Awesome things about your current league/program/pick up game

[start_today 773]

There's another thread where people are complaining about things about hockey they don't like that want them to just hang it up. What do you like that makes you want to just keep playing, even though it's a financial black hole?

1. Even if I'm not best friends with the guys on my team, I like most of their personalities. I never see them outside of games, but it's cool to chat and goof around in the locker room.

2. I play in a draft-league with my wife, and its awesome to see her get better. It's a fun league with a real variety of skill, and since they redraft every season, you get to meet a lot of people. Very few guys are huge jerks, because you don't know who you're playing with in 3 months.

3. My legit competitive days are well behind me, but it's still fun to go out and skate hard and play physical like it matters. You don't have to be over the top like some guys, but it's cool that for an hour, it really matters who gets to that puck first, and it's important that the pass is tape to tape.

[Chadd 916]

The guys on my team. I really missed not being around them over the last few months.

[eric42434224 1]

Creating new friendships outside of the couples from my wifes work.

A place to go and a passion / activity that is all my own.

The parity and competitiveness in the league, and the general good will between the teams and players.

[sickwilly 37]

+ 1 for teammates.

I also really like our Sunday shinny. Most of the best players and nicest guys in the league show up.

[goaliemanshark 6]

My league has a large variety of skills, and its fun trying to figure out what all type of players are gonna do. Whether it be the best guy on the team or the worst, they always surprise me and that very refreshing to play against, keeps you on your toes!

[ts.krajewski 0]

I love that in our league that everyone smacks talk, and one guy wears 99 and never hears the end of it.

[farhanshak 1]

a few things i like about the league are my teammates...awww....they are awesome guys and its usually alot of fun win, lose or draw.

really like shinny and pick up as well as i have managed to make a few friends over the past 2 years at shinny.

ive noticed that no matter where i play, as long as i like the people i am playing with (not necessarily against) i enjoy it alot. although at shinny you like everyone so its hard to get fired up for it lol.

I love that in our league that everyone smacks talk, and one guy wears 99 and never hears the end of it.

same went in our summer league. this guy decided to wear 87 and got chirped non stop...it was pretty hilarious sometimes. i think him chewing on his mouthguard like patrick kane did a little bit to bring on the chirp too =). sometimes i would yell out "hey crosby" when we were on the ice and he would turn around immediately. jokes.

[flyers10 57]

Being older, the camaraderie of teammates, joking around in locker room and grabbing a couple beers afterwards lets me hang on to my younger years of team sports.

[fatwabbit 93]

The guys I play with keep giving each other a hard time whle playing, pretty hilarious when everyone is giving each other the shits. Never heard a team yell 'you suck!' at their own team mates.

Having female team mates who are just 'one of the guys'. They've got a good sense of humour, and the perks of having no real change room ;)

[farhanshak 1]

thats awesome fatwabbit. one of the girls on my team last season used to change in the same room as us. she was a cop though lol...great sense of humor too...

speaking of giving each other hell...ive been told i suck a few times by guys on the bench. like when i missed a wide open net (we were up by 5 goals, but man o man did i hear it for a while lol)

good times.

[fatwabbit 93]

farhan... i hear ya! same thing happened to me. Open net which I tried to roof the puck (in case the goalie could dive and save it) and I hit the post. 2 seasons later and I still hear the chirping from the bench.

just unpacked my hockey bag... found a bra piled in with my clothes. Called my team mate and asked her "are you missing something?" ... apparently when the next bunch of guys came for their training, all the chairs that were neatly arranged got pulled all over the place and her stuff got chucked into my bag. I told her that it was a nice surprise, and when I return it to her next week I'm going to say loudly in front of the rest of the guys "you left this at my place the other night"... she just laughed and said that we should start a rumour... hockey chicks are the best.

Another chick basically showed us her ass the last time... she had a huge bruise from hitting the boards, and just pulled down her jeans, stuck out her butt and pulled her panties to the side and said 'see what i got'.... the only person who whipped out their camera phone to take a pic was another chick. Gotta love nurses who play hockey

[Chadd 916]

farhan... i hear ya! same thing happened to me. Open net which I tried to roof the puck (in case the goalie could dive and save it) and I hit the post. 2 seasons later and I still hear the chirping from the bench.

just unpacked my hockey bag... found a bra piled in with my clothes. Called my team mate and asked her "are you missing something?" ... apparently when the next bunch of guys came for their training, all the chairs that were neatly arranged got pulled all over the place and her stuff got chucked into my bag. I told her that it was a nice surprise, and when I return it to her next week I'm going to say loudly in front of the rest of the guys "you left this at my place the other night"... she just laughed and said that we should start a rumour... hockey chicks are the best.

We used to mercilessly harass one of the guys on an old team. One of the other guys had his girlfriend pick up the largest, ugliest pair of granny panties and a huge bra. He headed for the shower and we jammed them in his bag. Evidently his girlfriend was there when he dumped his gear to air it out. It did not go well for him, but that was for the best anyway. She was a domineering bitch on wheels.

On the good side, my first adult league team had two women that changed with us. Very different body types, but both attractive in their own way.

[Darkbyte 0]

The people are great:

No matter how much I suck, they still pass me the puck and make me feel welcome.

They are always happy to answer all my stupid questions

They dont knock me for not really knowing what Im doing

They dont mind that I sometimes get in the way (they move so fast), always miss passes and turn the puck over because it takes me so long to make the pass that the other team see where its going and have no problem intercepting it

[fatwabbit 93]

Dont sell yourself short Darkbyte, you've improved a helluva lot.

[raygunpk 0]

Sitting on the bench and yelling "Offside!" when the other team crosses the line.

[mrruin 0]

The people I met two years ago who formed this team really make all of this very special. Moreover the league we play in has over 50 teams this year participating (8 or 9 leagues with 6 teams each) which makes it one of the biggest hobby leagues I know (maybe even europe? Who knows). It is a great community and I love being part of it all.

Going to the hockey shop is also one of my favorite past times!

[badger_14 601]

Our group is a good bunch, friendly, tolerant of different skill levels, a lot of good-natured ribbing and no problems with goonery or anything.

Also, it's free and within walking distance, so I can't complain. ;)

[nickyb13 9]

losing every game my team's first year of ice by atleast 6 and still having a blast doing it.

College club Inline- great group of guys would rather have a weaker team who are fun than a competitive team that doesn't get along.

[Neal 41]

Sitting on the bench and yelling "Offside!" when the other team crosses the line.

I officially hate you. ;)

I love playing the game in a division where the competition is challenging enough that I have to work hard, but there aren't any guys who can blow by me without even trying.

I love watching the guy who started the game 3 years ago work hard to get better.

[Jarick 5]

The teammates are a blast. We've weeded out the uber competitive assholes who scream at you when you do anything other than score, so we've got a great bunch of guys and girls who have fun.

The rivalries are also fun. We have three teams now under our team umbrella (different levels) and people either want to join us or hate us...it's great.

I like having refs, stats, standings, and playoffs. It feels like I'm accomplishing something. And around here, 90 minutes of shinny is $15, so when I pay a little under $500 for 20 games plus playoffs with two refs and a scorekeeper, it's usually only an extra $5, and it's a lot more fun.

[Machinehead2k5 32]

Stealing Jarick's post: :D

The teammates are a blast. We've weeded out the uber competitive assholes who scream at you when you do anything other than score, so we've got a great bunch of guys and girls who have fun. We went 0-20 our first year and lost by an avg. of 20-2. Now we're 14-2 in our 5th season and the hard work b/w all of us has paid off.

The rivalries are also fun. We also have three teams now under our team (MidA, 2 in LowA, 1 in 3v3) and people either want to join us or hate us...it's great.

I like having refs, stats, standings, and playoffs. And around here, 120 minutes of shinny is $10, so when I pay $395 for 20 (75 minute) games plus playoffs with two refs and a scorekeeper included it's great stuff!!!

[jcp2 2]

I like the teams that I've played in a league with, but I really look forward to the informal pick-up session that starts on the outdoor rink in the late fall. It's nice to have stats, a ref, real face-offs,and a shot at a small trophy, but it's even nicer to play against friends for nothing on the line, except egg on my face when I totally mess up a new move.

[chk hrd 164]

definitely the friends on all the teams I've made. Hockey is so much more fun to play when you are having a good time. There are still the occasional JO's that get you going but that's part of the game.

I also enjoy teaching the game to the new players. I've seen alot of guys go from barely able to skate to decent players. It's nice to know i was able to help them.

[maxamillion 3]

I stepped on the ice for the first time at drop in 3 years ago. I couldn't skate worth a shit, but the guys that I was playing with had no qualms about it. because of them I am now a half decent ice hockey player, and I've dropped a lot of my bad roller hockey habits. I still play with those guys every chance I get (Friday mornings 6-8 is awesome when I commute to school and the rink is on the way, but when I move to the city, it will be kind of tough), and we've all grown to get along and we like to have a little fun when our league teams play each other.

[theWB 2]

The awesome people you meet. My favorite group out of all the ones I skate with is a monday night pickup that runs October through March. One other guy and me are the only guys under thirty and all the rest are old enough to be my dad/gramps (there are two guys over seventy who still kick ass out there). The skill level varies from a couple guys who played Division 1/semi pro to guys who picked up the game a couple years ago but everything just always flows. The best though having a few in the parking lot after. Alot of the guys have some pretty interesting careers and some of the stories they break out are crazy.