Are you interested in playing ice hockey but think that you are too far past your prime? It just isn't so! You can learn to play hockey as long as you are an active healthy adult. Recreational ice hockey is also very tame compared to the NHL. Fighting and checking are big No-Nos in most recreational leagues.
Before you can begin to play ice hockey you need to be comfortable skating at the ice rink. Being able to skate well is the number one requirement to start hockey (in addition to having all of the gear that is). You should be able to skate forward, stop and turn is both directions. Skating with control is more important than skating with speed. Being able to skate backwards will be necessary but not right away.
Learning how to ice skate take time and effort. It is one of the hardest movement skills to learn and it doesn't come naturally. Every ice rink has classes that teach both kids and adults how to ice skate from the absolute novice up to a level that covers all of the basics and a little bit more. If you get really good you can continue on with advanced ice skating classes or work with a private instructor. Practice on your own as much as you can to accelerate your learning speed. If you are an accomplished inline skater, some of your skating skills will convert over to ice skating (starting, turning) and other are totally different (stopping). Get comfortable on your hockey ice skates before moving on to learn hockey.
Now you can skate, but do you have your ice hockey equipment yet? There is a surprising amount of gear that you will need before you can play hockey. Starting from you head you will need an ice hockey helmet, chest protector, elbow pads, hockey gloves, hockey pants, shin guards and ice hockey skate. In addition to the core gear you will also need a bunch of extra items like socks (for on your feet and over your shin guards), a jock or jill, a jersey, mouth guard, etc.
You can skate and you have your gear, are you finally ready to start learning to play ice hockey? Yes, let's jump right in. Hockey is not a "learn by reading" sport, it is very much a "learn by doing" sport so you need to find a learn to play hockey class or a private coach. Check with your local rink or your recreational hockey league for finding classes or an instructor. Practice as much on your own as you can outside of class to really keep your skills progressing.
Parts of your hockey skill set can be learned off the ice and the place to start first is with puck handling. You can get a practice ball of a street hockey puck and work out in your garage or driveway. They even make pucks that work very well on carpet so you can practice while you are watching TV (great for learning not to look at the puck). Set up a simple obstacle course so that you have to move the puck around, under, over and through objects and practice a little every day. Once you start to get the hand of a move try them out at the rink the next time you go.
You need to have a certain amount of determination to get through the steep learning curve to be able to play hockey but it is totally worth it. Like many other sports, golf comes to mind here, there are always things to improve in your skills so hockey should challenge you for a long time. The bottom line is that ice hockey is a great work out and it is a ton of fun to play with all of your new friends.
Before you can begin to play ice hockey you need to be comfortable skating at the ice rink. Being able to skate well is the number one requirement to start hockey (in addition to having all of the gear that is). You should be able to skate forward, stop and turn is both directions. Skating with control is more important than skating with speed. Being able to skate backwards will be necessary but not right away.
Learning how to ice skate take time and effort. It is one of the hardest movement skills to learn and it doesn't come naturally. Every ice rink has classes that teach both kids and adults how to ice skate from the absolute novice up to a level that covers all of the basics and a little bit more. If you get really good you can continue on with advanced ice skating classes or work with a private instructor. Practice on your own as much as you can to accelerate your learning speed. If you are an accomplished inline skater, some of your skating skills will convert over to ice skating (starting, turning) and other are totally different (stopping). Get comfortable on your hockey ice skates before moving on to learn hockey.
Now you can skate, but do you have your ice hockey equipment yet? There is a surprising amount of gear that you will need before you can play hockey. Starting from you head you will need an ice hockey helmet, chest protector, elbow pads, hockey gloves, hockey pants, shin guards and ice hockey skate. In addition to the core gear you will also need a bunch of extra items like socks (for on your feet and over your shin guards), a jock or jill, a jersey, mouth guard, etc.
You can skate and you have your gear, are you finally ready to start learning to play ice hockey? Yes, let's jump right in. Hockey is not a "learn by reading" sport, it is very much a "learn by doing" sport so you need to find a learn to play hockey class or a private coach. Check with your local rink or your recreational hockey league for finding classes or an instructor. Practice as much on your own as you can outside of class to really keep your skills progressing.
Parts of your hockey skill set can be learned off the ice and the place to start first is with puck handling. You can get a practice ball of a street hockey puck and work out in your garage or driveway. They even make pucks that work very well on carpet so you can practice while you are watching TV (great for learning not to look at the puck). Set up a simple obstacle course so that you have to move the puck around, under, over and through objects and practice a little every day. Once you start to get the hand of a move try them out at the rink the next time you go.
You need to have a certain amount of determination to get through the steep learning curve to be able to play hockey but it is totally worth it. Like many other sports, golf comes to mind here, there are always things to improve in your skills so hockey should challenge you for a long time. The bottom line is that ice hockey is a great work out and it is a ton of fun to play with all of your new friends.
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