To people who started playing ice-hockey later down the road

[It Kills Me]

I was 12 just two winters ago. I picked it up in 2 weeks and I'm not that fast of a learner. Now I'm a very smooth skater, speed would be my specilty and ability to get the puck up. Since I play in a league where checking is not allowed (boy would I dominate).

 

[tml_4ever]

I can stop, but i cant hockey stop (ice spray)

me neither

and i can't skate backwards without killing somebody

 

[Injektilo]

I didn't really learn how to skate till I was 11, and then didn't skate at all really through high school. In university I started playing again and now I play whenever possible basically.


From my experience then, I'd say it takes a couple of years of skating 1-2 hours a week (skating like playing hockey skating, not just skating ovals in straight lines around a rink) to get comfortable at it.


I've been playing with mostly the same group of guys at university for the last 4 years, and most of us were roughly the same ability when we started, really poor skaters. Now, it's odd to see some of the guys are actually pretty good skaters in most areas, whereas some of the other ones don't like like they've improved a whit over that time.

 

[Injektilo]

sometimes though, it'll all just come together at once.

this time a year ago, I couldn't do crossovers to my right, do crossovers skating backwards, or do the double hockey stop using both skates. I hadn't been able to do it them ever. by this april though, it had all sorta clicked, and now I do all those without thinking of them. Not always smoothly, but.....

i saw some footage of myself playing back october, and then just the other week saw some from myself playing last month, and I think i'm pretty happy with the improvement, though I certainly don't look as graceful as I feel, hahah.

 

[Keetz]

I skated as a kid but never played organized hockey. At 33 I got the bug to get off my butt and do something so I got the gear, and signed up for my local beer league.

I hadn't been on skates for over ten years. I went to the draft skate and puked, even though I had done some hard cardio work a month leading up to the draft skate. As some one mentioned earlier Hockey players need the interval training for bursts rather that long term cardio stamina. ( unless your on my team where only six guys show up every week)

I wasn't ready to start when I did and that was the best thing because your never ready till you do it.

Just go play and have fun, everyone loves the people there who just want to have fun, and everyone laughs at the ones who take it too seriously.

I was the most self concious person I knew till I just jumped in and got over it. Iv'e been playing for 16 months now. Twice a week for the past 9 and at 5'8" I went from a soft 180 to a well defined 155 pounds. My wife can't get enough of me these days

 

[DaveyCrockett]

I would just like to add that natural athletic ability makes a huge difference. I have absolutely none so I have had to work harder than most people. While after 16 months, my skating is slow, choppy and I have no agility, I have improved exponentially from when i started and I keep getting better. I'll never light it up, but I'm gradually becoming a solid shut down defenseman where I can play well in the lowest rec leagues and survive in higher C leagues. If you aren't a natural athlete, trying to think the game and develop hockey sense will help you a ton.