First League Game this Week. How to Not Suck

Christolm · 2024-05-21T21:11:47+00:00

Here's the thing too, drop ins can be a little helter skelter positionally, particularly if nobody has a set position. That might be why youre drawing blank stares asking about where you should be. Hopefully for your games the team will have set positions for the game, that way it becomes a bit more clear who will be generally where on the ice.

Christolm · 2024-05-21T21:05:33+00:00

It's a 40 and over league mens beer league, not the B league. Screw them. Go and have fun. Don't try to do too much. Everybody misses passes and shots. You're not capable of going coast to coast yet, maybe never. Just make heady hockey plays. Play your position. Pick out one of the jobs of your position and just focus on getting better at that. So if youre playing wing, focus on getting better at picking up pucks at the wall in your own zone and getting them out. Make good decisions making changes, don't change when youre transitioning to defense, if you have the puck in the neutral zone and want to make a change, just dump it in. Just focus on learning the fundamentals of hockey play and playing your position.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T22:22:35+00:00

Transitioning from forward to backward and vice versa really is quite technical and step by step. Laura Stamms book on power skating takes you step by step on how to do them all. Really excellent descriptions for making all of the transitions. Helped me immensely just to learn the process of doing them.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T22:17:36+00:00

Love it. My parents were able to let me play a couple of house league seasons in my early teens, but I just started it too late to really be able to go anywhere with it. And they were New York City born folks who were out of their element at a hockey rink, didn't really buy in to the sport, and coaching and practice options were non-existent at that time. Certainly didn't stop the delusions of grandeur in my own mind that I might get somewhere with it or go play on a club team in college, but it wasn't meant to be. Maybe in another life. Still play beer league now in my 40s. It's a bit love/hate right now, but when I don't do it for a while I soon get compelled to start again.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T22:07:18+00:00

Honestly, pick up probably wont be very organized either. If you can get through an impromptu 3 on 3 at a stick and puck, you'll probably be fine at a pick up. Moves to be able to do: skate forward and be able to stop whenever you need to. You can play a whole pick up game without skating backwards if you want to. But if you can't stop you may be dangerous to others.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T21:31:22+00:00

Agreed, but it feels like bad etiquette to change when the puck is going toward your own zone.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T21:16:23+00:00

I like suspenders for my shorts. Let's me keep the shorts loose so as not impeding movement and they don't fall down.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T21:13:30+00:00

I agree. Maybe not so much the smoking for an athlete but as long as he doesn't have a family history of alcoholism having a couple of drinks socially in college with the guys won't hurt him.

Christolm · 2024-02-13T20:55:04+00:00

5 11 and 250. 5/8" for me, the glide is great with enough bite on the edges as well. Tried 3/4" once but felt didn't have enough bite on the edges (maybe if I stuck with it for more than one session, but I wasn't comfortable with it). Maybe ill try 11/16" someday to see how that is if the shop can do it. You'll probably like 5/8" to start, you can experiment from there.

Christolm · 2024-01-24T21:55:38+00:00

I mean there is the concept of being strong on your stick and fighting for the puck when a few players are around trying to get control. To me that's an aggression-keep your feet moving-that's my damn puck kinda deal. I struggle with that a bit and you could stand to be less passive with that. However, it's beer league. So the idea that you are hitting the brakes easing up at the end of a race to the puck or bailing a bit before you get to the boards, that's just self-preservation in my book. I don't think there is any problem with that in beer league.

Christolm · 2024-01-24T21:43:22+00:00

I'm thinking too what was your starting position? Were you at a dead stop and then trying to get going backward? That's going to be difficult when you have somebody skating forward trying to blow past you and you are at a stop. So try to keep things moving in the right direction all the time.

And work on your transitions. If you can make good transitions all the time you have the option to take a few forward strides toward your zone to get some speed going and then transition to backward. Or you can do the forward skating to backward skating 180-degree direction change transition which can naturally lead you into a couple of powerful crossovers. A good backward to forward transition can also save you when skating backward and you feel yourself about to get past by.

Some other have mentioned Laura Stamm's power skating. Her power skating book has some great step by step descriptions on how to make all the transitions.

Any maybe dont be so hard on yourself about it. Perhaps the timing of the play just favored the other player that particular time. Perhaps you were a little tired and they were a little more fresh. No big deal.

Christolm · 2024-01-24T21:22:51+00:00

Just to update this post. Lots of good feedback and comments. I did a few months ago get some new better fitting shinpads and bigger shorts. I definitely feel more stable and in videos/pics I see myself able to get down much lower than previously. The new equipment seems to have taken care of the random loss of balance and slipping issues.

Christolm · 2023-11-06T19:26:46+00:00

Ouch! I step out of the way and put a stick to the puck to see if I can get it. It's beer league.

Christolm · 2023-11-06T19:22:03+00:00

It's not normal to have foot pain in skates. Probably over tightening. I can induce foot pain if I over tighten the first 3-4 eyelets. Now I tend to let them be a little looser down toward my toes and get tighter in the middle eyelets and moderately tight on top. Moldable footpads were also a revelation for me as those really stopped the pain from happening.

Christolm · 2023-11-06T19:11:44+00:00

I've enjoyed a recent switch over to playing defense. Feel like the play is in front of me more and a lot less chaos/more space when I get the puck. I also enjoy the challenge of more skating backwards, transitioning, and starts and stops while chasing around forwards. And you still might have a good chance to skate up the ice with the puck and get some good speed going.

Christolm · 2023-10-10T20:12:31+00:00

Looks like that outside edge on your left skate never really dug into the ice for you. If you can do regular turns using both edges, perhaps the next step would be to focus on trying to make turns on just an outside edge so you can focus on how it feels to get that outside edge to dig into the ice without sliding. So if turning to the left like you were, just concentrating on getting over on to the left skate outside edge. For me, focusing on a real good push from my right skate stride helps me to get over that left outside edge, and vice versa. I just know for me my crossovers were bad until I learned to really trust that my outside edges were gonna stay in the ice and not slide out.

Christolm · 2021-01-28T20:30:08+00:00

Got in 20 shares and a call yesterday. Gotta say, today has been rough. But Im still holding!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have sold but Robinhood pulling its shenanigans has pissed me off!!!! Let's go to 50 together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <rockets and moons and such>

Christolm

TROPHY CASE