So far, in my hockey journey, I've dealt with four different
on ice experiences. The first, and the
one that sent me on this 'quest', was pond skating and hockey. I really really want to do that again. The ice was so expansive and the pond hockey
rinks seemed so free of people. I didn't
even mind the cold.
By far, though, I spend most of my ice time at public
skate. Depending on when I go, it can be
less than ideal. Plus you can't bring a
stick on the ice. I've had some really
good experiences at public skate and I've had some pretty awful ones too. I have to admit, the awful ones are usually
because of figure skaters. I'm sure they
are wonderful people, but there have been times when they get really pissed off when someone skates into their preparation for a jump and whatever it is they
do. It makes me want to skate in their
paths on purpose. Besides the fact that
the rules plainly state that - Spins and jumps are prohibited on a public
session- some seem to regard the sessions as their time to practice
routines. Some nights, especially after
learn to skate classes, there is the added fun of tons of people. That used to really annoy me, but now I see
dodging little kids as part of my training.
Finally, it's also really hard to practice certain hockey skating skills
when you can only go one way. You can
get a certain amount of crossover practice in, some backward skating and
stopping, but forget speed stuff, or figure eights around the circles. On quiet nights, I can get an end of the ice
to myself for a little more room, but that's the luck of the draw.
The third type of on ice time I've had is the learn to play
hockey program I just finished. I've
written loads about that and so far it's been the best learning experience I've
had. Everyone is there for the same thing, the
drills are organized and we have the whole sheet of ice for our use.
The fourth type of ice time I've had are stick and puck
sessions. I've been to four of them so
far and they've all been pretty good. They've
varied to being nearly empty and we've had a full quarter of the ice to ourselves,
to being forced into a small zone of ice on the wall. But at least you can get out there with a
stick and do some stuff. The absolute
worst part of stick and puck though, it can be a sort of 'survival of the fittest'. You have to get in early to claim some
territory on the ice, and you have to deal with pucks flying all over the
place. I had fears of better players
chasing newer players off their plots, but that hasn't happened. I took advantage of my DU punch card from the
LtPH class to do a stick and puck this morning.
Since I only had about 30 minutes, I didn't bother with my gear- just
stick, helmet and gloves. I got there
just as they opened and was able to claim a corner of ice. I was just going to do a half hour of stick
handling. There was private coaching
sessions going on at the far end and middle of the ice, so I restricted myself
to one circle in the corner- perfect for what I wanted to do. On the other side of the center line a kid,
who was about 14, had set up a cone course and was running drills by
himself. I practiced my stick handling
in peace and quiet. About 15 minutes
into my time the kid left the ice to do whatever it is 14 year old hockey players do-
he left his cones and pucks on the ice. While
he was gone a trio of siblings came onto the ice. They ranged
from about 8 to 14. One of the girls was
in goalie gear. They skated around a
bit, then congregated around the net, and had a hushed conversation. They then kicked a couple of the kid's pucks
out of the net and moved it. When the
first kid came back, they had words. 'This
is my net! ', 'No one was here, and it
needs to be on the goal crease so I can practice!', 'But I was here first!', 'You weren't here
when we came out!' , 'Who's stuff do you think this is?!?' I'd been on the ice for 25 minutes or so, and
decided it was time to go. The group of
three was soon joined by their father, grandfather and probably an uncle. The kid's dad had made his way to the
ice. I got out of my skates before the
sparks flew. I'm sure it ended well- the
arena had more nets I'm guessing, but that's what stick and puck can become.
What I really need is my own private rink. Kickstarter?
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