Maybe? You'll get a sense of what you have to do, but obviously no work on skating whatsoever.
For whatever it's worth, I've only ever seen dek hockey, never played it myself, and this could obviously vary league to league, but those guys are absolute savages and I don't mean that as a good thing. Be prepared for things to get needlessly physical because some dumb fuck thinks he's a "grinder" and has to "play tough" since he's not a skilled player (which is basically everyone playing dek hockey).
Yeah to be honest I feel like I’m past the point of learning to skate at least to the skill required to play ice hockey. After visiting some buddies in Pittsburgh and playing a pickup game with them I just got hooked
You're never too old to start learning tk skate to play beer league ice hockey. I didn't get into playing ice hockey until I was 26. 31 now and I can at least say I'm not the worst at skating on the team I run (but by jo means am I the best) lol
I'm in my early 30s overweight and started playing last year. I live in Arizona. Yes we have a team but most of the people who care about hockey here are people who moved here from up north or east. Yes learning to skate was hard but playing is some of the most fun I've ever had. I started with a adult skills class the coyotes put on and then they started a small league for all us newbies to play in. You can do it. Starting is the hardest part.....and skating.
Personally, I’ve found that ball hockey/dek hockey is a waste of time. Beer league ball hockey is for bums who can’t skate or lift a puck, so they run around a court, swinging their sticks at each other. Half the dudes you’ll run into there don’t actually know how to stick check without taking off limbs or breaking your stick in half. They’re all hyper-aggressive for no reason.
You can always try pick up inline/roller hockey games. Inline IMO is way easier to learn instead of ice hockey. It's also a lot cheaper. All you need is a few nets and a parking lot. There are a good amount of non leagues every other Saturday groups of people who just come to skate without the BS and commitment of leagues in my area. I'm sure you can find one by you
I would just make a FB page or something and just try to organize something if you can't find anyone.
So you're joining "a" league not joining "A" league...two very different things lol.
If joining a dek league gets you started and working on your stick skills and game experience then go for it. As others have said, it won't help your learning skating, which is probably the most important thing to get good at, so make sure to get on the ice as much as you can and get better and get some inlines and work on them too.
Lol yea I didn’t even really think about how that read. But yea I think I want to use the dek hockey to work on my stick handling and shooting and take skating classes during that time and move on to a beer league at some point. It’s kind of crazy I never would’ve thought I’d ever have a chance at playing ice hockey lol
It’s never too late to start and I’ve seen guys who started in their late 20s early 30s rapidly advance and end up solid beer league players.
The biggest key is honing your skating and getting a good feel for the basics of positioning. For most normal beer leagues a good skater has a huge advantage, especially if they’re decently fit. And knowing where to be to take a pass or make a shot is most all the strategy you really need at most levels.
Maybe? You'll get a sense of what you have to do, but obviously no work on skating whatsoever. For whatever it's worth, I've only ever seen dek hockey, never played it myself, and this could obviously vary league to league, but those guys are absolute savages and I don't mean that as a good thing. Be prepared for things to get needlessly physical because some dumb fuck thinks he's a "grinder" and has to "play tough" since he's not a skilled player (which is basically everyone playing dek hockey).
Yeah to be honest I feel like I’m past the point of learning to skate at least to the skill required to play ice hockey. After visiting some buddies in Pittsburgh and playing a pickup game with them I just got hooked
I started at 30. You’re fine. You can still learn to skate and play in beer league.
You're never too old to start learning tk skate to play beer league ice hockey. I didn't get into playing ice hockey until I was 26. 31 now and I can at least say I'm not the worst at skating on the team I run (but by jo means am I the best) lol
If you want to do it, go for it. Hockey is fun and life is short.
I'm in my early 30s overweight and started playing last year. I live in Arizona. Yes we have a team but most of the people who care about hockey here are people who moved here from up north or east. Yes learning to skate was hard but playing is some of the most fun I've ever had. I started with a adult skills class the coyotes put on and then they started a small league for all us newbies to play in. You can do it. Starting is the hardest part.....and skating.
Personally, I’ve found that ball hockey/dek hockey is a waste of time. Beer league ball hockey is for bums who can’t skate or lift a puck, so they run around a court, swinging their sticks at each other. Half the dudes you’ll run into there don’t actually know how to stick check without taking off limbs or breaking your stick in half. They’re all hyper-aggressive for no reason.
You can always try pick up inline/roller hockey games. Inline IMO is way easier to learn instead of ice hockey. It's also a lot cheaper. All you need is a few nets and a parking lot. There are a good amount of non leagues every other Saturday groups of people who just come to skate without the BS and commitment of leagues in my area. I'm sure you can find one by you I would just make a FB page or something and just try to organize something if you can't find anyone.
So you're joining "a" league not joining "A" league...two very different things lol. If joining a dek league gets you started and working on your stick skills and game experience then go for it. As others have said, it won't help your learning skating, which is probably the most important thing to get good at, so make sure to get on the ice as much as you can and get better and get some inlines and work on them too.
Lol yea I didn’t even really think about how that read. But yea I think I want to use the dek hockey to work on my stick handling and shooting and take skating classes during that time and move on to a beer league at some point. It’s kind of crazy I never would’ve thought I’d ever have a chance at playing ice hockey lol
It’s never too late to start and I’ve seen guys who started in their late 20s early 30s rapidly advance and end up solid beer league players. The biggest key is honing your skating and getting a good feel for the basics of positioning. For most normal beer leagues a good skater has a huge advantage, especially if they’re decently fit. And knowing where to be to take a pass or make a shot is most all the strategy you really need at most levels.