Ice Skaters Among Us!

Anyone else here fans of my newfound love? I picked up a pair of near factory condition CCM hockey skates for mad cheap (40 bucks a pair but I got them free + sharpening). It took me literally 5 minutes to learn how to skate, I just can't hockey stop yet... I'm stuck with snowplowing and...wall slamming!

But let me tell you... EVERYTHING is sore. Everything! I didn't even notice my heart was beating so quickly until I stopped for a second. I think this is my new favorite thing... ever!

I'm gonna learn how to skate real well so I can play hockey.

I love skating.  Used to do it when I was a kid all the time.  But of course as I aged I stopped.  Now I am trying to get back to doing it.  Hopefully today!  I miss the whole feeling of it.

I'm quite lucky to have a park right across from my work that has a free outdoor skating rink in the winter. I go during my lunch break to get in some free cardio time :) I used to play Ringette when i was a kid but hadn't skated in years and it's all coming back! It's so fun and this way I get out of the gym and dodge the new years resolution ppl haha. 

I can tell you from experience, there is no better total body sport than hockey.  It has extreme cardio, and full body motion.  It can't be beat.   Hockey players are the toughest team sport athletes on the planet!!!

Hockey ROCKS!!!  I've been playing for 9 years now on various women's teams and mixed pick-up teams (women's team=league, pick-up teams=I am a hockey junkie who wants to get extra ice-time!).  It is a great workout because you are having fun and not thinking that you are working out.  You just play.  Not like, say, a treadmill where I keep looking at the elapsed time and thinking, ugh, 20 more minutes!!  Quite the contrary with hockey.  I get upset and sad when I am done playing and cannot wait to play again!!  And even just ice skating alone is a great exercise. 

Good luck to you with learning to play hockey!

I LOVE to ice skate!  I don't own my skates (I live in Louisiana...) but there's a rink about an hour and a half from my house and I go about once a year.  It was definitely pretty easy to pick up the basics, but I still don't know how to stop! :)

I just went to my first hockey game on Saturday and I'm in LOVE!  I've seriously never enjoyed any other sporting event more than I did that.  I can totally see where those guys HAVE to be in amazing physical shape.

you should totally play hockey!

It's SO fun, an amazing workout... and like melicious said.. the time just flies!

I play 1-2 times a week, and if it wasn't so darn expensive where I am I would easily double that! Way more fun than the gym ;)

Once you get more comfortable, I highly recommend a power skating class!

Original Post by djkitten:

you should totally play hockey!

It's SO fun, an amazing workout... and like melicious said.. the time just flies!

I play 1-2 times a week, and if it wasn't so darn expensive where I am I would easily double that! Way more fun than the gym ;)

Once you get more comfortable, I highly recommend a power skating class!

I'm definitely going to. Dad's getting me a pair of Hockey inlines too so I can play street hockey in between ice hockey. 7 dollars for like 3 hours of skating here on Saturday evenings. I think he and I are planning to play open hockey together until something else pops up.

Check out your local rink(s) website(s).  Many times rinks offer skills clinics or learn to skate or learn to play hockey clinics.  If you have never played at all before, this may be a safer step before jumping into open hockey.  That is cool that your dad is willing to do this with you!  It is usually more fun when you have someone you know with you. 

Getting inline hockey skates is a super idea, too.  This will increase your skating skills, endurance and stamina while giving you a cheaper alternative to skating on ice, plus you can go when you want and not be restricted by available ice slots.

Keep us posted on your progress!  Yay, another member of the hockey family!!!

Original Post by melicious15:

Check out your local rink(s) website(s).  Many times rinks offer skills clinics or learn to skate or learn to play hockey clinics.  If you have never played at all before, this may be a safer step before jumping into open hockey.  That is cool that your dad is willing to do this with you!  It is usually more fun when you have someone you know with you. 

Getting inline hockey skates is a super idea, too.  This will increase your skating skills, endurance and stamina while giving you a cheaper alternative to skating on ice, plus you can go when you want and not be restricted by available ice slots.

Keep us posted on your progress!  Yay, another member of the hockey family!!!

No problem, I'll keep you posted.

I can't wait until Saturday and Sunday, the only days I can go ice skating at the moment. 14 dollars well spent, I think.

I have played street hockey before as a kid + I know official rules. So I think an open hockey session or two will be enough to jar my memory. Dad has some friends from his previous job who play open hockey locally on Saturday nights, so they'll be more friendly than a group of random strangers I think.

I just honestly do not have the money for skating and hockey lessons so I'm relying on people I i know to teach me. Dad was my little bro's hockey coach for a while and is now my little sister's coach. He is teaching me to skate. :)

getting excited... going ice skating after work again tomorrow. I'm really sore from martial arts but I think my legs will manage. My back may not be so happy if I fall again lol (I work in a warehouse).

I'm going to try and bring my little brother with me (13) to teach me some more stuff and give me a pace to shoot for. If he can't come, I'm just going to skate and skate and skate until I'm better at it. In fact, I might stay from 5 PM to 7PM AND THEN To the 8-10 session, I'm so friggin ballistic excited about skating. I might regret it the next day though... lols.

So, how did it go?  Did you go for the marathon 4 hours of skating?  Just a little idea/tip that I found helped me (maybe you already are doing this, who knows) but I wear roller blading knee pads under my jeans when I am at public skating sessions, especially when I was first learning and improving my skills.  That way, there is less fear of falling and getting hurt, cuz let's face it, ice meeting kneecap is not fun!!  Plus when you take out the pain factor, you are more willing to try more skilled moves and to push yourself farther than you would have.  And when you have full hockey pads/gear on, well, there will really be no stopping you!

What martial arts do you practice?  I've been taking Tae Kwon Do for about a year and a half.  It definitely improved my flexibility and for hockey.

Well, I went after work and my brother and I only lasted an hour and a half... and he's a 13-year old ball of energy! At every turn towards a flat wall, we practiced hockey stopping. Every turn. I couldn't believe just how much more trying to stop and go made me tired than constantly skating like last time. I went from not being able to stop to being able to "kind of" hockey stop (I slide a little and I can't seem to do it to the left like I can to the right)

I do need to pick up some knee pads. I might wear elbow pads too since I seem to hit those when I fall or slam into the boards the most. I kind of want wrist reinforcement, though, but I don't want to look silly being the only padded-up person on the ice.

I just need to decide what I want to buy with this paycheck coming up. I've got my eye on a pair of 10E sized Mission street hockey skates that my dad has left in stock. They're heat moldable too and they already fit like a charm. Otherwise just a simple pair of kneepads doesn't usually cost that much, right? I wanted to pick up a Nike Bauer helmet w/ face cage too and start getting my hockey gear piece by piece (I always wore gear during street hockey. A ball to the face hurts too yanno!)

Also.. Easton Synergy sticks are the bomb. I love the weight of them. Not too heavy but not worryingly light like some composite sticks. I'll have to just play to see what I can use... however starting out, I'd rather drop 24.99 for a CCM stick than 150-200 for a graphite/composite stick :D

As far as martial arts go... Hung Gar kung fu. I went from sedentary and stiff to super flexible.

Go for it! I played Ringette (which is similar to hockey in that it's played on ice) for 13 years, and it is a really fun way to stay in shape. I only had to start worrying about what I was eating after I stopped playing. Skating is an excellent workout, just be aware that the skater's thighs never seem to go away...

Been playing for years - best sport there is. If you have a play-it-again store in your area, you can somtimes find used gear cheap. Granted, hockey is expensive, but well worth it!

Congratulations - and welcome to the world of hockey nuts!

Original Post by rallyon25:

Been playing for years - best sport there is. If you have a play-it-again store in your area, you can somtimes find used gear cheap. Granted, hockey is expensive, but well worth it!

Congratulations - and welcome to the world of hockey nuts!

Funny you should mention that. Play It Again Sports is how I got my skates and is where I do all my sporting good shopping. Mainly because my dad co-owns and operates one with his friend Sean! :) He can always order things I need if he doesn't have them in active stock (IE New Everlast bag gloves) I only go elsewhere for apparrel/Jerseys.

Isn't meant to be a shameless promotion, but I do love my dad's store. PIAS gets a bad rap sometimes. It's really an awesome place.

Original Post by pezzle:

I do need to pick up some knee pads. I might wear elbow pads too since I seem to hit those when I fall or slam into the boards the most. I kind of want wrist reinforcement, though, but I don't want to look silly being the only padded-up person on the ice.

 

 OK, I'll admit that I wear all my roller blading pads while public skating, ie, knee pads, elbow pads and my wrist guards!  I am so used to wearing my hockey gear that I feel 'naked' and vulnerable without them!!   But since most stuff I wear public skating is baggy-ish anyhow, i don't think anyone notices the pads, plus sweatshirt sleeves cover most of my wrist guards.

If you are trying to save money and not buy 2 sets of pads (smaller, recreational roller blading vs. bigger hockey) you probably could get away with wearing hockey shin pads and elbow pads under baggy clothes although it will be a tighter fit.  But a regular ol' set of roller blading pads should be pretty cheap, and you can wear them if you skate in a park or on the street, etc. just for fun.  So they won't be a waste of money.  And yeah, PIAS is a smart way to go when you are just starting out and on a budget, and since you have connections...(dad) better yet!

And I totally agree about sticks...I would LOVE to have a composite stick, but I can't see dropping big bucks on one, so I keep using my good ol' wood-and-whatever SherWood.  I am a goalie and most composite goalie sticks are over $200.

I love ice skating! I have figure skates that I got when I was like 12 (yes my feet have not grown since then, Im 5'2 w. size 6 feet) but I love it, I have 2 ice rinks by me. I deff need to get my skates sharpened though.

I'm not sure if you have a used sports store in your area, but when I first started playing I actually bought a lot of gear on ebay. My first pair of skates, and my gloves and skin pads that I still use now. I saved a bunch of $$ that way.

and you can totally get away with wearing pads while public skating... shin pads and elbow pads can fit under clothes for sure! I learned the hard way going down bad on my kneecaps during a lesson with no pads... stairs hurt for 2 weeks!

So today I ended up popping into my dad's store. I bought my Chest/Shoulder pads, Shin guards, elbow pads, helmet (w/face cage) and pants. He threw in a pair of those awesome socks too. I had a HELL of a time getting Shin guards that would fit me. My calves are and have always been monstrously huge, and not because of fat. Of all things a used pair of Jofa 14"ers ended up fitting me... they reek. I'm trying to erm... disinfect them as we speak.

I have a pair of Hespeler gloves I want to trade in for some Bauer Vapor XXVs. He has a 2-year old pair for 40, but they just aren't as comfortable as the 2008 models (which are about 90). I kind of want the Easton Stealth S7s with the smartcuff alas 13" gloves of that type are nowhere to be found. He has pleeenty of Bauers though, and I do so like a wide cuff.

I also need to get a stick, so I'm gonna stick to laminated wood for now, probably gonna stick with Easton and a Forsberg curve. Can anyone recommend a good stick for street hockey as well? I know that rough lamination on the wood doesn't hold up well on asphault.

ALSO VERY EXCITED: Dad and I are going next Tuesday night at 9:30 for walk-on adult powerskating and stickhandling lessons. yayyy!

Original Post by pezzle:

 Of all things a used pair of Jofa 14"ers ended up fitting me... they reek. I'm trying to erm... disinfect them as we speak.

 

 Febreeze, Febreeze, Febreeze!!!!  Soak the living heck out of them!!  And to help prevent too much of your own funk in your gear, take it all out of the bag when you get home from practicing/playing and lay it out so it can dry.  Bacteria loves wet and dark.  I'm not sure of the price, but some rinks have an onsite gear cleaning machine that disinfects/de-funks gear if you are too grossed out and cannot get the odor out on your own.  Kind of a specialized washing machine of sorts.

And way to go getting all that gear already!  Plus you've gotta be stoked about the lessons!  Woooo Hoooo!!!

Another piece of gear to consider if you didn't already get one: a Jill (female cup).  Often comes as part of shorts with velcro (used in lieu of the old school girdle) to hold your socks up.