First Few Games Back

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

So our league returned to play a couple of weeks ago and its great to be back on the ice.  I had skated in a couple of clinics and shoot arounds but it was really a full year since I had played a game.  That first game had my head spinning!!!  We played a big, fast team and I felt like I had no idea where to be or what to do.  My transitions and change of direction were really clunky.  After a few games though its pretty much ok.  Frankly I am surprised how quickly it came back.  Now that I am vaccinated I have also been able to drop the mask.

What have been your experiences?

[Miller55 333]

I shot around on rollers during the pandemic, and then played pickup roller through the summer, but when leagues started up it was rough. My legs came back in a few games but a lot of my shooting mechanics were off from playing with a ball for a while. Same feeling, felt slow, confused etc. Part of this is that I moved states and play with guys I've never met after playing with the same team and group of friends for about 20 years, so it's weird, but good to be back. I think I have about 45 games back and my stamina is better, hands are decent but not how they were before the pandemic

Edited March 4, 2021 by Miller55

[althoma1 574]

Pre-pandemic I was reffing and/or playing most days. I've only played 2 organized indoor ice hockey games (in early October 2020) since March 13, 2020. After being off the ice from March 13, 2020 until mid-August, I officiated some tournament games in late August and September. Some of the games were being officiated with one official; pre-pandemic I used skate 2 hour solo shinny sessions for a bunch of 9 year old AAA kids that are all excellent skaters with ease. It was obvious I hadn't done enough cardio during my down time as I was sweating buckets when I started skating 40 minute games in August. Oh, and then after doing a few one official games with young kids, I was asked to skate a couple high level 2-man games; the assignor told me it would be competitive hockey, but when I got out there on the ice I saw a bunch of OHL helmets mixed in with the usual AAA helmets. I've officiated some AAA games, high school hockey and high level inline, but even in pre-COVID condition the pace of OHL players would be an adjustment. I had a good partner, they were no hitting games and most of the players and coaches were well behaved (there was one PITA coach and a couple minor situations to manage, but overall it went well); so it was a good experience and one I may not have had if it weren't for the pandemic. My endurance definitely improved after a couple of weeks and by the end of September I was much closer to my pre-pandemic condition (but not quite there). 

For the games I played in October, I'd already built up a bit of endurance via reffing, but my hands weren't great as I'd only skated outdoors with blades and a ball a couple times. Then, in mid-October, all hockey in Toronto was shut down again, hasn't opened back up and it still looks like it'll be forbidden for at least another few months. Hockey also hasn't been allowed on the outdoor rinks all winter (only pleasure skating); so I haven't skated indoors or outdoors since October 9. Once the ice is taken out and the snow melts, I do plan to start skating on the outdoor rinks with roller blades. I'm hoping to be able to do that by late March or early April. I can't see them allowing indoor hockey until at least May (and probably later; the doctors and politicians are really hesitant to open things up here due to the variants floating around and the fact that only a very small percentage of people have been vaccinated. I can understand that, but wish it was safe to play sooner). 

There are plenty of cities and towns across the province where hockey is allowed now, but I've been staying close to home. I really miss it, but I'm trying to respect the guidelines and stay safe; it's just been a long time with no hockey. I did get a spin bike in late December that I've been using; so hopefully my cardio won't be as bad as it was in mid-August. 

Toronto was one of, if not the biggest, hockey hotbeds in the world pre-pandemic, but during the pandemic it hasn't been a great place to be for playing or officiating organized hockey. Driving to other regions, having a backyard rink (I'm in an apartment style condo; so that's not an option) or trying to find a safe pond are options, but it's definitely a challenging area to live in for a hockey fanatic right now. I was born in the smaller city of London, Ontario and still have family there; my cousin's kid plays competitive hockey and he told me there was hockey until December there and it's allowed again now. So they went a few months without hockey, but in Toronto there's been far more time without hockey than with it in the past year. It doesn't help that the vaccine rollout in Canada is much slower than in a lot of other countries, but even in Canada, it seems like Toronto is the worst place to be in Canada if you want to play hockey anytime soon. 

I expect when I come back that it'll take a few games to get my legs back and several weeks to start getting my hands and shot back, but most people in the area will be in a similar situation. Since I've been doing some cardio and weight training, I hope I feel better than when I returned in August. 

[chippa13 1844]

I've been back out there since June. For my New Hampshire league, the only difference is I wear a mask on the way in and out of the rink. For my Massachusetts league, they still won't let us use the lockerrooms so we show up half dressed or at least already in our base layers and finish dressing around the rink. That is really getting old, especially doing the full change after in a nice cold rink.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

So as soon as we started up one of my teams just had a game cancelled. A day worker at the rink tested positive and now the rink shut down for the weekend.  Grrrrrrr

On another note, and more pertinent to the thread, whatever hands I had are GONE!!  I am stone hands.  We destroyed some team that was placed in our division and my guys kept trying to set me up for a goal....  I think I blew 15 chances.   Jeez....    anyone know how to develop better hands??  Can I buy a pair? 

Edited March 5, 2021 by dkmiller3356

[Monty22 832]

6 hours ago, dkmiller3356 said:

So as soon as we started up one of my teams just had a game cancelled. A day worker at the rink tested positive and now the rink shut down for the weekend.  Grrrrrrr

On another note, and more pertinent to the thread, whatever hands I had are GONE!!  I am stone hands.  We destroyed some team that was placed in our division and my guys kept trying to set me up for a goal....  I think I blew 15 chances.   Jeez....    anyone know how to develop better hands??  Can I buy a pair? 

Try gloves with fingers. Oven mitts are hard to play in... 

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

I heard that but the mitts really match my jersey nicely!!!

[chippa13 1844]

It's easier if you put the wine glass down.

[stick9 890]

On 3/4/2021 at 4:59 PM, chippa13 said:

I've been back out there since June. For my New Hampshire league, the only difference is I wear a mask on the way in and out of the rink. For my Massachusetts league, they still won't let us use the lockerrooms so we show up half dressed or at least already in our base layers and finish dressing around the rink. That is really getting old, especially doing the full change after in a nice cold rink.

Yeah, it's getting old fast. Those 10:30 games when it's 15 degrees out are especially bad. 

Although it did get me to try a full length lower base layer,  which I gotta say is pretty damn comfortable.

[chippa13 1844]

My arrival setup is the base layers under sweats. For post game beers in the lot I'm dressed to hit the slopes.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

The one time I played outside I also wore my base layer and then finished outside.  It was brutally cold.  One of rinks is making people dress outside. Lame.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

I know I'm going to be hurting my first couple of times back playing/officiating. This is will mark one year since I've been at a rink in some capacity haha. What's been exciting is finally getting gear again as I ramp up to get back to hockey (which I hope is the summer time). Looking forward to seeing how much more my ability has deteriorated haha.