|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:After years and years of watching hockey and living in a great hockey city, I've finally decided to take the plunge into learning how to play. There's a rink near me that's run by the city, which offers a ton of classes and ice time for relatively cheap. The extent of my skating ability is "I can skate in a big loop during public skate hours and successfully avoid the deluge of falling children without falling down myself." I enrolled in an adults-only beginner's course, which has 8 weekly lessons, starting at the end of January. All I have right now are skates (Bauer Vapor X400) and I imagine I'll need a helmet and gloves for the lessons, but the entire course description is "This beginner activity is designed to teach the fundamentals of skating for hockey." so it's not very clear what all I'll need. I signed up for a similar program in Detroit, except it's 8 practice sessions followed by 8 games. I'm super excited to get my rear end kicked.
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 22:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 02:42 |
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:After years and years of watching hockey and living in a great hockey city, I've finally decided to take the plunge into learning how to play. There's a rink near me that's run by the city, which offers a ton of classes and ice time for relatively cheap. The extent of my skating ability is "I can skate in a big loop during public skate hours and successfully avoid the deluge of falling children without falling down myself." I enrolled in an adults-only beginner's course, which has 8 weekly lessons, starting at the end of January. All I have right now are skates (Bauer Vapor X400) and I imagine I'll need a helmet and gloves for the lessons, but the entire course description is "This beginner activity is designed to teach the fundamentals of skating for hockey." so it's not very clear what all I'll need. Best to call the rink and ask. I'd imagine something with "hockey" would involve gear at some point.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 22:55
|
|
|
I went through the legs Malkin style this week off the faceoff and scored  -- back dman lined up way too far outside and I had a ton of time, quick tap through the opp center's legs, backhand forehand and pop(and then tried it like every offensive zone draw after that of course while my wingers cursed at me) We lost with a 54-24 shot advantage and I got stoned on a breakaway but it was all worth it
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 22:56
|
|
|
I called the rink up, but no one was at the hockey desk, so I left a message. Lessons don't start for 3 weeks, so I have time to figure it out. I got my skates at Dick's, which offers free sharpening when you buy skates, and told them to sharpen it to 1/2", but in only my second time on the ice with them, it already feels like I'm losing grip with my left skate. Is there any way for me to tell if they didn't sharpen it properly or if the problem is I'm just inexperienced at skating? If a hockey pro shop or the rink sharpened it, I wouldn't question it, but the fact that I got them sharpened at a giant sports superstore makes me think that maybe they don't know what they're doing.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:03
|
|
|
Are you in the Chicago region? If so your best bet for a good cut is going to either be Gunzo's or Jerry's Warehouse. The freestanding stores, not the pro shops attached to the rinks. Once you start socializing at your local rink you should get a feel for whether the attached pro shop does a decent job with sharpenings. If one skate is slipping out from under you but the other is fine, it's probably a bad cut. Odds are if your instructional program involves games you're going to need a full set of gear. If they ask for any usa hockey registration you will 100% need all pads.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:10
|
|
|
xzzy posted:Are you in the Chicago region? If so your best bet for a good cut is going to either be Gunzo's or Jerry's Warehouse. The freestanding stores, not the pro shops attached to the rinks. Once you start socializing at your local rink you should get a feel for whether the attached pro shop does a decent job with sharpenings. The one sentence I posted earlier is literally the entire course description, so it seems like it will be skating focused, without any actual games. I've tried calling and emailing and haven't gotten a direct response yet from the rink, but when I do I'll probably head to Gunzo's to get whatever gear I need and have them give my skates a proper sharpening.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:45
|
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:I've tried calling and emailing and haven't gotten a direct response yet from the rink, Welcome to the rec hockey experience.
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:48
|
|
|
You can never go wrong buying full gear. Worst case you show up for the first class with your bag in your car and end up not needing it. If the plan is to ever play hockey you'll need it anyways so why hold off. Consider it motivation to go to drop-in, where you definitely will need the gear. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 5, 2017 23:57
|
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:I called the rink up, but no one was at the hockey desk, so I left a message. Lessons don't start for 3 weeks, so I have time to figure it out. I got my skates at Dick's, which offers free sharpening when you buy skates, and told them to sharpen it to 1/2", but in only my second time on the ice with them, it already feels like I'm losing grip with my left skate. Is there any way for me to tell if they didn't sharpen it properly or if the problem is I'm just inexperienced at skating? If a hockey pro shop or the rink sharpened it, I wouldn't question it, but the fact that I got them sharpened at a giant sports superstore makes me think that maybe they don't know what they're doing. I'm willing to almost guarantee that it's not a bad cut but new skates (and you don't know how to skate yet) I mean it totally could be. Go by the shop, see if they have a gauge and see if it's level... Or tell them that you got it cut, have only skated twice, and are unhappy and see if they'll fix it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 01:51
|
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:I called the rink up, but no one was at the hockey desk, so I left a message. Lessons don't start for 3 weeks, so I have time to figure it out. I got my skates at Dick's, which offers free sharpening when you buy skates, and told them to sharpen it to 1/2", but in only my second time on the ice with them, it already feels like I'm losing grip with my left skate. Is there any way for me to tell if they didn't sharpen it properly or if the problem is I'm just inexperienced at skating? If a hockey pro shop or the rink sharpened it, I wouldn't question it, but the fact that I got them sharpened at a giant sports superstore makes me think that maybe they don't know what they're doing. It's more likely an imbalance in leg/ankle strength than a hosed up cut. 1/2 inch is pretty common. It'll take a while for you to really get a sense of your edges but the best thing you can do is just go out and practice.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 02:46
|
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:After years and years of watching hockey and living in a great hockey city, I've finally decided to take the plunge into learning how to play. There's a rink near me that's run by the city, which offers a ton of classes and ice time for relatively cheap. The extent of my skating ability is "I can skate in a big loop during public skate hours and successfully avoid the deluge of falling children without falling down myself." I enrolled in an adults-only beginner's course, which has 8 weekly lessons, starting at the end of January. All I have right now are skates (Bauer Vapor X400) and I imagine I'll need a helmet and gloves for the lessons, but the entire course description is "This beginner activity is designed to teach the fundamentals of skating for hockey." so it's not very clear what all I'll need. First of all, congrats. I've seen more people get into hockey as adults and is fun to see people enjoy learning and improving. Chicago has a lot of hockey and places to skate especially if you have a car. I assume you're in the Chicago area based on your sig so I've probably skated at every rink within the city or nearby suburbs. Which rink is putting this on? When I was getting back into ice hockey I did a hockey 102 instructional league at Johnnie's which helped me a ton. The learn to play are the best programs for new skaters. They teach the game and drills will help you improve very quickly. Having a coach for guidance and questions are a huge bonus. You will likely need and want full gear. Anything hockey related is almost always full gear, especially if it's usa hockey affiliated. You will likely fall a lot during skating drills, and falling on ice with just sweats really hurts. Shin guards protect your knees, elbow pads protect your elbows, helmet because duh, and pants protect your hips. Gloves keep your hands from being scraped up. That's basically full gear minus shoulder pads. Go to play it again or gunzos for pads. Gun Gunzos is one of the last great Hockey shops that knows how to cut skates and fit equipment but it's easy to spend a lot there. Play it again will be cheaper because their stuff is obviously used. Mail order stuff is sketchy as you might not know your sizes yet. As a newbie, you can get away with less expensive gloves, shoulder pads, elbow pads and helmet. Invest in decent shin guards and pants. This is where most of your damage/contact/pain will be inflicted. Have fun. If you get to the point of wanting to play in a low level league, I recommend an instructional league with drills and games first but then there's a beginners hockey league that's based out of American heartland arena in Lincolnwood. Lots of instructional league people play in this league.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:08
|
|
|
Jerry's is better than Gunzo's. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:12
|
|
|
Verman posted:First of all, congrats. I've seen more people get into hockey as adults and is fun to see people enjoy learning and improving. Chicago has a lot of hockey and places to skate especially if you have a car. Thanks to everyone for the advice. It's really helping me a lot. I'm taking the course at McFetridge Sports Center. It's like 3 miles from where I live and has a big parking lot. It's also run by the Chicago Park District, which I imagine is why prices are so low. The program only cost me $95 for eight 45-minute sessions and their adults-only public skate that they have every weekday is only $3 for 90 minutes of ice time. Even though I'm sure I could get gear for cheaper online, I'll probably head over to the Gunzo's right by the United Center and get a helmet, gloves, shinguards, elbow pads, and pants all fitted properly. I'll make sure to go for cheap stuff on the upper body and splurge on the pants and shinguards. I'm trying to get an idea of how much this will cost me, but good lord Gunzo's website is a disaster. I'm guessing it'll be somewhere between $200-300? Is there any reason to get a bag specifically for hockey gear or can I just use any big ol' tote bag? xzzy posted:Jerry's is better than Gunzo's. Every Jerry's location is out in the burbs and I don't want to travel that far.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:43
|
|
|
What the poo poo. Our public skate is $12 
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:47
|
|
|
A $500 budget if you already have skates is probably more realistic. Maybe a little less if you buy the absolute cheapest options. You can live without an actual hockey bag but I don't know why you'd try to save money there. You've already decided to play the most expensive sport out there, so suck it up and go all in.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 05:50
|
|
|
Henrik Zetterberg posted:What the poo poo. Our public skate is $12 The all-ages and 13+ public skate is $5, but for some reason the 18+ one is only $3, not that I'm complaining. xzzy posted:You can live without an actual hockey bag but I don't know why you'd try to save money there. You've already decided to play the most expensive sport out there, so suck it up and go all in. It can't be more expensive than rich-people sports like golf, sailing, equestrian, auto-racing, etc. But I mean I could get this bag for under $30 and I don't know how it could be worse at carrying gear than a $100 Bauer bag.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 06:09
|
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:Even though I'm sure I could get gear for cheaper online, I'll probably head over to the Gunzo's right by the United Center and get a helmet, gloves, shinguards, elbow pads, and pants all fitted properly. I'll make sure to go for cheap stuff on the upper body and splurge on the pants and shinguards. I'm trying to get an idea of how much this will cost me, but good lord Gunzo's website is a disaster. I'm guessing it'll be somewhere between $200-300? Is there any reason to get a bag specifically for hockey gear or can I just use any big ol' tote bag? When you go there, looks at the price of the goalie gear and be glad you're not someone putting all that together. Like me. Seriously though, for player gear I've been running literal bottom of the line shoulder pads since I started a few years ago. The only protective equipment I've upgraded has been my elbow pads. My gloves are starting to wear throug a bit, but that's an eventuality. I'd even say that the highest priority gear to get at this point is the shin guards. And get a cage with your helmet. But the $300 part of your estimate is probably about right.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 06:28
|
|
|
One of you spergs give me a quick refresher on OK practice stickhandling options for low-pile carpet or tile/linoleum inside. Wooden ball?
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 06:47
|
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:The all-ages and 13+ public skate is $5, but for some reason the 18+ one is only $3, not that I'm complaining. They have some stuff but that's not THE gunzos that everyone is talking about. The main ones are in the north and west burbs. Look at Jerry's as well. That store by the United center is pretty much just to make money selling blackhawks swag and last minute gear for people playing at Johnnie's. They don't have a ton of stuff especially for adults. They know how to sharpen skates though. I miss that. $300 should be doable, you could always go lower if you find deals or higher if you want nicer stuff. Hopefully you have a sales person who encourages you to try stuff on because things shouldn't be uncomfortable and it's cheaper to only buy gear once.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 09:53
|
|
|
V for Vegans posted:Hey EvilTwig, I don't know if your have pm or not but there's some open slots for the fenway game next week if you wanted to try and snag one of them. How was the Fenway skate? Hope you had fun...
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 13:31
|
|
|
My local stick n puck session has gone from maybe 20 people on the ice at once to around 50. In the UK all the stick n' puck sessions have a coach present, so we did some drills to warm up (i got to touch the puck once in each drill) and then tried to play a game in the last half hour, I got on the ice twice. Fuckers need to cap the amount of people on the ice.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 14:39
|
|
|
dogstile posted:My local stick n puck session has gone from maybe 20 people on the ice at once to around 50. In the UK all the stick n' puck sessions have a coach present, so we did some drills to warm up (i got to touch the puck once in each drill) and then tried to play a game in the last half hour, I got on the ice twice. Fuckers need to cap the amount of people on the ice.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 15:14
|
|
|
Pleads posted:
this ain't canada, you can't just go to the hockey section at your local department store but yeah internet or alternatively take a road trip to STL and hit up Johnny macs, it is probably the best hockey store in america.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 15:17
|
|
|
dogstile posted:My local stick n puck session has gone from maybe 20 people on the ice at once to around 50. In the UK all the stick n' puck sessions have a coach present, so we did some drills to warm up (i got to touch the puck once in each drill) and then tried to play a game in the last half hour, I got on the ice twice. Fuckers need to cap the amount of people on the ice. I started the next "semester" of my instructional class and of course it's January and the first meeting so there's like 40 people. Luckily there are three coaches so it's manageable, but I'm looking forward to when people drop off and the remainders actually know what to do most of the time. But yeah the closing scrimmage was more or less a poo poo show.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 15:41
|
|
|
That's not possible, St. Louis and "best hockey" are two things that should never be said in the same breath.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 15:49
|
|
|
xzzy posted:That's not possible, St. Louis and "best hockey" are two things that should never be said in the same breath. https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/5-st-louisans-selected-in-first-round/c-887281
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 16:08
|
|
|
real_scud posted:Do any of these occur at a time other than 11pm? Yeah, 8:45pm and 9:45pm. They're the only public sessions we get a week unless I want to travel to a different town.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 17:31
|
|
|
Verman posted:They have some stuff but that's not THE gunzos that everyone is talking about. The main ones are in the north and west burbs. Look at Jerry's as well. That store by the United center is pretty much just to make money selling blackhawks swag and last minute gear for people playing at Johnnie's. They don't have a ton of stuff especially for adults. They know how to sharpen skates though. I miss that. Based on recommendations here and other places online, I'll probably make the trek out to Schaumburg and hit up Jerry's for gear. The Rolling Meadows Jerry's is a little bit closer, but the Schaumburg one seems like the biggest with the most knowledgeable staff. The main Gunzo's in River Forest isn't too far away either, but the consensus online appears to be go to Gunzo's for the sharpenings and Jerry's for gear/service. Thanks again everyone for the help!
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 19:21
|
|
|
The Schaumberg Jerry's isn't as impressive as it used to be but it's still pretty legit. It used to be more like a costco.. metal shelves floor to ceiling with gear. But a few years back they cleared out the floor and put in clothes racks so it's more "retail friendly" now. First store I ever went to was the Morton Grove Gunzo's and the staff was pretty dismissive about all my questions. They just wanted to make a sale and get on with the day. They had pretty good inventory though and staff always turns over so maybe it's better now. Never been to either of the downtown Gunzos, but if you're looking for hockey pads aerated by bullet holes I figure they're worth checking out. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 19:32
|
|
|
bewbies posted:this ain't canada, you can't just go to the hockey section at your local department store I may end up in STL for a Blues game this month so maybe I'll convince the roadtrippers to swing by.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 19:47
|
|
|
EvilTwig posted:How was the Fenway skate? Hope you had fun... Oh man, well the ice conditions were terrible because it rained while they were redoing the ice for us so passes skittered wherever they wanted and my legs were shaking from the constant vibration of skating on what seemed like the surface of a basket ball, it felt like skating through molasses. But then you'd get on the bench, drink some water and look up at the backdrop of home plate and look up at all the press boxes and it was all worth it. The rain even turned to snow for the beginning which was a cool playing in a snow globe type feel and by the end of the game we were under the moon and the stars thanks to the rapidly changing weather of New England. All in all it was amazing and I'll definitely try to snag another spot next time they hopefully let us play there.
|
|
#
?
Jan 6, 2017 22:43
|
|
|
Pleads posted:One of you spergs give me a quick refresher on OK practice stickhandling options for low-pile carpet or tile/linoleum inside. Wooden ball? I basically use one of these http://www.hockeymonkey.com/accessories/accessories-puck/training-hockey-pucks/smart-hockey-ac-maxx-training-ball.html Out of stock at Hockey Monkey right now but I think I picked one up for like under $5 at a Pure Hockey near me a few years ago. I use it in my basement and it seems to help my stick handling/passing as it is durable enough to bounce off the concrete walls without damage.
|
|
#
?
Jan 7, 2017 21:18
|
|
|
Just played a team that we should have never played. Lost 32 to zero or something silly. Mercy rule when?
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2017 03:55
|
|
|
Hope you at least trash talked the poo poo out of them.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2017 04:41
|
|
|
I hope they offered to buy you some beers or something
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2017 05:09
|
|
|
A dude on the other team complimented my skating tonight and it legit made my week. I am not a good skater but at least I'm getting better within my bad hockey bubble.
|
|
#
?
Jan 8, 2017 07:55
|
|
|
Played a game tonight with a guy who has to have played juniors. No joke he scored at will, barely turned on his speed and blew past everyone on the ice. Ridiculous speed but his skating, stick handling and shot power were down right jaw dropping. Our goalie said that one of his shots almost took his catching glove off his hand. He had matching gloves/shell/helmet/socks that weren't the color of the team he was playing with. They parked someone in front of the net and he would just snipe their sick blades and get deflected goals. After his hat trick and 2nd assist he started taking it easy, only skating up to the blue line uncontested and firing it on our goalie from the neutral zone. The rest of their team was nothing special. We surprisingly held out to 6-3 loss. Our center also got a penalty for taking a face-off, winning the puck and having the opposing center trip over his stick while the puck was on it. The girl that tripped was 5'0" and maybe 100 lbs and literally fell all game. She drew 3 penalties by being a terrible skater. We've had some weird penalties in the last few games.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2017 09:12
|
|
|
It's always good hockey when the person who went down questions the penalty!
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2017 11:02
|
|
|
Just dropped $500 on gear at Jerry's. I'm officially pot-committed. The sales guy was great helping me go through my options and making sure I tried everything on. It's mostly bottom of the barrel stuff except for the pants, which I splurged for much better padding. I figure my rear end will thank me for forking over a few extra bucks.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2017 19:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 02:42 |
|
|
Kevlar v2.0 posted:I called the rink up, but no one was at the hockey desk, so I left a message. Lessons don't start for 3 weeks, so I have time to figure it out. I got my skates at Dick's, which offers free sharpening when you buy skates, and told them to sharpen it to 1/2", but in only my second time on the ice with them, it already feels like I'm losing grip with my left skate. Is there any way for me to tell if they didn't sharpen it properly or if the problem is I'm just inexperienced at skating? If a hockey pro shop or the rink sharpened it, I wouldn't question it, but the fact that I got them sharpened at a giant sports superstore makes me think that maybe they don't know what they're doing. If you have time, try taking to a pro shop and ask them to check out the edges and make sure they're even. I had a sharpening at a LHS where they hosed the cut up so badly I basically had no inside edge on either skate.
|
|
#
?
Jan 9, 2017 19:15
|
|
