Do You Ever Hate Hockey?

[Secti0n31 0]

I've never hated Hockey itself, or had any desire to stop playing, but over the last 2 months I've HATED SKATING!!! I used to be an excellent (not really, but above average) skater and that all seemed to go away. I took between 5-6 years off of hockey and just recently started playing again, and skating (even in open skates) makes my ankles feel like play-doh. My wrister is a cannon, my passing and stickhandling are decent (can even dangle people once in a while), and my hockey sense is still here, but my legs just start to give up. Sure I'm using cheap skates (Vapor X15) but the skates actually fit very well and have been breaking in easily.

I have about 10 minutes of good hard skating before my ankles turn to jell-o and start giving out and getting wobbly. At that point it becomes almost impossible to skate backwards, or stop with my left foot. Some times I can sit for 5m and it'll get better, sometimes nothing helps. It's been over a month of going to at least 3 open skates, 1 open hockey a week and a C league game every other week or so.

I've been doing calf raises, stretches, lunges, sprints, exercise bike... the list goes on. I love playing hockey, I just hate that it's going to take months and months (hopefully weeks and weeks) to get back from jell-o to mediocre on skates. Gah I hate skating!!

[17D1998 1]

Do I hate hockey after a 14-0 loss? Yes

[henkka 0]

Do i hate hockey after losing 5-6 to a whining/diving bunch of A-holes. nofight-nopenalty league w/ penaltyshots issued for every crime. YES.

[boconnor811 0]

I hate that out of ten games my team has two points, both from ties. I have no delusions of thinking the team would be competitive in our league and still have fun every game.

Thing with all adult sports I've been involved in is you can't assume everyone will have the same commitment level as you, basically don't set your hopes too high, know what you are getting into and you won't be disappointed.

[NextBobbyOrr 0]

Okay, I honestly want some help right now. I'm not really hating hockey, but it's getting pretty bad for me. My team has gone 6 games without a win, we've always been outscored incredibly. There's no more edge. It's still pretty fun, but it's really tiresome going out and expecting to lose. I dunno what's to blame. We aren't a really balanced team, we have 1 really good forward line, a good defensive line. The rest is near average or sub-par. Any suggestions to try and I dunno, it's really annoying with the whole team going out and expecting to lose.

[sickwilly 37]

Okay, I honestly want some help right now. I'm not really hating hockey, but it's getting pretty bad for me. My team has gone 6 games without a win, we've always been outscored incredibly. There's no more edge. It's still pretty fun, but it's really tiresome going out and expecting to lose. I dunno what's to blame. We aren't a really balanced team, we have 1 really good forward line, a good defensive line. The rest is near average or sub-par. Any suggestions to try and I dunno, it's really annoying with the whole team going out and expecting to lose.

If you're on the good line/pairing, try to keep a solid +/-. Focus on the positives you can take from each game. Try to compliment the other guys when they make a good play/effort. Yeah, you'll be pissed about losing from time to time. Not much you can do about that. On the other hand, if you have something positive to focus on and give some good energy out, it can help you and the rest of the team enjoy it a little more.

[iceNsteel 0]

Okay, I honestly want some help right now. I'm not really hating hockey, but it's getting pretty bad for me. My team has gone 6 games without a win, we've always been outscored incredibly. There's no more edge. It's still pretty fun, but it's really tiresome going out and expecting to lose. I dunno what's to blame. We aren't a really balanced team, we have 1 really good forward line, a good defensive line. The rest is near average or sub-par. Any suggestions to try and I dunno, it's really annoying with the whole team going out and expecting to lose.

This probably isn't going to sound super "team-spirity," but this is what I told my nephew this year (he just finished his junior season of high school football and in the last three years his team has won 2 games): one player can't fix a team. So there comes a point when all you can really do is worry about how you're preforming on an individual level, and with a smaller group like your line mates. I know this isn't an ideal way to approach a team sport. But he definitely had more fun this season looking at his sacks/tackles/INT's per game than just being demoralized by loosing every game.

[jds 20]

This probably isn't going to sound super "team-spirity," but this is what I told my nephew this year (he just finished his junior season of high school football and in the last three years his team has won 2 games): one player can't fix a team. So there comes a point when all you can really do is worry about how you're preforming on an individual level, and with a smaller group like your line mates. I know this isn't an ideal way to approach a team sport. But he definitely had more fun this season looking at his sacks/tackles/INT's per game than just being demoralized by loosing every game.

A friend gave me similar advice. He told me to enjoy the game within the game. To enjoy the success of making passes on the tape or playing my position as effectively as possible. I did that and didn't really pay attention to the score. My team won its first game of the season which was a plus so I'm not sure if that had some bearing on my perspective but I enjoyed the game more when I worked on doing my part to the best of my abilities. Also, I skipped some shinny and just went to some open skates to work on my skating and re-discovered the joy of skating. My perspective is much healthier when balance is incorporated , either in outlook or execution.

[scorpionhockey55 0]

Do I ever hate hockey? No. I get discouraged sometimes but I can't say I ever hate it. I'm sure my girlfriend does, though. :)

[jcp2 2]

I hate hockey only in the sense that sometimes it really wears me out (the late night league games) and then I'm not in a good mood for a couple of days. Solution for me was the be the lame team member that I used to hate (the one that never shows up for the midnight game).

[srv2miker 0]

I can totally relate - I've only played goalie for a couple years now and there's been a couple times when I've considered turning in the pads because of a rough night.

I think the key is to play to your strengths. Not a big shooter? Look for passes. Not a strong stickhandler? Park in front of the net and collect the garbage. Just imagine you're playing the with Sedins - let them do all the fancy stuff and you just find some open ice.

The other piece of advice I'll give is lessons - I know a few guys your age or slightly younger who have seen their game improve exponentially thanks to a few lessons. Something to consider. I took up the game at twenty and coasted around for a few years, until taking lessons in year 6. My game really turned around after taking those lessons, and I was a lot more confident on the ice.

[phonak 0]

I can get frustrated with myself but never the game itself. If your rate of improvement is slowing down, try to work on the little things. It has helped me out a lot.

[djinferno 2]

i only hate hockey wen i play on a team that cant pass well and you face a team that do pass well...

[icedr 0]

I've been playing for about 3 years (started as an adult) and I'm starting to hate hockey recently. For the first two years, I made a lot of improvement, but I've been in a major slump for about the last year. I have 1 or 2 goals in my last 40+ games, and 0 assists. It seems like my team basically goes on the PK when I'm out there, with the opposite-side wing coming over to my side and shadowing me to gather up the puck if I lose it. On the other hand, everyone on the team says I'm doing fine and not to worry, but when guys who first put skates on less than a year ago are getting 2 points per game, I start to worry. I'm not quite ready to put my gear up on Craigslist, but it's getting close to that point.