Joining adult ice hockey league any advice?

[Diablo34 17]

Okay so I'm 20 years old and used to play middle linebacker in football for 16 years and was fortunate enough to to get a scholarship to a D1 school. Well do to the fact I hated the school and really didn't like football I left the university.  Hockey has always been my favorite sport also when my old buddy asked if I wanted to join his adult rec begginer league I said HELL YEAH. I have a month and a half to get ready for season it's nothing to seriouse but my question is.. what position should I play? The manager of the team wants to put me at Center and just be a power forward and kinda bully and get in the head of the other Team. (Kessler from the ducks) I'm 6'1 (off skates) and 225 of pure muscle (once again I was a D1 athelete) I understand ice hockey is a whole different beast than football but my skating is a little below average as of now I can go forward. Stop, and change direction. It's techniqually a "non-check" league but I was told as long as I don't line someone up in open ice and take him out of the game most hits are ok especially along the boards fighting for the puck. Any advice or drills for me? Is a very big and physical Center viable? I need to learn to pass and take better shots I havnt had stick time in a while but I just made the decision to sign up today. And where should I get my gear. I wanna do this right so any advice would be much appreciated! Once again the division I'll be playin in is for adult beginners ONLY some can barley stand in their skates. Any advice on my position or anything else on how to improve my skills would be very helpful thanks!

[DRR 112]

Congratulations, and welcome to the sport! 

You'll soon learn that size does not matter at all unless you can skate. This is not a knock on you or your size, it's just the reality of the sport. For drills - any edge drills you can find on youtube and practice them whenever you get a chance. Skate, skate, skate. Take power skating classes. Take figure skating classes. Get out there and rec skate. Whatever, just learn to be as strong on your skates as possible. Everything starts from skating - standing, moving, passing, shooting. I've seen guys that can rip a slapper on dry land that can't shoot at all on skates because they never learned how to weight transfer on ice.

The position at this point doesn't really matter, I'd say center or wing is fine for you to start off with. As far as positional play, wing is the easiest position to learn and execute well. If you're playing in a league with pure beginners they're not really going to know where to be so the nuances of center vs wing and who's got what assignment, really isn't going to matter.

Equipment - I'd highly recommend going to your local hockey store (you'll see it abbreviated "LHS" around here) and get properly fitted for equipment and level of play. There's no substitute for the knowledge they can give you especially if you're making a $1000 initial investment. Your priorities should be 1) fit 2) comfort 3) level of play. Your LHS can help you with all of those.

You'll get differing opinions on this too, but I'd invest most heavily in 1) skates 2) helmet 3) gloves. That's not to say you should buy the most expensive of those things, but those are the things I would say are the most important to get right. 

Hope that's a good start. Again congrats on the decision, and have fun! It's a good group around here and always (usually) willing to help.

 

[DRR 112]

Also, if you're joining an existing team, bring beer your first time. Very important.

[chippa13 1844]

Depending on where he is it will be a little tough for a 20 year old to bring beer. As for basing your game on Kesler, that will be a good way to get yourself asked to depart the league. Beginner rec leagues are supposed to be a more relaxed game where people are just learning skating and hockey.

[Diablo34 17]

1 hour ago, DRR said:

Congratulations, and welcome to the sport! 

You'll soon learn that size does not matter at all unless you can skate. This is not a knock on you or your size, it's just the reality of the sport. For drills - any edge drills you can find on youtube and practice them whenever you get a chance. Skate, skate, skate. Take power skating classes. Take figure skating classes. Get out there and rec skate. Whatever, just learn to be as strong on your skates as possible. Everything starts from skating - standing, moving, passing, shooting. I've seen guys that can rip a slapper on dry land that can't shoot at all on skates because they never learned how to weight transfer on ice.

The position at this point doesn't really matter, I'd say center or wing is fine for you to start off with. As far as positional play, wing is the easiest position to learn and execute well. If you're playing in a league with pure beginners they're not really going to know where to be so the nuances of center vs wing and who's got what assignment, really isn't going to matter.

Equipment - I'd highly recommend going to your local hockey store (you'll see it abbreviated "LHS" around here) and get properly fitted for equipment and level of play. There's no substitute for the knowledge they can give you especially if you're making a $1000 initial investment. Your priorities should be 1) fit 2) comfort 3) level of play. Your LHS can help you with all of those.

You'll get differing opinions on this too, but I'd invest most heavily in 1) skates 2) helmet 3) gloves. That's not to say you should buy the most expensive of those things, but those are the things I would say are the most important to get right. 

Hope that's a good start. Again congrats on the decision, and have fun! It's a good group around here and always (usually) willing to help.

 

Thank you for your positive feedback! It means a lot when most forum would be happy to roast a newbie like me. I wil take your advice and take as many skating classes as possible at my local rink. Lucky for me my rink offers a begginer adult only hockey clinic once a week. So I will definatly take advantage of that. I really want to get good to the point where I can eventually move up a few divisions in a few seasons so the level of play is better. But regardeding your statement that size doesn't really matter. Should I start cutting a lot of weight? I was just under the assumption that there was always a need for a big brute  on every team. Perhaps I'm wrong. 

[Diablo34 17]

59 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

Depending on where he is it will be a little tough for a 20 year old to bring beer. As for basing your game on Kesler, that will be a good way to get yourself asked to depart the league. Beginner rec leagues are supposed to be a more relaxed game where people are just learning skating and hockey.

Yea I suppose your right about that. That's my ultimate goal anyways. So hopefully in a year or too I can move up divisions amd be a loud to act like that 

[chippa13 1844]

It is adult league. You won't ever be allowed to act like that. Once you move up divisions, if the league doesn't stop you then your opponents will. We know how to deal with guys who play that way and they never enjoy it.

[Diablo34 17]

15 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

It is adult league. You won't ever be allowed to act like that. Once you move up divisions, if the league doesn't stop you then your opponents will. We know how to deal with guys who play that way and they never enjoy it.

Okay lesson learned and learned early. Thank you

[chippa13 1844]

Just go out and have fun. The more time you spend in the league the more you'll understand what will and will not be tolerated.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

1 hour ago, Diablo34 said:

Thank you for your positive feedback! It means a lot when most forum would be happy to roast a newbie like me. I wil take your advice and take as many skating classes as possible at my local rink. Lucky for me my rink offers a begginer adult only hockey clinic once a week. So I will definatly take advantage of that. I really want to get good to the point where I can eventually move up a few divisions in a few seasons so the level of play is better. But regardeding your statement that size doesn't really matter. Should I start cutting a lot of weight? I was just under the assumption that there was always a need for a big brute  on every team. Perhaps I'm wrong. 

I've only been doing this for about a year and a half or so, but generally speaking I would say that especially in beginner leagues size doesn't really matter.  The folks that do well are the ones that can skate well.  After that, its puck handling / awareness.  I would focus all of your energy there for a while.  10 lbs of body mass one way or the other isn't going to matter for a long time.

I don't mean that size can't be an advantage... it can be.  A bigger guy will have more reach which can for sure help...  and when there is a puck battle along the boards or in front of the net they're not going to get moved very much.  But its WAY less of a thing that skating, awareness, or puck handling.

In terms of "attitude" or whatever... I don't know you and its really hard to get a good read on someone's tone online.  That said, you seem to be leaning more toward the "bruiser" side of the equation and I would say that generally speaking in the leagues I've played in around here going out with the intention of shoving people around isn't appreciated and isn't tolerated (by the refs or the other players or both) for very long.  Hockey is still a contact sport (even in no check leagues), but contact isn't a goal and everyone has to go to work the next morning.

Mark

[puckpilot 312]

Congrats on taking up the game. Basic advice I'd give is have fun, and don't be a dick. :D

I think you'll have a leg up on other beginners because, from the sounds of it, you're a pretty decent athlete. All that strength and conditioning you put into football won't go to waste. Some of it will help you in hockey. I played pick-up a few times with an Ex-CFL kicker. His skating wasn't the prettiest thing but his dam athleticism allowed him to be one of the better players on the ice.

Any way, I'd suggest checking out youtube. It's loaded with helpful videos. One channel I really like is iTrainHockey. He gives a lot of progression drills. Another one more geared towards beginners is HowToHockey.  

[Diablo34 17]

6 hours ago, marka said:

Howdy,

I've only been doing this for about a year and a half or so, but generally speaking I would say that especially in beginner leagues size doesn't really matter.  The folks that do well are the ones that can skate well.  After that, its puck handling / awareness.  I would focus all of your energy there for a while.  10 lbs of body mass one way or the other isn't going to matter for a long time.

I don't mean that size can't be an advantage... it can be.  A bigger guy will have more reach which can for sure help...  and when there is a puck battle along the boards or in front of the net they're not going to get moved very much.  But its WAY less of a thing that skating, awareness, or puck handling.

In terms of "attitude" or whatever... I don't know you and its really hard to get a good read on someone's tone online.  That said, you seem to be leaning more toward the "bruiser" side of the equation and I would say that generally speaking in the leagues I've played in around here going out with the intention of shoving people around isn't appreciated and isn't tolerated (by the refs or the other players or both) for very long.  Hockey is still a contact sport (even in no check leagues), but contact isn't a goal and everyone has to go to work the next morning.

Mark

Thank you for all your advice I didn't want to come off as a "cocky bully" who only wants to play for the sole purpose of hurting people I love the game! And to be honest the only reason I switched from hockey to football as a younger man was because there's a lot more  opportunity for football on Southern California where I live. I was more asking if my history of being very physical could help me pick up the sport of hockey

[IPv6Freely 2092]

2 hours ago, Diablo34 said:

Thank you for all your advice I didn't want to come off as a "cocky bully" who only wants to play for the sole purpose of hurting people I love the game! And to be honest the only reason I switched from hockey to football as a younger man was because there's a lot more  opportunity for football on Southern California where I live. I was more asking if my history of being very physical could help me pick up the sport of hockey

Where you at in SoCal? 

[DRR 112]

Don't worry about cutting weight or anything like that. I just meant that skating is the great equalizer in hockey. If you're 225 and a mediocre skater you're going to lose every time to a guy that's 175 and a good skater. It's just because weight doesn't matter at all unless you know how to use it properly. Think of it this way - if you're a big guy and you're wearing street shoes on ice, there's no way to compete with a  much smaller guy wearing skates. It's the same thing, and why I always preach skating first.

You sound like a competitive guy and there's nothing wrong with playing hard, but as others have pointed out we are all just doing this for fun. You'll figure it out after a few games. Hockey has a way of being very competitive while retaining a high level of respect. Just don't be that guy that crosses the line and you'll be fine.

Youtube is a good place to start for all sorts of training and drills. itrainhockey's series is excellent. I bet you're in great shape already but also check youtube for Maria Mountain's training series for more hockey specific dryland workouts. If you have an iphone, Dangle Time app from coach jeremy (hockey movement i think) is a good way to practice basic stick work. 

That should be enough homework for now.

 

[Diablo34 17]

On 6/3/2017 at 6:19 AM, DRR said:

Don't worry about cutting weight or anything like that. I just meant that skating is the great equalizer in hockey. If you're 225 and a mediocre skater you're going to lose every time to a guy that's 175 and a good skater. It's just because weight doesn't matter at all unless you know how to use it properly. Think of it this way - if you're a big guy and you're wearing street shoes on ice, there's no way to compete with a  much smaller guy wearing skates. It's the same thing, and why I always preach skating first.

You sound like a competitive guy and there's nothing wrong with playing hard, but as others have pointed out we are all just doing this for fun. You'll figure it out after a few games. Hockey has a way of being very competitive while retaining a high level of respect. Just don't be that guy that crosses the line and you'll be fine.

Youtube is a good place to start for all sorts of training and drills. itrainhockey's series is excellent. I bet you're in great shape already but also check youtube for Maria Mountain's training series for more hockey specific dryland workouts. If you have an iphone, Dangle Time app from coach jeremy (hockey movement i think) is a good way to practice basic stick work. 

That should be enough homework for now.

 

Yes I will do that and I totally understand what your saying makes 100% sense. Unfortunately I may not be able to play for a few reasons that maybe some of you guys can help me with. After I went out and dished out about $400 on my equipment the team captain took me and a fellow teammate to the rink public skate to help break in my new skates (hurt like hell by the way! Worse than any football cleat every haha) I quickly noticed that level of skating of the 3 team mates I skated with that night where far superior to mine. they could turn around pretty well. SkAte backwards and crossover and glide with ease. As of now I can ate forward with general stability and good direction. Stop at high speed and started experimenting with crossing over towards the end of the session. Safe to say I was very discouraged (it's been a while since I havnt been the ALPHA at the sport I was playing) the captain kinda noticed my dissatisfaction with my abilities and tried to assure me that those particular teammates where are better skaters and  the majority of the league was at my level or worse. I'm not sure if I believe him or not but my problem is I KNOW I have the inner drive to get better and spend time practicing skating it just cost $15 every time I go to the rink to practice! And as a 20 year old college student I just don't have the money to spend so much just to practice to at least catch up the the best skaters on my team. The captain told me a lot of people really just show up to the games and play and that alone will improve my skills. But like you said I AM very competitive and it's just not in my nature going into a game situation as a " liability " to my team

[kmfdm86 112]

Most rinks offer beginner skating and hockey classes. Start with a skating class. Don't even worry about the hockey skills yet outside of games and stick and puck, better skating will make you a much better player.

I'm just getting into ice (usually play roller) so I took a beginners skating class. It helped a lot. I feel more comfortable on ice now than I do on my inline skates. 

The class I took was 6 sessions and was $60 and they give you a 6 punch card for free public skates for more practice.

Don't get discouraged, and don't give up!

[marka 526]

Howdy,

If its a beginner league, everyone there will either be at your level or will remember being at your level not that long ago.  Don't sweat the "I don't want to let them down" part of it.  This is NOT division 1 football for anyone out there.  :-)

And yes, every time you get on the ice you'll do a little better in terms of skating.  Classes are great and I for sure recommend that, but if you're on a budget, like hanging out with the guys on your team, AND YOU'RE HAVING FUN, then just go out and play if that's what you can afford to do.  One nice thing is that whether you have the puck or not, you'll be skating.  :-)

Only you know your budget / financial situation but if you've already spent $400 on gear you might as well play a session and get some use out of it!  Re-evaluate later, when you've got a little more experience to draw on.

 

edit:  And yes, my local rink also has a learn to skate program that costs a little over $10/session on average, plus you get a punch card for a free public skate every week the class is in session.  WAY cheaper than just doing public skates, plus you'll get some instruction, if your rink has something similar.  And yeah, there will mostly be little kids taking the class.  Don't worry about it, get out there anyway.  Hell, maybe there will be a hot mom or two.  :-)

Mark

[DRR 112]

If you can invest in roller/inline hockey skates (i know, a tough pill to swallow after dropping a bunch of coin on the rest of the equipment) that can help you with the mechanics. Ice skating is much more nuanced than roller but roller can at least get the right muscles moving the right way and help you develop balance and some basic technique.

Some will say that too much roller can slow your learning of ice skating and while I agree, i think there is much more benefit than drawback if it's cost prohibitive to ice skate too much. Further you can roller with a stick and a stickhandling ball and start getting used to that too. Too much recreational skating will hurt your hockey skating too...

 

 

[chippa13 1844]

The cost of a decent pair of inlines would be the same as 15-20 sessions on ice. He would be much better served spending that time on the ice, plus, it is easier to scrape up $15 at a time than $300 all at once. Also, I found that roller messed with my ice stride when I was playing both.

[shoeshine boy 242]

please remember that this is not the NHL. no one out there is getting paid to play and we all have to go to work tomorrow. there is no need for a "Kesler-type" in beginner league.

when you go out to skate right now are you wearing any gear? if not, start wearing it. you'll be more likely to try to learn the more complicated moves of hockey skating if you don't have to worry about injuring yourself. the hardest part about that is getting over the stares and snickers of other skaters there.

other than that just go out there and have fun. :)

 

[Diablo34 17]

Okay guys so my captain wants my to play center. Mostly because of m superior endurance and mediocre backwards skating ability. I'm going to an adult only hockey training session at my rink Wednesday to see how I measure up and to try to improve as much as possible before season

[YesLanges 127]

IMO, your interest in hockey sounds somewhat unrealistic and ill-motivated, based purely on some of the specific things you've said, especially about the physical contact. It sounds like you've been watching a lot of professional hockey and you've concluded that it's a sport you can get into so that you can still paste people the way you miss being able to do in football. With very few exceptions, adult recreational hockey is non-contact nowadays. Yes, there are collisions, but they're incidental: deliberate contact is penalized and, as previously mentioned, not appreciated or well-tolerated; and the kind of "contact" that's allowed and tolerated "along the boards" isn't at all what you seem to be imagining from your friend's description. As someone who can barely skate, the last thing you should be thinking about or (especially) looking forward to is "hitting" anybody or being a "physical" player. The only full contact leagues you'll find (if any within a reasonable drive) won't be at your playing level for a very long time (if ever), notwithstanding being a good athlete. "Technically," adult recreational hockey is probably the exact opposite of what you should be looking for as an ex-linebacker who misses the physical contact of football, because you're actually expected (by everybody) to pull up or avoid collisions anytime you anticipate one, not look forward to them as opportunities. As someone else already suggested, there's always one or two idiots in every league who can't skate and think that they can "contribute" by being "physical" in a non-contact league. You might want to consider boxing instead of exploring hockey specifically to become one of those idiots.

[chk hrd 164]

If your going in with the "big man, power forward" attitude my advise is don't even start playing. It's annoying to the people who play the game. No one is out there to get a NHL contract and most people have to work the next day. Before you start playing you need to respect the game which means don't go out and be a meathead because of your size. Here is generally what happens. Some big guy who can barely skate or knows the game wants to show everyone how macho he is. He usually gets the max in penalties and gets booted or the refs just boot him. Or, because of his size and inability to skate well gets owned by smaller players which gets him mad (see previous sentence). Or, he tries to line up a smaller player and gets put on his butt because he doesn't have the balance or experience.

This is why it's easier to get hurt in the lower levels. Guys don't understand the game, don't have the coordination or abilities and try to emulate what they see the pros do. I've been playing for many, many years and see it time and time again. Go in with the right mind set and the game will become addictive. Since you don't have experience listen to the veterans, it's not about chasing the puck all over the ice. I've played with a lot of kids just going from youth hockey (AA &AAA) and juniors to beer league. The hardest thing for them to learn is not to play the game the way they used to and they need to show the game and the veterans some respect. 

[Diablo34 17]

8 hours ago, YesLanges said:

IMO, your interest in hockey sounds somewhat unrealistic and ill-motivated, based purely on some of the specific things you've said, especially about the physical contact. It sounds like you've been watching a lot of professional hockey and you've concluded that it's a sport you can get into so that you can still paste people the way you miss being able to do in football. With very few exceptions, adult recreational hockey is non-contact nowadays. Yes, there are collisions, but they're incidental: deliberate contact is penalized and, as previously mentioned, not appreciated or well-tolerated; and the kind of "contact" that's allowed and tolerated "along the boards" isn't at all what you seem to be imagining from your friend's description. As someone who can barely skate, the last thing you should be thinking about or (especially) looking forward to is "hitting" anybody or being a "physical" player. The only full contact leagues you'll find (if any within a reasonable drive) won't be at your playing level for a very long time (if ever), notwithstanding being a good athlete. "Technically," adult recreational hockey is probably the exact opposite of what you should be looking for as an ex-linebacker who misses the physical contact of football, because you're actually expected (by everybody) to pull up or avoid collisions anytime you anticipate one, not look forward to them as opportunities. As someone else already suggested, there's always one or two idiots in every league who can't skate and think that they can "contribute" by being "physical" in a non-contact league. You might want to consider boxing instead of exploring hockey specifically to become one of those idiots.

If you read any of the past comments and conversations I had with other people on this thread you would not come to any of those conclusions...

[YesLanges 127]

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 0:49 PM, Diablo34 said:

If you read any of the past comments and conversations I had with other people on this thread you would not come to any of those conclusions...

I don't need to read any of your past conversations to respond to specific things you've said in this conversation. You're not even playing the game yet and you're here talking about wanting to "bully" and "get in the head" of opponents and getting all excited about the fact that you've been led (incorrectly) to believe that "no contact" means you can purposely initiate any kind of substantial "contact" if it's along the boards.

Listen: your "size" is totally irrelevant to adult recreational hockey except that it makes you harder for defensemen to move you from the slot or (once you pick up some skills) lift your stick off the puck; and it makes you a bigger screen in front of goalies. That's it, OK? Recreational hockey just isn't a sport where you're going to be able to "use" your size in any kind of offensive way as you imagine -- or, for now, considering you can barely skate, just fantasize about -- because you'll get knocked right on your ass (and embarrassed in many other ways) by guys half your size if you try to play "physically" against them. 

If you're interested in becoming a player who can skate with the puck, hustle without the puck, pass, make plays, and shoot the puck, you'll enjoy recreational hockey. But everything in your posts in this thread suggests that your primary motivation for picking up hockey is that you miss the physical contact of football and that you think your size will be a big plus in recreational hockey. If that's the case, look into rugby, not recreational hockey, and go nuts. Just about every responder in this thread has been trying to communicate that to you in different ways. Try to pick up what everybody's been putting down for you.