pick up hockey (shinny) pet peeves

[NextBobbyOrr 0]

You know what..this isn`t even pick up hockey. It`s fricking gym class 3-on-3. Why the heck would you feel the need to be slashing me and giving a flying flipping crosscheck. And yeah, my ankles feel amazing after that, thank you very much.

[Axxion89 32]

You know what..this isn`t even pick up hockey. It`s fricking gym class 3-on-3. Why the heck would you feel the need to be slashing me and giving a flying flipping crosscheck. And yeah, my ankles feel amazing after that, thank you very much.

You play ice hockey in gym???

[NextBobbyOrr 0]

You play ice hockey in gym???

Huh okay well floor hockey, but you get where I`m going.

[Thinkingjack 51]

Thinkingjack, I get what you're trying to say but next time, please add some punctuation lol

i have to work on that! I write too much filler in school papers or stupid crap at work, so its hard to settle down with periods and what not.

[JTully317 11]

I'm all for younger kids coming to shinny as long as they are at least 18 due to liability. It makes the game a bit faster and you get a better workout and make yourself better. On the other hand it's usually the younger kids who are hogging the puck and leave out the skaters who are getting into playing and can't keep up.

I can't stand the kids guys that come and think they're lunchtime all-stars and complain about guys who may not have gotten "all-star votes" so they feel that they shouldn't be there. Everyone pays the same, if you wanna play with a bunch of guys at your level then play in a league at your level.

[IniNew 51]

I'm all for younger kids coming to shinny as long as they are at least 18 due to liability. It makes the game a bit faster and you get a better workout and make yourself better. On the other hand it's usually the younger kids who are hogging the puck and leave out the skaters who are getting into playing and can't keep up.

I can't stand the kids guys that come and think they're lunchtime all-stars and complain about guys who may not have gotten "all-star votes" so they feel that they shouldn't be there. Everyone pays the same, if you wanna play with a bunch of guys at your level then play in a league at your level.

Unfortunately, this is not an age-specific problem. I've played with several older guys that are still living the dream in mid-day pick up. I digress, this has been discussed a million times over.

[mac53 0]

I went to a pickup game last weekend and there was a guy who didnt even know how to hold his stick. He only held it with one hand and he held it in the middle of the shaft. He then skated by pushing off with only his right foot. I know you need to get experience and playing time to get better but this guy needed to learn how to skate and learn how to hold a hockey stick before he played in a game. It just sucks cause you are playing short handed evertime he is on the ice.

[goblue9280 33]

Didn't anyone advise him how to hold a stick? As for playing short handed: it's pick-up. Maybe he's just trying to get his feet wet before committing to classes or a never-ever league... a little advise/encouragement on your part could go a long way.

[JTully317 11]

A little encouragement definitely goes a long way. I was skating at a weekly pick-up skate and we had a guy like that. Just try and incorporate them into the game by giving them a pass once in a while. It doesn't matter if they can handle it or shoot, the more they get encouragement the better they get. They tend to become more comfortable and appreciate when they can get help. The guy has gotten much better since he started skating with us and has developed his passing and shooting abilities as the weeks go on.

[mac53 0]

I was on the other team so I didnt get to say anything to him but he was getying a little more comfortable by the end and he tried to recieve passes when he was on the ice but how he held his stick his stick wasnt on the ice so the puck went by him everytime. I actually started last year playing but i didnt go to a pick up game till i felt comfortable being able to skate. I went to a lot of public skates, took a skating class at my school and when i felt comfortable, went to stick times to learn how to skate with a puck. I just think you dont get much experience if you cant keep up in skating with the other people and the best way to get better at that level is focus on skating and technique.

[Vulcan7905 88]

I disagree, I can skate but I have a problem with my backwards and crossovers. When I go to a Pick Up, people are always willing to give me help and pointers and pass me the puck and telling me to shoot. I'm probably the only one who has some problems skating, but I can stick handle quite well. If new guys want to try the game out give them a chance and encourage them at a pick up. I know if there is a pick up Monday, a friend I met while playing a pick up will try to be on the same team as me since we are both beginners and always trying to help out each other. Hell, even the beer league people that play are always trying to help the noobs out just so they get to love the game more. One thing I love about the rink here in Fl is that everybody here,(besides the high school kids who think they are gods gift to the sport) will help you love the game more than you do.

[TeamHonda401 54]

Pick up is the perfect place to learn to play...if you are in with a good group of guys. 9 times out of 10 if a beginner shows up at the pickup session I frequent, almost every guy won't even look his way when he is on the ice. I just wish guys would remember when they started playing the game and how it felt. It seems like when a player starts to get good, he forgets what it was like when he first started.

[Vulcan7905 88]

Pick up is the perfect place to learn to play...if you are in with a good group of guys. 9 times out of 10 if a beginner shows up at the pickup session I frequent, almost every guy won't even look his way when he is on the ice. I just wish guys would remember when they started playing the game and how it felt. It seems like when a player starts to get good, he forgets what it was like when he first started.

Shame really but I also like how some of those guys DO remember fist starting and are always willing to lend ya a hand or help.

[TeamHonda401 54]

I would say that's my #1 pet peeve of pick up, skilled players that don't remember what it's like to learn the game. It's that elitist mentality that the best skaters at every session seem to have, they only pass to other guys that are deemed worthy in their eyes. If everyone was this way, then no one would ever be able to improve and get to that skill level.

[CaptainFantastik 0]

I don't see those new guys often but when I do i'll usually offer to meet them at stick & puck sessions and help them work on some things.

[skyscrape 5]

Playing D in a game of post and this jerk-off comes in through the neutral zone and winds up and takes a slap shot through my legs with me just out of stick reach! I colorfully asked him what he was doing and his response was "I could see the crossbar so I went for it". The best part is, after this he two handed me numerous times after stealing the puck from him ad he gave me a nice little cross check to the kidneys while I was facing the boards. One week later I still have a grapefruit sized bruise on the inside of my right thigh about six inches below my nuts! Needless to say I was pissed! Next shift out I drilled him in the corner as this seems to be how they play shinny. Toward the end of the game he tried blocking my shot, so I cranked him on the ankle with 300 pounds of pissed off slap shot. He did not say a word as he struggled off the ice. He picked the wrong new guy to mess with.

[iceNsteel 0]

I have to admit I've been guilty a time or two of forgetting what it was like to be new at skating. I dimly recall pushing a metal folding chair around on the ice when I was 5. I see both sides of the issue here though. Hockey is a niche sport in a lot of places in the States. If we'd like our community to grow, and the sport to grow with it, we have to mindful of newbies. The quicker they get better the more fun they'll have, and the more likely they'll stick with hockey. Over the years I've seen a lot of tripods quit the sport altogether after a few months. I don't think there's anything you can do about the guys that tend to be athletic, but they get on stakes and are just as useless as the most uncoordinated dude that ever lived. If they can't handle not instantly being one of the top players at something they're not going to last anyway. But there are a lot of guys that just don't get the help, and maybe don't have the time and/or money for private lessons/skills camps. Those are the ones that might still be playing if a few guys showed them a thing or two. I'm not saying give up your whole skate to give free lessons or anything, but dropping a hint here and there doesn't take anything.

I do understand though some frustration when the average ability level of a skate is on the higher side and then you have one or two complete tripods out there. There's also a safety side to it: the tripods often can't get themselves out of the way of a play. A couple weeks ago I was coming across the blue line with the puck at a pretty good clip when one of the newer skaters darted right in front of me. I ran the guy over and felt pretty bad.

[tareatingrat 4]

The problem with the lesser skilled players is that sometimes you're just looking to pass and they're never in the right position.

It's not like you're purposely ignoring them, but that somebody else is where they should be and you simply just get them the puck.

What I will do, however, is ease up a fair bit on the weaker guys so they have more time with the puck, or more time to get a shot off or make a pass. Not long enough to be condescending, but just enough pressure to make them react and be able to make a play.

[nexusrage21 1]

Today playing roller hockey in the park, I was a little off my game and got to the point to where I was getting the "good job, buddy!" treatment every time I made a pass that was even close. I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed, but eventually I broke out of it and busted out a few ankle-breakers for goals. I guess I was getting frustrated because I thought I was a better player than what I was showing.

Every someone tried to help and encourage me, I was going through my head with crap like, "that's nice, but I'm better than you." Purely out of frustration with myself. Maybe I am better, but today I wasn't and that's a terrible attitude for me to have just because I'm having a bad day.

[Axxion89 32]

I started out at pick up hockey where the sandbaggers would strip the puck from me constantly, go hard at me, or just not pass it to me. Two years later, nothing brings a smile to my face more than backchecking the hell out of them, forcing them to give up the puck and just dangling around them

To all the new guys out there, use that as motivation it works

[TeamHonda401 54]

I started out at pick up hockey where the sandbaggers would strip the puck from me constantly, go hard at me, or just not pass it to me. Two years later, nothing brings a smile to my face more than backchecking the hell out of them, forcing them to give up the puck and just dangling around them

To all the new guys out there, use that as motivation it works

EXACTLY.

I'm not advocating that pickup be turned into a skills clinic, but it means a lot to someone that is learning the game when someone gives them little tips and pointers on the bench. I can say firsthand that there isn't a bigger chip on someone's shoulder than the one that they get if they are ignored and shunned while they were learning the game. Every time I skate I go ten times as hard at someone that ignored me when I started playing. Every time.

[RussianDangler15 0]

This is probably very redundant but I now truly HATE those who slash in pick up, a little is fine its hockey of course, but there's no reason I should nearly have my stick or finger broken multiple times a night by two handers.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

No kidding. There's a few guys at skates I go to that are like that. Everytime they come at you, it's a lumberjack two hander on your stick. I got fed up with a guy who did it to my brand new stick, so I tomahawked the hell out of his stick the next time he had the puck. His stick broke not too much longer and it was the only one he brought. No one loaned him one so he had to leave early. I don't know if I was the one responsible for it breaking, but I felt like going over and telling him how sweet karma is.

[sharks25 9]

Well, I just try to never sink to their level. Usually if you apologize for slashing them just after they slash you they will stop. Reverse psychology works on a-holes too.

[automorph 0]

that why you should always have an easton ST spare