Pickup is a blast and league play sucks. How come?

[RadioGaGa 162]

jds: Everything you describe sounds exactly like the league we played in there. They stopped being an ASHL Satellite and run their own league now, but I guess they still took in all the same d-bag teams.

It's funny what you say about the "Pro" league down the hall. I've seen that...and it's great. A bunch of guys who are actually on their way to careers in hockey (or some who are already playing Pro). No stupidity...none of it...just a bunch of guys trying to keep sharp over the summer. They'll go out and hit when the checks start again in the Fall.

[OpenIceHit42 2]

Sometimes there's just less douchery in pickup games.

[leftwinger37 43]

I enjoy both for different reasons. My men's league team has played together for many years. These are my friends and there is something about suiting up to do battle with your buds that is appealing. I also enjoy the competitive aspect of league play.

On the other hand I feel must less pressure in pick up. Its just fun and flows and I can try stuff. I go as hard as I want or easy. I have the puck more and try more.

In the end... just love being on the ice... even tho I suck!!!!

Amen.

I love the competition of league play and enjoy playing with the same group of guys on my team that I have been playing with for years; everybody knows where to be on the ice and what their role is.

On the other hand, the pick-up skate I go to on Sundays has a revolving cast of about 30 guys that have all been skating together for a few years and I enjoy that as a change of pace. The age range is from 20-60 and there are guys from all different walks of life and skill levels, but nobody cares who you are or what you can/can't do as long as you skate hard. It's competitive, but comfortable at the same time.

I am mainly used as a checking forward/penalty killer/fill-in defenseman in league play. During pick-up games I can play outside of my role and work on the aspects of my game that I don't get to utilize in league play; i.e. carry the puck more, shoot more, be a little less defense-oriented.

[strosedefence34 175]

so recently I just rejoined a league and am having a blast (first league play since college about 4 years). The only problem I have, and this has been happening most of my life is I get very anxious when playing and very tense. When I play pick up it isn't there, but league play it is. This does impact my game and I do not perform as well as I could if I where more relaxed. Anyone of have any tips for staying relaxed and not as tense out there?

[chk hrd 164]

There is always alchohol...okay, seriously now...when I coached young kids that got real tense the first thing that I asked is what is the worse thing that could happen if they did something wrong. No one will die, the world will not end, your family will still love you and all that good stuff is what happens. It's a game! Who cares if you do something wrong, the object of a game is to have fun first. Stop worrying about it, relax and have a good time. The only pressure on you is by you.

[badger_14 601]

when I coached young kids that got real tense the first thing that I asked is what is the worse thing that could happen if they did something wrong. No one will die, the world will not end, your family will still love you and all that good stuff is what happens. It's a game! Who cares if you do something wrong, the object of a game is to have fun first. Stop worrying about it, relax and have a good time. The only pressure on you is by you.

+1. Establishing what you're anxious about - e.g., 'I'll make a mistake', and asking, 'what's the worst that could happen?' is a great way to reduce anxiety about a situation.

Strose, another thing that might help is having some kind of calming routine to just kind of get you in the swing of things. Probably not quite the same as your situation, but I panic very easily, so I like to do things like arrive early and watch the tail end of whatever game comes before mine, or if there's no game, walk around the rink for a bit, go up in the stands, read the trophies, that kind of thing. If you get anxious during the game, the same as what chk hrd said - what's making you anxious? If what's making you anxious comes to pass, what's the worst that could happen? (this is obviously not so good if your fear is something like being hit in the face with a slapshot. )

[Law Goalie 147]

It's funny what you say about the "Pro" league down the hall. I've seen that...and it's great. A bunch of guys who are actually on their way to careers in hockey (or some who are already playing Pro). No stupidity...none of it...just a bunch of guys trying to keep sharp over the summer. They'll go out and hit when the checks start again in the Fall.

That's always been my observation of real athletes (a few exceptions aside) when they're 'slumming' in amateur leagues. There's a team in the DMHL's top division made of mainly former top-flight college players and a few pros (some of whom I was lucky enough to play with when they came through UofT) and they play the cleanest hockey I've ever seen. In fact, the guys I know play cleaner, less agitated hockey there than they did when they were in grad school. All they care about is getting a good workout and making some nice plays, both of which inevitably lead to winning; anything that gets in the way of those two primary goals is totally undesirable.

[hunt3rsean 44]

I definitely enjoy playing pick-up, but can't say I enjoy it over beer league. Based on some of the experiences others have posted I can definitely see why others would prefer pick-up however. The league I play in is pretty competitive. Each team takes it seriously and plays hard....which I enjoy. The team I play on is very competitive but we keep pretty loose over all. No one yells at each other or gets that upset about a botched play. Usually, if someone makes a mistake then a more experienced player on the bench will show them what happened or how to avoid it the next time. Everyone is pretty open to talk and never get "accusing". Some teams in the league are a little chippier then others, but it's more one or two guys on a certain team rather then the whole team. So I don't feel like I'm going to get sucker punched or anything when I'm out there. This gives a great atmosphere to play hard and competitive, but generally do not have to worry about it escalating to badly. I'd say the majority of teams keep it pretty classy and respectable.

Hockey out here in oregon is also a pretty small world. Between roller hockey and ice hockey everyone seems to know just about everyone else. I think this helps in calming things down during after whistle activity and also keeps some of the chippyness down. The league keeps each skill level pretty even so you don't get the "I'm too good for this league" guys very often.

Pick-up is fun because it's much more care free. You're more open to try new things without having to worry about a point being put up on the board for the other team if you screw up. Other guys tend to be more relaxed and joke around more. I definitely find myself talking to more people during pick-up and end up making some new friends. This doesn't happen in beer league play as I'm pretty focused and don't talk to casually to the other team. I'm a pretty quiet person in the 1st place though. The free flowing aspect of pick-up is also pretty cool as you definitely get more ice time. The only bummer is that pick-up around here is only mid-week in the middle of the day. So I can't always get out of work to go play. Would be very cool to have an early morning weekend pick-up to happen, but oh well.

[strosedefence34 175]

Thanks for the tips guys. Unforchently for some dumb reason this is something I have struggled with in every competitive environment I have been in. Once I feel comfortable with the group I'm with I usually have no problems. I just have to get back to my game and maybe put a few in the net and I will feel better.

[hunt3rsean 44]

Thanks for the tips guys. Unforchently for some dumb reason this is something I have struggled with in every competitive environment I have been in. Once I feel comfortable with the group I'm with I usually have no problems. I just have to get back to my game and maybe put a few in the net and I will feel better.

Sometimes thats all it really is. And hey, if you have the opportunity, sometimes it never hurts to pull a Tim Thomas and take a season off. A lot of teams around here take the summer season off.