Anyone here who plays locally willing to answer a few questions for me and maybe show me the ropes?
This is something I’ve been wanting to get into for quite sometime. Now, I have a daughter whom I want to eventually get into hockey when she’s of age. I really want to get some experience playing so I can help her out one day.
I live in San Ramon and there’s an ice rink here that I’ve been wanting to practice my skating on. How good must one be for the pure beginner division?
Call your local rink and ask about their hockey schedule. If you're serious, I would invest in a pair of decent skates to start off. Don't just buy off the internet. Go to hockey x-sport in Oakland and try to find someone who appears to know what they're talking about in sizing you up. You won't know what boot fits you best until you try it on, so let that be your primary condition - not the aesthetics. While you're there, get your equipment. They'll price match internet too so don't worry, just try shit on. I suggest the lighter, more mobile equipment. You're not going to be getting checked (regularly at least).
For sticks - do some homework on them. There's plenty of resources. I'm right handed, but shoot left. This is the way most Canadians are. Most Americans shoot right. Maybe that stat has changed since I started playing over a decade ago, but what evs. My feeling was what felt right stick handling, not shooting. I had to learn how to distribute my weight on my weaker side which took some time. This is a personal thing, play around with each side in the store. They usually have a ball and sample sticks. For other stick stats, I would recommend a high-flex stick relative to your height, which is represented with a lower number (ie, 67 is a whip compared to 115). A higher flex will allow you to learn to feel the stick and load its power. Once you get comfortable with those mechanics you can move up to a stiffer stick and get more power. A basic p92 curve (p92 is CCM, but each manufacture has an equivalent) is what I'd start with. Its a very balanced curve. The lie will depend on your height.
If you already know how to skate, go put some miles on your skates. If you don't, find a learn to skate program (either private or group) and get taught the basics. fine open skate/gretzky hours and play with the puck on your stick. The learning curve is steep, be warned. There are many things you're going to have to learn to do at once to actually play the game on ice. Skating, stick handling, passing, shooting, etc...all these take time to get right. I would suggest focusing on skating, then stick handling, etc. Its not that you can't do all the other things, but each skill relies on the previous one. There's a lot of these prerequisite skills you'll discover. Don't cheat (too much)!
That should get you started! Happy to answer anything else you may wanna know.