A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Four

Today was a bit discouraging.  We went to the ice rink, and I found that the new skates I got had crazy arch support that really dug in to my somewhat flat feet- making it really painful to skate- and not having to break them in painful, but can't move painful.  I'm going to send them back and just do rentals until I can get a really good pair of skates- probably in April or May.     On the plus side- I got out there and did it!  The kids really enjoyed skating as well, so maybe we'll make this all a family affair.

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Three.

Hey, hey!  I got my skates!  I'm really excited about this.  I kind of feel locked into this crazy scheme now, and my enthusiasm is still high.  I know the first few times on the ice with these skates is going to be torture though- both to break them in and because of my out of shape-ness.  I have a feeling the first few weeks are going to be the hardest part of getting started.  My ankle is still sore, but I've been to the doctor's and had x-rays, so I know it's nothing more than a bad sprain.  Advil, ice, and elevation- rinse, repeat.   

I've also made something of a decision.  I want to be a Winger- probably a Right Winger.  I'm going to keep an open mind and follow the recommendations of those who will teach me the game, so I may not end up on the wing, but I think I may be suited to it.  I'm a right shot for starters- which according to the stats I've read is a minority of players.  When I was in really good shape, I was not only fast, but explosively so- perfect for breakouts.  I'm also pretty big (or at least wide) and strong for my short stature- probably not big enough to be a defenseman, but big enough to fight in the corners.  Obviously, not having played in a real game, I hope I can see the way play develops from the point in the defensive zone.   And, finally, to revert back to a childhood reason- two of my favorite players ever were Right Wingers- Milan Hejduk and Ian Laperrièr (besides, one of the best 'short and stout' players around- Phil Kessel... right wing.).  I know this is all speculation- I might never be able to skate well enough to play, or I might be better suited to another position, but that's 'the dream'… now to get out onto the ice!

Update- my ankle is as close to feeling normal as it has in 20 days!  My tentative first skate will be Saturday the 25th! 

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Two.

So, not too much progress.  My ankle is still on the mend, so I'm still waiting to buy skates- I think I know what I'm going to get, but have to try a few pair on first.  Being the obsessive I am, I've already sort of planned out the way I'm going to buy equipment, so I'm doing a lot of research about what's available.  After I get the skates, and have skated for a couple of months I'm going to look at sticks and gloves.  Then I'll give it a few more months to see how it all goes, and then start buying a piece of equipment a month or so.  I plan on visiting the local used sports equipment shops for the majority of my gear, but have decided on new gloves, a new helmet and probably new sticks.  Here's the thing though.  I'm short and stout, and will probably end up as a stay at home style defenseman.  I may have the potential to be quick.  I was a sprinter in high school, but that was nearly 30 years ago, and I may never get any speed back.  According to all the research I've done, I'll need a pretty specific blade- slight curve, probably a very slightly open face and a lie of about 4 or 4.5.  All the sticks I've found, though, are for either shit hot forwards or monster defensemen.  Huge curves, open faces and lies for guys who are 6'2" and bigger.  Man... And there's no online selector tool I can find.  You'd think that one of the big hockey equipment sites would have a tool to help narrow down what you should be looking for.  You know.. enter height, weight, level of play, position, type of stick and price... go buy these!  Nope.  There seems to be an in store system that you can use, but nothing online.  I guess I can only hope that when I go to look at skates, I find that they have the stick I'm looking for at the store.  Until then... I have a bunch of thrift store sticks I can mess around with.

A Year in Hockey.... I hope. Part One

This isn't necessarily a geek subject, but if you've seen the pics of the 'record room' you know I've been a huge fan of hockey for a long long time.

On New Year's Day, 2014 I went to Evergreen Lake with Alisha and a bunch of friends.  It was the first time I'd ever been to Evergreen in winter and the first time I'd visited Evergreen Lake.  When the lake is iced over during the winter, the 'swimming pond' is open for public ice skating.  In front of the lake house, the majority of the pond is cleared as a huge rink for all skaters.  To the North of the large rink there are 8 or so smaller rinks, used for pick up hockey.  I used to skate on occasion when I was in college, and my memory was that I wasn't all that bad.  I was excited to get some skates and see if my memory was true.  It wasn't.  Right off the bat, I fell in the slush in front of the rink.  

I would say my skating ability is just below competent.  I made it around the big rink a couple of times and then went into the lake house to sit for a bit.  Eventually I went back out and found that some of my friends had gotten one of the small rinks all to themselves.  I didn't bring a hockey stick with me (I have several, that I've collected from thrift shops over the years, hoping that I'd be able to use them), but got ahold of a spare that a friend had brought.  There were four of us and we just passed the puck around.  It was amazing!  I wasn't really skating around much, because the rental skates I had were pretty uncomfortable, but I still had the most fun.  Until I twisted my ankle.  I limped off the ice, turned in my skates and changed.  Then, I had a couple of beers.  I decided over the first beer to see if I could finally do what I'd been hoping to do for ages, but had just never gotten to-  I decided to start ice skating on a regular basis and, if possible, to play a season in a beer league. 

I am currently waiting impatiently to get a pair of skates.  My ankle is still sore.  There is a large public rink less than a mile from my house, and they not only have public skating, they have an organized recreational league and an 8 week course to learn the game.   I plan on skating as often as possible and then see if I have reached a level of comfort that I think will be necessary to play (ie- not embarrass myself to much), starting next October or so.  Besides, I need to lose weight and get into shape.  I have a long way to go, but I'm really excited to do this!