Beginners: The Hockey Noob Chronicles II (Beginners' Thread)

Fremitus Borealis

Flügelstürmer
Feb 4, 2007
9,262
13
The Slot
It gets a bit different when there are a bunch of guys trying to get it back from you, but yeah :D

The more often you can get out and work on stuff, the better. Definitely the muscle memory thing is key; you really do need to get to a point where you aren't thinking about what your damned feet are doing so you can just focus on the puck, but that can take a while. Really the main thing is not to be afraid to fall. If you are, you'll just be shimmying around not moving your feet and never get any better. This is 100% the main reason kids who learn to skate at 3 1/2 years old have a much better shot at playing hockey competitively when they're get older: they got all the learning to skate out of the way at a time of their lives when they were already falling down all the time anyway, so falling down on ice didn't faze them the way it can with us oldies :laugh:
 
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hillcrest34

Registered User
Jan 15, 2016
29
0
Adelaide, SA
I always wanted to play hockey as a kid but due to playing Basketball, Australian Football and Cricket as a kid I never really got round to it. After getting Gamecentre late last year and watching about 8 games of hockey a week i thought bugger it, time to actually play. Bought my first pair of skates about 3 weeks ago (Bauer Vapor X500s) and have been hitting the rink about 2-3 times a week for the last few weeks. I used to rollerblade a lot as a kid so moving about on the ice came back alright. I'm at the point now where I can skate forwards very comfortably and can do crossovers turning left 90% of the time. I can do hockey stops the biggest thing for me is actually working up the confidence in doing them, I've been skiing all my life so the motion is familiar for some reason it just seems way more daunting on the ice. I start Adult lessons on Monday which I'm really looking forward too and hopefully I'll be playing hockey in the development league in October!
 

Aurilius

Registered User
Nov 12, 2015
511
84
Hostage in Canada's Basement
Stopping is still an issue for me, I can crossover both ways cut tight and move both ways but my hard stop turns into a spin. Sprained my wrist 2nd time out and had to wait 2 weeks to feel comfortable working it out again, but scored my first goal on an actual goalie today at stick time at the college I'm skating at, yay!
 

Jordan14

Registered User
Nov 2, 2013
22
0
just a heads up to people who have only practiced skating at public sessions, (like myself) I had my first drop in hockey game and although i feel really comfortable skating at public sessions and even practiced crossovers and stopping on both sides, I still felt rather awkward literally being forced to do crossovers on the opposite side, and stop immediately without a second to prepare for it which was what i apparently did at the public sessions. what im saying is going to the drop in games I think is the best way to perfect the moves you practice at public skates sessions, because the games you are moving up and down quickly turning every direction, really nothing like just skating round in a circle.
 
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Goonzilla

Welcome to my house!
Feb 18, 2014
2,528
24
The rink ..too often
just a heads up to people who have only practiced skating at public sessions, (like myself) I had my first drop in hockey game and although i feel really comfortable skating at public sessions and even practiced crossovers and stopping on both sides, I still felt rather awkward literally being forced to do crossovers on the opposite side, and stop immediately with about a second to prepare for it which was what i apparently did at the public sessions. what im saying is going to the drop in games I think is the best way to perfect the moves you practice at public skates sessions, because the games you are moving up and down quickly turning every direction, really nothing like just skating round in a circle.

Something I'd recommend you try at public sessions, instead of skating around the face off circles or skating up to the boards and stopping is to actually skate, stop, turn and cut and the like and skate the lines and angles that you might in a game.

I spend quite a lot of time at public sessions skating to, stopping, circling and 'attacking' the goal crease, as well as lateral starts from behind the crease and also crossing over from the face off dots to the front of the crease, etc; the places on the rink I'm trying to get to and where I'm more likely to be in games. You've got to visualise that you're holding a stick and carrying the puck.

Of course you can't just skate around like that non-stop. You usually have to wait for a gap or for the traffic to go past, especially when you're going towards the traffic.
 

StLHokie

Registered User
May 27, 2014
2,051
286
North Carolina
Something I'd recommend you try at public sessions, instead of skating around the face off circles or skating up to the boards and stopping is to actually skate, stop, turn and cut and the like and skate the lines and angles that you might in a game.

I spend quite a lot of time at public sessions skating to, stopping, circling and 'attacking' the goal crease, as well as lateral starts from behind the crease and also crossing over from the face off dots to the front of the crease, etc; the places on the rink I'm trying to get to and where I'm more likely to be in games. You've got to visualise that you're holding a stick and carrying the puck.

Of course you can't just skate around like that non-stop. You usually have to wait for a gap or for the traffic to go past, especially when you're going towards the traffic.

When I was a kid, my dad and I would grab one of the corners (Like bottom of the circles to the boards on one side of the crease) for all the quick agility/stops and starts/etc. Other people at the public skate usually recognize what you are doing and stay out of your way as long as you aren't taking up too much space and it isn't too packed. That way you can practice pivots, edge work and tight turns without having to worry about people blindly skating in your way.
 

Goonzilla

Welcome to my house!
Feb 18, 2014
2,528
24
The rink ..too often
When I was a kid, my dad and I would grab one of the corners (Like bottom of the circles to the boards on one side of the crease) for all the quick agility/stops and starts/etc. Other people at the public skate usually recognize what you are doing and stay out of your way as long as you aren't taking up too much space and it isn't too packed. That way you can practice pivots, edge work and tight turns without having to worry about people blindly skating in your way.

Yeah, I get that that; but I think the guy is talking about trying to translate or improve from what he's doing at public sessions into a game situation. I don't think any pick up or game is a place or time to be able to work on your skating, because you have the added distractions of having to play the game, including utilising or integrating skills with the puck and situational awareness, including positional play.

I know when I'm trying to put everything together is when my skating degrades a little, but if you saw me just out with a stick and puck, you'd think I was a pretty fair player..throw in 9 other players and things wane just a little with the multi-tasking. I have my moments..the odd head turning play, coupled with too many errors. It's finding the consistency that's hard.

That's why I recommend trying to incorporate a little more 'game situation' into a public skate. You don't need to be just skating and skating the whole time, just like you don't skate and skate the whole game.
 

mashedpotato

full stack.
Jan 10, 2012
2,153
385
I have problems with pucks along the boards. I don't know why but the puck seems sticky and I can't move it along the boards....
 

mashedpotato

full stack.
Jan 10, 2012
2,153
385
I have problems with pucks along the boards. I don't know why but the puck seems sticky and I can't move it along the boards....
 

KyleJRM

Registered User
Jun 6, 2007
5,523
2,695
North Dakota
After having done skating classes and Learn to Play clinics, I'm in a series of sessions called "Adult Development" or something like that at the local rink. It's designed to be prep for the rookie league, which I'm joining when the new season starts July 10.

First week, I showed up on Tuesday night and found out I had missed it. I don't know how I got it in my head it was Tuesdays when the word "Monday" appeared about 15 times on the flyer.

Second week was fun, but god I didn't realize how out of shape I was. Plus I had let myself go without skating for about a month. I swear to Gretzky I thought my legs were just going to stop responding to my brain and I'd have to be carried off the ice. We finished with some full-ice scrimmage, and I made my playing debut by attempting to take the puck away from someone on my own team (colors and whites vs. black is apparently hard for me).

This week went better. I'm working on my conditioning and paced myself a bit in warm-ups. Scored on a live goalie for the first time in 3-on-3 drills, made a couple of decent passes in scrimmages.

Really, really can't wait to start playing real games.
 
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KyleJRM

Registered User
Jun 6, 2007
5,523
2,695
North Dakota
Two fun things this week:

In my 23rd beginner league game, I finally took my first penalty. A guy started to get a step on me and my one-hand shove to get him off balance turned into a grab that turned him a little. Whistle blows, refs pointing right at me. He says "it wasn't much, but you held him." I said he was right, I totally did and he laughed. Then he had to show me how to open the penalty box.

I finally got a chance to play drop-in. It was all skill levels and damn some of those guys are fast. Recognized several of the coaches who did my learn to play clinic last year. Everyone was super friendly and I thought did a nice job of not going 100% against me but not treating me like a make a wish kid either. I did score a goal! Went to the net, teammate dodged through about three defenders to find a lane to pass it to me, I tried to roof the backhand and half-whiffed it. It slid on the ice right between the goalie's pads as he tried to get over. Stil counts.
 

RJ087

Registered User
Nov 13, 2017
1
3
Middlesbrough - UK
Long time lurker, first time poster.

Thanks to this thread, I've decided to take the plunge.

I'm 30 years old, Live in North East - UK. Watched Hockey for a good number of years, but never really thought about playing. Anyway, thanks to this thread and reading some of the fantastic stories about people taking up the sport and enjoying it, I'm doing the same.

Spoke with a local recreational team who seem to be perfect for newbs like myself. Off to buy myself some skates this weekend @ Puckstop down in Sheffield. Grab some skating lessons (I used to skate religiously 2/3 times a week when I was 7-10 years old, but since then nothing).

Super excited to get started, I'm an avid football (soccer) player, play 3 times a week on 7-aside teams, but dropping 2 of these games a week to dedicate my time to Hockey. Will give it a month or two to get my skate legs back, then I'll grab a stick and get going!

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all the stories I've read on here, you've helped another fan from afar decide to give this a shot!

Thanks,

RJ
 

Based Anime Fan

Himedanshi Bandit
Mar 11, 2012
7,477
6,159
Tokai
I have problems with pucks along the boards. I don't know why but the puck seems sticky and I can't move it along the boards....

Believe it or not, it may not be you. If the ice isn't good enough the puck will slow down along the boards because of built up crud.

Something else to keep in mind is that it usually takes more effort to move a puck along the boards because you can't get as much of your blade onto your motion, leaving you with wasted energy. If you watch an NHL game you'll see guys hammer a puck and it moves maybe 30-40 feet.

One thing I liked to do when I was coaching was to set up a plastic box (cutting the bottom and of a squared juice container worked fine), like one of these. One without a handle works best:

2L-Light-Weight-Milk-Bottle.jpg


Strap or glue a weight on one side of it (a red mason brick or two works perfectly). Make sure that ballast won't come off. I'd recommend screwing it in (use some thin but sturdy wood inside of it and some screws) then put a big old sock over one open end (like a knit Christmas stocking or some other larger durable bad like material. Even an old hockey sock closed at one end would work) then hockey tape around the outside for extra measure. You'll now have a square tube with a catchbag on one end. You want to use a thinner material so that there's less of a lip. Milk jugs work best. Taper the over tape so that the open end is practically flat.

If you have a bit more time you can buy some metal k-style gutter and add a catchbag and weight into it (much easier as it's metal, and it's more durable). It will look less derpy, but then you won't have the lip on the ice:

js6profile_big.png


You'll obviously want to trim the longer flat end down to match the k-wall (the lipped wall). You can make two of these (one for each direction). Bonus points for making it not look like something from Junkyard Wars. A handle is also cool to allow you to pick it up and dump it out once full. If you usually practice with someone else, then you can omit the bag and get them to pass the puck back to you.

Set yourself up at the goal line along the boards and set this contraption, flat side against the boards, facing the goal line at the blue line. Practice getting pucks into it along the board from the goal line first, then start moving yourself around the corner towards the opposite sidewall. The main thing here is to get the puck to stay on the wall. If you're a defenceman, this is critical to prevent the puck from bouncing out to open ice and possibly causing turnovers and scoring chances. Increasing the distance will improve your technique and power at doing so. You'll want a fair number of pucks to do this with.

You can also use these as pinpoint passing and target practice.
 

SUBdrewgANS

Let's Go Pens!
Dec 4, 2007
14,593
2,928
Abington, PA
www.drewklevan.com
I went to an organized pickup on Friday.. everyone was pretty friendly.. but boy was I out of my league.. I don't know positions very well and man did it show. I wish there was a pickup session just solely for players of a similar skill level.. ha
 

LeifUK

Registered User
Jan 2, 2018
131
39
I have problems with pucks along the boards. I don't know why but the puck seems sticky and I can't move it along the boards....

At our rink the edges of the ice slope downwards, so I have to remember to scoop the puck when it is at the edge. Maybe this is your problem? It could also be that your stick is not flat on the ice, so the toe floats over the puck.
 

mashedpotato

full stack.
Jan 10, 2012
2,153
385
At our rink the edges of the ice slope downwards, so I have to remember to scoop the puck when it is at the edge. Maybe this is your problem? It could also be that your stick is not flat on the ice, so the toe floats over the puck.


It's interesting to me that I wrote this several months ago - where I had problems gathering the puck along the boards - where now, I can pick it up quite well due to practice, patience and just feeling the contact of the puck as soon as it touches the blade, the slide angle of the wrist that follows that curl the puck away from the boards and in front of you and the slight push involved that puts the puck in play.

Patience, practice and internalizing the slight feels and muscle memory. Easy peasy.
 
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SundayNiteBlackout

Registered User
Jan 20, 2019
19
17
Puyallup, WA
Hello everyone! Sorry to revive this thread, but I just had to chime in. My 11 year old son just started hockey, and his crazy enthusiam really made me want to play hockey. I'm a fan of the sport, and played a little roller hockey as a teen...but I've never really played Ice hockey. I started going to public skates with the boy and after a month can skate forward, backwards, hockey stop, and crossover to both sides. I'm slowly building gear up and plan to join a LTP in march. I'm stupid excited to do this thing at 38 years old. Luckily my wife is supportive even knowing the cost that goes into hockey, lol. I'll try to keep y'all updated if there is still interest here.
 

SundayNiteBlackout

Registered User
Jan 20, 2019
19
17
Puyallup, WA
Looks like I wrote my last post almost a month ago....Well, I haven't started LTP, but I did go to a stick and puck with my son on Saturday and had a great time. It was really fun to get out there with him and I even scored a goal on the goalie that was there. I felt confident enough to go to a drop in on Monday and holy craaaap it was fast! I wasn't really ready for the speed of the game but I really had a blast. I touched the puck a few times, a pass and a couple dump offs and I even intercepted a pass in the neutral zone. The only really embarrassing thing that happened is that I completely whiffed on a sure goal when I got a pass in front of the net. All ion all I still have a long way to go, but I'm gonna continue to go to scrimmages as I feel it can benefit my skating.
 
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Glove Malfunction

Ference is my binky
Jan 1, 2009
15,875
8,921
Pleasantly warm, AZ
Looks like I wrote my last post almost a month ago....Well, I haven't started LTP, but I did go to a stick and puck with my son on Saturday and had a great time. It was really fun to get out there with him and I even scored a goal on the goalie that was there. I felt confident enough to go to a drop in on Monday and holy craaaap it was fast! I wasn't really ready for the speed of the game but I really had a blast. I touched the puck a few times, a pass and a couple dump offs and I even intercepted a pass in the neutral zone. The only really embarrassing thing that happened is that I completely whiffed on a sure goal when I got a pass in front of the net. All ion all I still have a long way to go, but I'm gonna continue to go to scrimmages as I feel it can benefit my skating.
I started playing like 10-12 years ago in my mid 30s, after my kids got into it. I got invited to a pickup skate by a guy coaching a Mite team for a tournament I was in charge of. When I first started, I could skate OK, but like you allude to, continuing to go to pickup skates is the best way to improve your "hockey skating". I played with those guys for like 9 years until I moved a couple of years ago, and also started traveling during the week for work. Hoping to find a way to skate now that I've moved to AZ, but the travel still makes it tough.

Keep it up - you'll have a blast. I'd also suggest a beginner league. Skating with guys and girls around your same level is a lot more fun than chasing guys above your skill level all night. At least with my pickup game, as I got to know the guys, they made an effort to include me.
 
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