!! What right would ANY of us ever have for questioning his "put out" level ever again?! He's welcome to do as he pleases in my book and I'll be proud to share a bench with him no matter what mood he was in.

The vets that I play with are in varying states of recovery from all kinds of different things that painfully plague their lives as well, and have all kinds of aches and pains that other people their age don't have either. I too know this from first hand experience. They don't play to be hockey stars, they play for the diversion of it, and don't give two flying fucks if someone questions how much they think they're putting out. That would be the group I fall into if you couldn't guess? I don't owe anyone's hockey ego...ESPECIALLY when they choose not to play a passing game.

Don't pretend to know people, or what their motivation is for being there is the real point. Pass the puck, and be cool with the people you share the space on the ice with. Pick up hockey is a privilege that you have, and there is no reason on earth that is worth it to make it any harder than it already is.

[IPv6Freely 2093]

Heh okay then. Lol

[MThockeydad 469]

Well said, Tondog. Thank you for your service.

Just don't be a long-shifter. ;)

[Tondog 12]

Heh okay then. Lol

I wasn't busting your chops in the least....merely adding what I thought was some different perspective.

Well said, Tondog. Thank you for your service.

Just don't be a long-shifter. ;)

LOL....the younger the players get...the shorter my shifts get! It's an amazing correlation that I've noticed! I could swear the young are siphoning my gas out there!

[MThockeydad 469]

I realized at dropin last night that I would have more fun if there were oxygen rather than beer at the bench!! :)

[strosedefence34 175]

I'm with Tondog on the effort aspect. I really don't care how hard you play in pick up, because its just pick up. If you aren't going to skate as hard as some other players just don't take a long shift.

Played pick up the other night 4v4 with 2 subs on each bench and no goalies. There was a guy out there probably early 20's, and he wasn't skating that hard, cherry picking (why? there were no goalies) and non of that really bothered me, but the shortest shift he took was probably 5 minuets. With only 2 subs you're going to get your time in just come to the bench.