Is it rude to practice where private lessons are being held on the rink?

[Chadd 916]

I've got a question for you guys..I have been bringing my 8 year old to S&P with me, we both wear full gear but lately there have been a bunch of high school kids going and all they do is full wind up slap shots at an unattended goal constantly..sometimes without regard to whoever is near the net (like my 8 year old)...Am I being a dick if I tell them to watch out for my son (and others his age on the ice at the time) or is this just expected because it is publick S&P?? I have not said anything, but c'mon, these little guys are just trying to get some ice time too..

As long as your son is paying attention and only going there to grab a puck, it's not an issue. I've seen little kids stand in front of the net for 5-10 minutes at a time and then dad gets pissed when someone takes any kind of shot. In the end, just assume that kids are going to be idiots and be pleasantly surprised when that's not the case.

[chk hrd 164]

It's not just little kids that have to worry. There have been many times when I've cruised to the net to get a puck because it was clear only to have some wanker rip one from the blue line. Best you can do is make sure your kids learns to keep aware. If someone almosts hits him with a puck talk to them about it without being a dick. If they do it repeatedly then it's just best to have your kid skate in the neutral zone, get off or talk to the rink about it. Not worth escalating it to something more.

[Axxion89 32]

You guys are a lot more polite than I am, I always check to make sure the lanes are clear before I go get pucks. However, if some ass decides to rip one while I am there I'll yell "Hey ass*** watch it" but if there are kids its usually a "hey buddy watch it". And to be honest, your not even safe when you are the goalie, cannot tell you how many times I've turned my back to have a puck whistle behind by my head, but they get theirs when they come near the crease

[Law Goalie 147]

And that is exactly why I never, ever get into net during a stick-and-puck with more than three shooters on the ice unless I know them extremely well, or they prove themselves exceptionally level-headed. I'll just head to the ref's crease and do some nice, relaxing movement drills.

By the way, THAT is where goalie coaches should be running their one-on-one sessions during open ice sessions; if they want a net, and they certainly don't need one, they can ask the rink staff for a spare. I've done this a few times with goalies, and I've never had a single complaint. There is no reason whatsoever that a goalie coach needs to run drills out of the goal crease, except to do dump-in, puck-control work - and that's something that should be reserved for practices. Doing drills on white ice is actually preferable.

[Thinkingjack 51]

I'm actually THAT GUY, that is watching out for kids, everywhere i ever go kids seem to flock to me, i'm pretty encouraging and sometimes take over situations. So when everyone is shooting on a goalie i'm the guy saying "alright your turn" theres always high schoolers who are there just winding up slappers in stupid directions hitting people i took one off my lower back above the padding on my pads and i was livid, i understand i can get hit but when you see people lined up across the line taking turns and you just shoot at the crowd? You might get your ass beat. Also, nothing is cooler than a little kid being encouraged by everyone to go in and try and score on a goalie, makes them feel good and thats what its about, having fun.

[Secti0n31 0]

I don't fire slapshots in drop-in or stick time unless I'm deliberately trying to rattle someone's cage. My wrister is more than enough to score from anywhere, so I just stick with it, but if it were me; and my rink states absolutely NO private lessons during free hockey time; I'd absolutely try to take the head off of (not literally) a goalie that's there for his own personal puck-firing-machine. He's there for the practice right?

I don't know how I'd react to a whole team doing half-ice practice, but I can imagine if the regular participants had the other half and enough pucks, there'd be no problem, if not. I'd just leave and get a refund. Unless they were a high school team, then I'd be firing pucks at them all day long and skating through their practices.

Fortunately I've never had that problem, most of the drop ins that I attend are private and go through a single person who buys up the timeslot for the season, and we all pay him either weekly, or in half-seasons.