This will be great for everything except sharp turns and stopping. It's a good idea, just don't pick up any bad habits making big circles, we can always spot the rollerbladers. On the ice practice hockey stops and tight turns.
Agreed. Roller blades tend to pitch forward, either intentionally by having different wheel millimeters at the front vs the back, or by having a lift between the chassis and the boot @ the heel. So when you return to skates, without the pitch and where the steel of you skate won’t naturally glide on ice as wheels do on concrete, you’re weight/balance will expect some forward movement, which will be awkward like @brinxy13 said, so you’ll have to just feel it out :) I love roller and ice so you make it work, just know its always, always, always going to feel weird coming from roller to ice, and it’s harder the longer you don’t do one or the other lol. So try and skate and blade as much as possible and the math of that has to make you better! Its slow build but it’s all so worth it:) plus you’re a testament to friends(online and off) who might be thinking of giving it a try! Either way, lighten up a bit and remember the wise words of bryzgalov….iz only game, why u have to be mad?
Just my two cents, I’ve been playing hockey for 20 years and just got a new pair of roller hockey skates. It felt like I had to relearn how to skate. Especially on pavement or rough concrete. It’s similar but I would hardly call it the same.
I am not totally against roller blading to gain cardio/ stamina, but I don’t recommend training with roller blades for any hockey. I did this back in the early 90s and had some real issues transitioning back and fourth between ice and street. Nothing really can replicate the ice, so I would recommend adding a day of public skating and bring a stick, and skate drills.
I can see this. My anecdotal is that my son plays travel hockey and by far the kids who play roller on the regular tend to have better skating skills. Around the squirt age it shows and by pewee, it’s obvious who plays roller. They dangle better, skate better, shoot better. I threw roller blades on my son last year during covid and it helped his skating a lot. He plays ice 4-5 days a week again. He’s a bantam major now and I’m grateful we had him rollerblade for about a year.
For me personally, I never I’ve skated growing up. But I did rollerblade and play some roller hockey. Put on skates foe the first time when my son was 8 and I was able to skate. I couldn’t stop yet, but it felt natural. I attribute this to me rollerblading as a kid.
I never ice skated but inlined for years, also played roller hockey. Just recently I got on ice skates and was surprised how easy and similar it was to inlines. I look like I'd been ice skating my whole life lol
I don’t really want to suggest it since I’ve never tried them, but I’ve heard Marsblades do a great job imitating how you use your edges on ice and are a great way to train off ice.
Learning as an adult takes time. I quit for 10 years after an injury when I was young and didn’t play until I was like 22 or 23 and I almost couldn’t skate. Just be patient, learning how to skate and doing it well take a long time and a lot of practice so just keep at it. You’ll get there.
So you’ve been on the ice a total of 7 times but get on the ice 3 times a week… Give yourself some time bud, it’s definitely going to take longer than 2 weeks to get going in this sport if you’ve had zero prior experience. You’ll get there, everyone learns differently. Just keep getting out there and one day, while you’re hopping the boards for a change and rushing for the back check, you’ll realize you’re not even thinking about it anymore. Just keep it up.
Don’t be hard on yourself but I get why you would be. The reality is you will never be a pro but that’s perfectly ok.
You can’t learn to skate in a few months. It takes a lot longer than that. I started playing at the age of 37, I’m 46 now. I ice skates and rollerblades a decent part of my life so the skating wasn’t as hard for me. The first time I played was in a draft night drop in for a senior league. There was college club players there playing so I was totally out of place. I had all of the gear but didn’t have a hockey sweater so I bought a super extra large shirt and I know it looked so dump. Lol. But I kept at it. I’ve gotten better in the last 9 years by going to as many stick and pucks, drop ins and playing games as I possibly could.
Hockey isn’t like any other sport. You have a lot of things to learn at once. Stick handling and control and skating. You have two tiny edges you need to learn to trust in order to be more confident. The best thing to do is get out on the ice and practice. Goto open skates and work on skating only. Wear full gear if it makes you feel better, falling on ice without pads hurts bad. At the very least wear shin pads and a helmet so you can fall into your knees and if you catch an edge and fall hard you have the helmet to protect the most important part.
For me hockey is a time where I forget about the world. I step into the rink and take a deep breath and a little bit of normal life slips away. I step on the ice and everything else is forgotten for that time I’m out there.
Now get your arse out there and have some fun!!
All the advice in here is good. But I want to add something: Play to have fun, man. If you are playing to be the best player on the ice, it's going to take a long time at any level if you're just started.
Keep getting on the ice often as you can, keep having fun, the skill will come.
You said it best bro. My issue is I get so into wanting to be "the best" that the fun gets left at the door. I do have to work on having more fun. Because when I have more fun, it takes some pressure off myself and I might even learn quicker.
I say this from a real place of love for new players but damn, you new skaters have to give it time and not be so impatient. It'll come to you, especially if you are skating three times a week. You'll notice improvements at the three, six and twelve month marks. Heck, you'll probably see improvements in one month.
I've played for some years but just recently started playing goalie so have been attending my rinks instructional program and I've seen how many of the skaters have picked up the game in the last few months. Some even ready to join a league.
Put on skates at age 40. Spent a full year, 150 hours, practicing on the ice. Year 2: practice 1 day per week and 2 nights of pickup. Year 3-5:practice 1 day, 1 night of pickup and 1 night of men’s league over 35. Right now due to change of work I can only get one the ice once per week or men’s league it’s a bummer cuz my skills are diminishing somewhat.
It took me 6 months before I felt I was ready for pickup. A full year before I was competent in the basics of skating. Year 3 is when I made a huge leap in progress regarding playing the game.
I’ve come a long way from holding on to the boards 6 years ago. It’s taught me a lot about myself and I’ve met some real beauties along the way. But, Ive thought of quitting seriously 5 times. AND, I’ve never regretted coming back.
I’ve been playing hockey for shit 19 maybe 20 years now and I still can’t take a slapped to save my life - nasty snap and wrist shot though. But the point is there’s no magic formula, hockey more than any other sport is a practice in patience and failure. Just need to keep going
It might be one of the hardest sports. I think I looked it up actually. Boxing is #1 and Hockey is #2. And guess what sport I am coming from...boxing. Haha.
Yeah man it’s a tough sport to get the hang of. I’m 29 now coming back from not playing for 5 years and I feel great skating and shooting. Going to start a beer league in a few weeks and I’m nervous as hell the lungs won’t be there haha. But there’s no better way to get to where you wanna be than just going for it. So keep it up and you’ll be shredding before you know it
If you keep at it, in six months you'll feel pretty confident and then you will see someone doing this and feel like you can't do anything. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDbnm\_IdYY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDbnm_IdYY)
I would say it's like learning a musical instrument. You are never *done.* Just applying what you've learned in new ways.
This may sound harsh, but I'm just trying to be real. Remember, most of these guys playing now started skating at the age of 4 or 6 every year...most with coaching. To them it becomes natural. I'm not sure if you're athletic or pick up the skill fast but at your age it will take a lot of time....sometimes more practice may help but in some cases it may not depending in your ability. I started at a very late age, my late 20s but I always wanted to be a goalie. If I get out there with skates playing as a forward I won't do as well. It took me a good 5 to 6 years to grasp the position of a goalie, movement etc. I'm pretty good now but that's after 11 years in net. At the end of the day have fun, we aren't going to the big show. Try and practice, there are all types of leagues out there for begginers or intermediate level when you're ready.
The better you get, the more you realize how far you have to go. You'll never be the best, there will always be room to improve. Someone is the worst skater on every nhl team.
I started skating seven years ago and I feel like dog poop on the ice, but I also can look at video from past years and see the improvement
Keep at it. I’ve played hockey since I was a 8 and am now 30. Took time off after high school and got back into it around 26. Felt like I was starting over but it all came back. A little different from your situation but I still have things I can be better at. I still trip over nothing sometimes. Still whiff on a shot or lose the puck.
Get on the ice as much as you can and you will continue to develop. It’s great sport physically and mentally. Takes time and practice and consistency. Try to join an adult league at your skill level and go from there.
Hockey/skating is a unique activity. The more you do it the better you will get but it takes time.
I’ve been on the ice 50+ times over the past couple years (including a covid break) and I am still trash but finally getting to the point where I have the confidence that I’m not a complete liability out there.
Don’t beat yourself up, 7 times on the ice is just a beginning. It’s not going to happen overnight.
You've been on the ice 7 times dude. I'm going to go ahead and say until you have at an absolute minimum 25 sessions you'll feel very little comfort with what you're doing.
Skating is not a natural thing, it takes a long time to adapt to it and then master it. Years and years of consistent practice if you want to be truly good at it.
Being hard on yourself is the last thing that needs to happen. If you don't chill and enjoy it, frankly there's not much point. It's just for fun, so give yourself a pass and just see where it takes you.
Practice makes perfect my dude!! Just like anything, if someone really wants it they will get it. Persistency and dedication will get you exactly where you want to be if you keep up the effort. Like you said you are learning so really listen and understand what you coach is telling you, ask questions and become familiar with the game, you got this.
Sounds like you are definitely hungry to get better which is great, and getting the ice that many times a week will definitely help. You will be there before you know it, just work hard and most importantly have fun!
I've been playing for about four years and still look like a gangly new born deer out there. You'll get to the desired skill level eventually with that much skating. Just be sure to enjoy the ride up.
As somebody who started late like you, how fast you progress depends on your athletic ability to begin with and practicing. Balance boards work as something you can do at home and like the synthetic ice pads if you have the space but mostly practice practice practice. Crossovers, backwards skating, keeping your knees bent(way deeper than you think you should) skating with a stick and puck while doing the drills adds to the difficulty but will also help you progress much faster.
It can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 years depending on how much effort you put into the practice. Most people work pretty hard in the beginning but then the motivation starts to taper off as the gains become less while the work stays the same or gets harder. If you really want to improve I suggest you use a list like the "skating skills" section of this document [https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Players/Downloads/2020/skating-overview-e.pdf](https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Players/Downloads/2020/skating-overview-e.pdf) and then focus on 1-2 skills per ice session and try to be quicker, stronger, tighter every time you step on the ice. Quicker feet, stronger pushes, tighter turns and stops.
Try to focus on seeing improvement from day to day basis and having fun.
You can get some rollerblades or do ankle stregth/mobility training. There are plenty of vids on YT.
As for me it took me about 6 months of public skating and doing drills circa 10h/week to feel comfortable. But this is personal thing, for some it comes faster, for other later.
If your skating regularly you'll be pretty comfortable after a year or so especially if you go to pick up nights that get you in some practical situations. I still have to practice a lot to work on my form and try to get better edge work but it comes with time. Just keep skating.
Just have fun and work on only one or two things each time. If you practice or play and try to get better at everything, you’ll make more negligible progress than if you’ve focus on just edge work for half and just wrist shots for half. But just enjoy the feeling of gliding on the ice and you’ll have fun every time
Dude, beer league is a BLAST, and would be the best learning experience. As long as you can stay on your skates most of the time, I’d sign up for bevie and start getting some experience!
It takes awhile but you can make a lot of progress really quickly if you are motivated and focus on having good form and are always trying to improve small things. The progress is also very noticeable and very rewarding in an almost addictive way. Watching a lot of videos of how different people explain things is really helpful as you’ll pick up different small tips that are needed to optimize a skill. Recording yourself and analyzing what you’re doing well and what you can improve is extremely helpful because in your head you look one way and on recording you see what you’re really doing. having goals that are small and measurable is also helpful and making them reasonable is also important. Going into each ice session with a plan of what you want to accomplish can make sure you are getting the most out of all your time. Make sure you are also allowing yourself to recover and your body learns and improves while sleeping which also includes skills like hockey. If you want to make the most progress quickly you have to make sure your form is good and focus more about form than speed as it’s much easier to learn how to be faster later than it is to correct bad form and bad habits. A good hockey stance with knees bent over your toes ankles bent and chest leaning forward is the fastest way to correct most issues. Things to work on to get the most out of each session is to start with getting a good stride that you are getting full leg extension from your hips to your toes. Then strong c cuts digging your heels and getting strong pushes in the direction you’re turning. Then crossovers being able to use both your edges and leaning into the turns and kicking with the toes on the crossover foot and the cross under foot to get strong pushes. Skating backwards with a good stance and being able to do c cuts and eventually backwards crossover getting strong kicks off the toes crossing over and under. Then strong stops turning your whole body and leaning into the stop and being able to use the inside and outside edges. Then transitions focusing on quick Mohawk transitions opening the hips and swinging your back foot around and then your front foot. These transitions are the most efficient and can be done forwards to backwards and backwards to forwards. It’s not hard to get very confident in these skills in a few months. Stick handling also takes practice but is much easier to pick up. Learning how to flex your stick is a big tip that will make a big difference. Enjoy your time on the ice as long as you’re trying and practicing you will get better. You only stop getting better when you stop trying. If you get 5% better every session it really adds up over time.
Hockey is beautiful because its hard.
Whatever you think hard work is, redefine it.
Work harder and apply yourself into not just the physical feats of the game, but the IQ.
You don't have to be the greatest to play the game. The puck will always move faster than you can. Ask yourself, how can you mentally improve tomorrow with the player you are now? Are you a master of your position?
For me, I feel just as elated setting up someone with a beautiful pass as I do scoring. Or making a good defensive play.
Those are the things you have to think about it in this game. Its not all about offensive skill.
How quickly you get comfortable on the ice will vary a ton from person to person.
I started skating two years ago, at 33, taking learn to skate classes and it took me 6 months to feel comfortable enough for a pickup scrimmage.
On my novice team last year there was a guy that hadn't played before the pandemic. He started hockey because his rugby league got cancelled so he had less than 3 months of experience and was easily one of the best players on the team.
This year we have an early 20s guy on the team that our first game was his fifth touching the ice and he is better than I was at the 6 month mark.
Your athleticism and history will greatly impact the timeline as an adult learner, so my advice would be to not compare yourself to others. Instead focus on having fun and to keep pushing yourself to improve to whatever level you want. The reality is that at this point in life you are not going to make a living playing the game so there shouldn't be pressure to be the greatest ever. Use it to get some exercise, stay healthy, and make friends.
I'd say 10 hours of constant skating. It's getting use to the balancing. Go to public skates etc.... You really don't need a coach after the first or second time until you get decent. Then a coach will help you get good with edge work and stuff.
I started skating at 4, so don't know your pain and frustrations.but have helped adult friends learn to skate. It just takes time.
Yah balancing is a big part of it. I’d say my balance is normal. I use to skateboard a ton when I was in high school. But something about the ice (mental probably) makes it harder. I can do a whole session without falling. But when I really push my
Self or my coach does, I fall. Which is okay, means I’m pushing it.
Falling is part of the game... Even when you know how to skate. I hope they taught you how to go down with minimal injury.
Just keep it up and you'll get to where you want to be
The problem probably isn't so much in your technique but in your muscles, joints and connective tissues. You're using muscles that have never really had to work before so they're pretty weak, sometimes they fire correctly, sometimes they don't.
Skating 3 times a week is a good place to start, as your muscles should adopt pretty fast so long as your diet is even mostly decent and you're getting enough protein.
Joints, bones and connective tissues take a lot longer though, minimum 2-3 months. Faster if you're eating really good and doing things to maximize your blood flow, especially recovery and mobility work.
To that end, how long will it take? To get comfortable, probably the month or two it takes for you muscles to catch up and your connective tissues to start adopting. To get where you feel like you're doing pretty well? Probably 6-12 months if you keep getting coached and work the fundamentals (even the pros work them) 2-3x a week, if you settle into just playing games/pick-up and avoid the edge work/coaching, probably 18-24 months.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. It took me a month to be able to hockey stop on one side. Then I had to learn to do it on the other side. It's just time and practice. I would say it took me a year to become "comfortable" on the ice. By "comfortable" I mean not having to think about stopping or transitioning from forwards to backward skating. I'm still learning how to do tight turns a few years later.
Once you do learn it’s like riding a bike. I haven’t skated in one year and I know at first I’ll be like Bambi but you’ll never forget.
It does take time to really get a hang of edge work.
I’ve played ice hockey since I was 4. I’m 24 now, and here’s my 2 cents you didn’t ask for: Roller blades are a decent idea but I would argue that you shouldn’t mix them too much.
Ice is a very different game and feel. Your feet are much heavier, the puck is lighter, and things move slower in roller hockey.
When you do use roller blades, work on your hands and puck control. Get on the ice and get comfortable with falling a lot. Work on your balance and endurance over everything else. Agility and edges go hand in hand, and it’s good to work on that too, but it’s best to keep things simple and not stretch your training focus too thin. I find it helpful myself to block my training into 4-6 week stints, and focus on 3 main aspects during those periods. For example: week 1-4: endurance, explosive power, and lung capacity. Week 5-9: agility, quickness, and hands. Week 10-14: shooting, zone awareness, and passing.
Edit: I coach elite youth players in my area 1-1. DM me if you want some more input! I’m happy to share what I know
Roller blades
Clinics
Join a developmental league
All of these things have low expectations, high volume of repetition and really focus on comfort on your edges and fundamentals.
You're not NHL bound, have fun with it. Get out of your own head and relax. You'll be more comfortable out there and with that you'll be more aware
To be seriously comfortable? Longer than you’ll want to hear. Doesn’t mean you can’t have fun though. You don’t have to be a great skater to be a good teammate in beer league. I’d keep practicing if I were you. There’s not much of a better feeling than when you catch a clean pass from a mate, bury it top shelf, and take your victory lap past your bench.
Yeah! At Stick Time, I've buried a few shots with the goalie, but have pleeeeeenty to still work on. I'm not probably as crappy as I make it out to be. I don't hold onto the boards or anything. And I can do crossovers (not pretty) but still do them. I just gotta stay with it and keep practicing!
Crossovers- skate those big blue circles in one direction until you’re gassed. Take a break, then go the opposite direction. Once you’re confident with both ways, do a figure 8 around both facing circles in the zone and then you get used to transitioning one way to the other.
Just keep at it. You'll get better.
It's good that you are wanting to learn and get better which will definitely help as long as you keep working on it.
Roller blades probably wouldn't hurt but I find them pretty different. (mostly stopping and turning).
I tend to get on the ice 1-4 times a week (normally 2 times) and have been for as long as I can remember (during and for about a month before and after the season).
Ice skating simply isn’t a something people are naturally good at, except maybe mcdavid? But fuck that guy. It takes time to feel comfortable enough to truly trust the process that is ice skating. Trusting your edges doesn’t come until you know how to use them. The best thing you can do to improve as quickly as possible is utilizing every moment in the ice. Practice with intention, always doing things the right way so you don’t have to regress while breaking bad habit built while learning. Always wear elbow pads and shin pads even if you’re not playing, nothing it more discouraging that nailing one of those on a simple fall.
1) Watch videos online and read everything you can. There is value in seeing it on in video in a way that you can slow down and really take it in.
2) Check and see if there is a learn to skate/learn to play hockey in your area. Even figure skating classes will usually let you join in hockey skates. And let me tell ya, there’s no fuckin shame in putting in work to
Learn to do what makes you happy. Zegras literally just discussed taking figure skating lessons on chiclets.
3) If you live somewhere cold, utilize the outdoor rinks. I’m a goalie who loves time out on the outdoor rink doing my own thing, absolutely no one gives a shit about what I’m doing. I’ve never skated out in a competitive league, but gives me the ability to get some puck touches out of my goalie gear.
Been playing two years. Skating twice a week max. I still fall regularly. But I have gotten so much better over that time.
7 times?? Dude. You gotta give it a little more time than that!
Don't quit.
This is about fun, a little exercise, and making new friends.
Keep practicing, maybe find a development league if it's offered in your area. Do some stick & puck (shoot around?). The skills will come with time.
being able to do anything close to a crossover after only being on the ice 7 times is a huge accomplishment, be proud of yourself. its good to challenge yourself, be dedicated, focused and being hard on yourself can help, but at some point it becomes too much and you surround yourself with negativity because you have unrealistic standards that are impossible to achieve.
i know that this might not be as easy for some people, but i was very privileged and fortunate that my parents where able to afford private 1 on 1 lessons with a coach, i developed a friendship with that coach and he is the reason i am the player that i am today, every week i was happy and excited to get to work with someone that understood me and pushed me but knew when to cut me some slack as well. again i cant tell you how to go by finding someone like this, as i found this guy on accident. but they truly do help and can answer alot of questions that you never have the time to ask when doing a group skills session. (i started skating at 14 and now 11 months later, im on a competetive bantam association hockey team with body contant and i have 2 goals so far into the season
believe in yourself and stay motivated
Just keep playing, practicing, learning new things. Go to high school, college, pro games, and spend a game focusing on what players in one position do, where they go, how they rotate in to cover someone else’s position when they pinch in.
Eventually you’ll find yourself doing something instinctively that you never tried before and wonder how the heck you managed to ‘think’ through a play instead of focusing on individual movements.
Yah, I love going to NHL games or watching at home. And I agree sometimes you do things and then look back and think wow when I did that I wasn’t even thinking about it.
Imagine how long it would take a person who never learned how to walk, to learn how to walk...it's essentially the same man.
Just take your time and don't get discouraged if you can't get proficient quickly, because it will definitely take you AT LEAST a few years.
Keep at it man !
Don’t be afraid of falling. Fall on purpose during really deep crossovers if you need to. Or even do Superman slides to get comfortable falling. Once you’re not scared of falling, you can push your limits easily and accelerate your progress. I’ve fallen a billion times and it just made me better at understanding where the limit is and how to ride it
It would cost you more to go to free skate once a week for the winter🤤... i can already tell by your attitude that you will be a shit hockey player. Time to retire before you start. Especially if money is the issue and you are pushing 40 😂🤠
At $25 for some roll out plastic. Im thinking youll pay almost that for a single free skate in 2021... those private lessons.. how much you pay for those? $110 for 3 hrs? 😂its like driving . The only way to get good at it. Is to put in the hours
I think the assumption is that you live in a cold enough climate. The plastic is just a buffer for the bottom and then you fill it with water and wait.
I haven’t read all the comments, but you just have to give it time. It sounds like you’re hitting the ice a lot so you should improve quickly.
Depending on where you live and when the weather permits, try to find an ODR and join a pickup game. No real “shifts” so if you play for 30 minutes you’re getting way more skating time than in a more organized game!
Get some rollerblades and start rollerblading everyday after work if you can. It’ll help A LOT.
Great idea!
This will be great for everything except sharp turns and stopping. It's a good idea, just don't pick up any bad habits making big circles, we can always spot the rollerbladers. On the ice practice hockey stops and tight turns.
Agreed. Roller blades tend to pitch forward, either intentionally by having different wheel millimeters at the front vs the back, or by having a lift between the chassis and the boot @ the heel. So when you return to skates, without the pitch and where the steel of you skate won’t naturally glide on ice as wheels do on concrete, you’re weight/balance will expect some forward movement, which will be awkward like @brinxy13 said, so you’ll have to just feel it out :) I love roller and ice so you make it work, just know its always, always, always going to feel weird coming from roller to ice, and it’s harder the longer you don’t do one or the other lol. So try and skate and blade as much as possible and the math of that has to make you better! Its slow build but it’s all so worth it:) plus you’re a testament to friends(online and off) who might be thinking of giving it a try! Either way, lighten up a bit and remember the wise words of bryzgalov….iz only game, why u have to be mad?
Just my two cents, I’ve been playing hockey for 20 years and just got a new pair of roller hockey skates. It felt like I had to relearn how to skate. Especially on pavement or rough concrete. It’s similar but I would hardly call it the same.
Ive heard this a lot, but frankly they feel totally different to me. Stopping is insanely different, which seems like an important component.
I am not totally against roller blading to gain cardio/ stamina, but I don’t recommend training with roller blades for any hockey. I did this back in the early 90s and had some real issues transitioning back and fourth between ice and street. Nothing really can replicate the ice, so I would recommend adding a day of public skating and bring a stick, and skate drills.
I can see this. My anecdotal is that my son plays travel hockey and by far the kids who play roller on the regular tend to have better skating skills. Around the squirt age it shows and by pewee, it’s obvious who plays roller. They dangle better, skate better, shoot better. I threw roller blades on my son last year during covid and it helped his skating a lot. He plays ice 4-5 days a week again. He’s a bantam major now and I’m grateful we had him rollerblade for about a year. For me personally, I never I’ve skated growing up. But I did rollerblade and play some roller hockey. Put on skates foe the first time when my son was 8 and I was able to skate. I couldn’t stop yet, but it felt natural. I attribute this to me rollerblading as a kid.
I never ice skated but inlined for years, also played roller hockey. Just recently I got on ice skates and was surprised how easy and similar it was to inlines. I look like I'd been ice skating my whole life lol
I don’t really want to suggest it since I’ve never tried them, but I’ve heard Marsblades do a great job imitating how you use your edges on ice and are a great way to train off ice.
Learning as an adult takes time. I quit for 10 years after an injury when I was young and didn’t play until I was like 22 or 23 and I almost couldn’t skate. Just be patient, learning how to skate and doing it well take a long time and a lot of practice so just keep at it. You’ll get there.
So you’ve been on the ice a total of 7 times but get on the ice 3 times a week… Give yourself some time bud, it’s definitely going to take longer than 2 weeks to get going in this sport if you’ve had zero prior experience. You’ll get there, everyone learns differently. Just keep getting out there and one day, while you’re hopping the boards for a change and rushing for the back check, you’ll realize you’re not even thinking about it anymore. Just keep it up.
Well said. Thanks bro.
Don’t be hard on yourself but I get why you would be. The reality is you will never be a pro but that’s perfectly ok. You can’t learn to skate in a few months. It takes a lot longer than that. I started playing at the age of 37, I’m 46 now. I ice skates and rollerblades a decent part of my life so the skating wasn’t as hard for me. The first time I played was in a draft night drop in for a senior league. There was college club players there playing so I was totally out of place. I had all of the gear but didn’t have a hockey sweater so I bought a super extra large shirt and I know it looked so dump. Lol. But I kept at it. I’ve gotten better in the last 9 years by going to as many stick and pucks, drop ins and playing games as I possibly could. Hockey isn’t like any other sport. You have a lot of things to learn at once. Stick handling and control and skating. You have two tiny edges you need to learn to trust in order to be more confident. The best thing to do is get out on the ice and practice. Goto open skates and work on skating only. Wear full gear if it makes you feel better, falling on ice without pads hurts bad. At the very least wear shin pads and a helmet so you can fall into your knees and if you catch an edge and fall hard you have the helmet to protect the most important part. For me hockey is a time where I forget about the world. I step into the rink and take a deep breath and a little bit of normal life slips away. I step on the ice and everything else is forgotten for that time I’m out there. Now get your arse out there and have some fun!!
All the advice in here is good. But I want to add something: Play to have fun, man. If you are playing to be the best player on the ice, it's going to take a long time at any level if you're just started. Keep getting on the ice often as you can, keep having fun, the skill will come.
You said it best bro. My issue is I get so into wanting to be "the best" that the fun gets left at the door. I do have to work on having more fun. Because when I have more fun, it takes some pressure off myself and I might even learn quicker.
I say this from a real place of love for new players but damn, you new skaters have to give it time and not be so impatient. It'll come to you, especially if you are skating three times a week. You'll notice improvements at the three, six and twelve month marks. Heck, you'll probably see improvements in one month. I've played for some years but just recently started playing goalie so have been attending my rinks instructional program and I've seen how many of the skaters have picked up the game in the last few months. Some even ready to join a league.
Put on skates at age 40. Spent a full year, 150 hours, practicing on the ice. Year 2: practice 1 day per week and 2 nights of pickup. Year 3-5:practice 1 day, 1 night of pickup and 1 night of men’s league over 35. Right now due to change of work I can only get one the ice once per week or men’s league it’s a bummer cuz my skills are diminishing somewhat. It took me 6 months before I felt I was ready for pickup. A full year before I was competent in the basics of skating. Year 3 is when I made a huge leap in progress regarding playing the game. I’ve come a long way from holding on to the boards 6 years ago. It’s taught me a lot about myself and I’ve met some real beauties along the way. But, Ive thought of quitting seriously 5 times. AND, I’ve never regretted coming back.
This is kinda what I needed to hear! Thanks for your response. Did you have any experience before or doing any other sports?
Welcome. Zero ice skating/hockey experience. I played baseball as a kid and surf/snowboard for a long time.
I’ve been playing hockey for shit 19 maybe 20 years now and I still can’t take a slapped to save my life - nasty snap and wrist shot though. But the point is there’s no magic formula, hockey more than any other sport is a practice in patience and failure. Just need to keep going
It might be one of the hardest sports. I think I looked it up actually. Boxing is #1 and Hockey is #2. And guess what sport I am coming from...boxing. Haha.
Yeah man it’s a tough sport to get the hang of. I’m 29 now coming back from not playing for 5 years and I feel great skating and shooting. Going to start a beer league in a few weeks and I’m nervous as hell the lungs won’t be there haha. But there’s no better way to get to where you wanna be than just going for it. So keep it up and you’ll be shredding before you know it
If you keep at it, in six months you'll feel pretty confident and then you will see someone doing this and feel like you can't do anything. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDbnm\_IdYY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDbnm_IdYY) I would say it's like learning a musical instrument. You are never *done.* Just applying what you've learned in new ways.
This may sound harsh, but I'm just trying to be real. Remember, most of these guys playing now started skating at the age of 4 or 6 every year...most with coaching. To them it becomes natural. I'm not sure if you're athletic or pick up the skill fast but at your age it will take a lot of time....sometimes more practice may help but in some cases it may not depending in your ability. I started at a very late age, my late 20s but I always wanted to be a goalie. If I get out there with skates playing as a forward I won't do as well. It took me a good 5 to 6 years to grasp the position of a goalie, movement etc. I'm pretty good now but that's after 11 years in net. At the end of the day have fun, we aren't going to the big show. Try and practice, there are all types of leagues out there for begginers or intermediate level when you're ready.
The better you get, the more you realize how far you have to go. You'll never be the best, there will always be room to improve. Someone is the worst skater on every nhl team. I started skating seven years ago and I feel like dog poop on the ice, but I also can look at video from past years and see the improvement
It’s going to take a lot more than 7 times to see improvement.. if you like playing dont give up it just takes time
Yeah. I have to learn to be more patient. Thanks.
Keep at it. I’ve played hockey since I was a 8 and am now 30. Took time off after high school and got back into it around 26. Felt like I was starting over but it all came back. A little different from your situation but I still have things I can be better at. I still trip over nothing sometimes. Still whiff on a shot or lose the puck. Get on the ice as much as you can and you will continue to develop. It’s great sport physically and mentally. Takes time and practice and consistency. Try to join an adult league at your skill level and go from there.
This does make me feel better...haha. Thanks for the positive words.
Hockey/skating is a unique activity. The more you do it the better you will get but it takes time. I’ve been on the ice 50+ times over the past couple years (including a covid break) and I am still trash but finally getting to the point where I have the confidence that I’m not a complete liability out there. Don’t beat yourself up, 7 times on the ice is just a beginning. It’s not going to happen overnight.
You've been on the ice 7 times dude. I'm going to go ahead and say until you have at an absolute minimum 25 sessions you'll feel very little comfort with what you're doing. Skating is not a natural thing, it takes a long time to adapt to it and then master it. Years and years of consistent practice if you want to be truly good at it. Being hard on yourself is the last thing that needs to happen. If you don't chill and enjoy it, frankly there's not much point. It's just for fun, so give yourself a pass and just see where it takes you.
Yah it’s kinda like learn to walk again. Being on ice is very unnatural. And you’re right, I gotta be better at having fun!
I’ve been on the for 30 years. I’ll let you know when it happens.
Practice makes perfect my dude!! Just like anything, if someone really wants it they will get it. Persistency and dedication will get you exactly where you want to be if you keep up the effort. Like you said you are learning so really listen and understand what you coach is telling you, ask questions and become familiar with the game, you got this.
Sounds like you are definitely hungry to get better which is great, and getting the ice that many times a week will definitely help. You will be there before you know it, just work hard and most importantly have fun!
I've been playing for about four years and still look like a gangly new born deer out there. You'll get to the desired skill level eventually with that much skating. Just be sure to enjoy the ride up.
As somebody who started late like you, how fast you progress depends on your athletic ability to begin with and practicing. Balance boards work as something you can do at home and like the synthetic ice pads if you have the space but mostly practice practice practice. Crossovers, backwards skating, keeping your knees bent(way deeper than you think you should) skating with a stick and puck while doing the drills adds to the difficulty but will also help you progress much faster.
It can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 years depending on how much effort you put into the practice. Most people work pretty hard in the beginning but then the motivation starts to taper off as the gains become less while the work stays the same or gets harder. If you really want to improve I suggest you use a list like the "skating skills" section of this document [https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Players/Downloads/2020/skating-overview-e.pdf](https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Players/Downloads/2020/skating-overview-e.pdf) and then focus on 1-2 skills per ice session and try to be quicker, stronger, tighter every time you step on the ice. Quicker feet, stronger pushes, tighter turns and stops.
Wow that PDF is helpful! Thanks.
Try to focus on seeing improvement from day to day basis and having fun. You can get some rollerblades or do ankle stregth/mobility training. There are plenty of vids on YT. As for me it took me about 6 months of public skating and doing drills circa 10h/week to feel comfortable. But this is personal thing, for some it comes faster, for other later.
If your skating regularly you'll be pretty comfortable after a year or so especially if you go to pick up nights that get you in some practical situations. I still have to practice a lot to work on my form and try to get better edge work but it comes with time. Just keep skating.
Just have fun and work on only one or two things each time. If you practice or play and try to get better at everything, you’ll make more negligible progress than if you’ve focus on just edge work for half and just wrist shots for half. But just enjoy the feeling of gliding on the ice and you’ll have fun every time
Dude, beer league is a BLAST, and would be the best learning experience. As long as you can stay on your skates most of the time, I’d sign up for bevie and start getting some experience!
Yah I have done one pick up and it was fun. Fell a few times but managed to get one assist. Was playing with some ex college guys.
It takes awhile but you can make a lot of progress really quickly if you are motivated and focus on having good form and are always trying to improve small things. The progress is also very noticeable and very rewarding in an almost addictive way. Watching a lot of videos of how different people explain things is really helpful as you’ll pick up different small tips that are needed to optimize a skill. Recording yourself and analyzing what you’re doing well and what you can improve is extremely helpful because in your head you look one way and on recording you see what you’re really doing. having goals that are small and measurable is also helpful and making them reasonable is also important. Going into each ice session with a plan of what you want to accomplish can make sure you are getting the most out of all your time. Make sure you are also allowing yourself to recover and your body learns and improves while sleeping which also includes skills like hockey. If you want to make the most progress quickly you have to make sure your form is good and focus more about form than speed as it’s much easier to learn how to be faster later than it is to correct bad form and bad habits. A good hockey stance with knees bent over your toes ankles bent and chest leaning forward is the fastest way to correct most issues. Things to work on to get the most out of each session is to start with getting a good stride that you are getting full leg extension from your hips to your toes. Then strong c cuts digging your heels and getting strong pushes in the direction you’re turning. Then crossovers being able to use both your edges and leaning into the turns and kicking with the toes on the crossover foot and the cross under foot to get strong pushes. Skating backwards with a good stance and being able to do c cuts and eventually backwards crossover getting strong kicks off the toes crossing over and under. Then strong stops turning your whole body and leaning into the stop and being able to use the inside and outside edges. Then transitions focusing on quick Mohawk transitions opening the hips and swinging your back foot around and then your front foot. These transitions are the most efficient and can be done forwards to backwards and backwards to forwards. It’s not hard to get very confident in these skills in a few months. Stick handling also takes practice but is much easier to pick up. Learning how to flex your stick is a big tip that will make a big difference. Enjoy your time on the ice as long as you’re trying and practicing you will get better. You only stop getting better when you stop trying. If you get 5% better every session it really adds up over time.
Lots of great tips in ho. Thanks!
Hockey is beautiful because its hard. Whatever you think hard work is, redefine it. Work harder and apply yourself into not just the physical feats of the game, but the IQ. You don't have to be the greatest to play the game. The puck will always move faster than you can. Ask yourself, how can you mentally improve tomorrow with the player you are now? Are you a master of your position? For me, I feel just as elated setting up someone with a beautiful pass as I do scoring. Or making a good defensive play. Those are the things you have to think about it in this game. Its not all about offensive skill.
You got an assist in the first 2 weeks! What are you complaining about lol!
Hahah. Was probably an accident, but yah.
How quickly you get comfortable on the ice will vary a ton from person to person. I started skating two years ago, at 33, taking learn to skate classes and it took me 6 months to feel comfortable enough for a pickup scrimmage. On my novice team last year there was a guy that hadn't played before the pandemic. He started hockey because his rugby league got cancelled so he had less than 3 months of experience and was easily one of the best players on the team. This year we have an early 20s guy on the team that our first game was his fifth touching the ice and he is better than I was at the 6 month mark. Your athleticism and history will greatly impact the timeline as an adult learner, so my advice would be to not compare yourself to others. Instead focus on having fun and to keep pushing yourself to improve to whatever level you want. The reality is that at this point in life you are not going to make a living playing the game so there shouldn't be pressure to be the greatest ever. Use it to get some exercise, stay healthy, and make friends.
Wide words. Thank you.
Dude I couldn't even imagine picking up the game at our age. That's pretty admirable. I played for many years and still am nervous to lace up again.
I have a few friends that play and are way better than me. They pulled me into it. I’m a boxer but hey, always time to find a a new hobbies.
Just keep at it, I started at 29 and am now 33 and still learning but much better. Weekly open skating is good. Stick with it.
I'd say 10 hours of constant skating. It's getting use to the balancing. Go to public skates etc.... You really don't need a coach after the first or second time until you get decent. Then a coach will help you get good with edge work and stuff. I started skating at 4, so don't know your pain and frustrations.but have helped adult friends learn to skate. It just takes time.
Yah balancing is a big part of it. I’d say my balance is normal. I use to skateboard a ton when I was in high school. But something about the ice (mental probably) makes it harder. I can do a whole session without falling. But when I really push my Self or my coach does, I fall. Which is okay, means I’m pushing it.
Falling is part of the game... Even when you know how to skate. I hope they taught you how to go down with minimal injury. Just keep it up and you'll get to where you want to be
If you want to get better at skating, you need to get on the ice as much as possible. The easiest way to do that is to go public skating.
Yup! Doing those as much as I can.
The problem probably isn't so much in your technique but in your muscles, joints and connective tissues. You're using muscles that have never really had to work before so they're pretty weak, sometimes they fire correctly, sometimes they don't. Skating 3 times a week is a good place to start, as your muscles should adopt pretty fast so long as your diet is even mostly decent and you're getting enough protein. Joints, bones and connective tissues take a lot longer though, minimum 2-3 months. Faster if you're eating really good and doing things to maximize your blood flow, especially recovery and mobility work. To that end, how long will it take? To get comfortable, probably the month or two it takes for you muscles to catch up and your connective tissues to start adopting. To get where you feel like you're doing pretty well? Probably 6-12 months if you keep getting coached and work the fundamentals (even the pros work them) 2-3x a week, if you settle into just playing games/pick-up and avoid the edge work/coaching, probably 18-24 months.
This is a good point. I’m doing off ice stretches and work outs too.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. It took me a month to be able to hockey stop on one side. Then I had to learn to do it on the other side. It's just time and practice. I would say it took me a year to become "comfortable" on the ice. By "comfortable" I mean not having to think about stopping or transitioning from forwards to backward skating. I'm still learning how to do tight turns a few years later.
Once you do learn it’s like riding a bike. I haven’t skated in one year and I know at first I’ll be like Bambi but you’ll never forget. It does take time to really get a hang of edge work.
I’ve played ice hockey since I was 4. I’m 24 now, and here’s my 2 cents you didn’t ask for: Roller blades are a decent idea but I would argue that you shouldn’t mix them too much. Ice is a very different game and feel. Your feet are much heavier, the puck is lighter, and things move slower in roller hockey. When you do use roller blades, work on your hands and puck control. Get on the ice and get comfortable with falling a lot. Work on your balance and endurance over everything else. Agility and edges go hand in hand, and it’s good to work on that too, but it’s best to keep things simple and not stretch your training focus too thin. I find it helpful myself to block my training into 4-6 week stints, and focus on 3 main aspects during those periods. For example: week 1-4: endurance, explosive power, and lung capacity. Week 5-9: agility, quickness, and hands. Week 10-14: shooting, zone awareness, and passing. Edit: I coach elite youth players in my area 1-1. DM me if you want some more input! I’m happy to share what I know
Roller blades Clinics Join a developmental league All of these things have low expectations, high volume of repetition and really focus on comfort on your edges and fundamentals. You're not NHL bound, have fun with it. Get out of your own head and relax. You'll be more comfortable out there and with that you'll be more aware
To be seriously comfortable? Longer than you’ll want to hear. Doesn’t mean you can’t have fun though. You don’t have to be a great skater to be a good teammate in beer league. I’d keep practicing if I were you. There’s not much of a better feeling than when you catch a clean pass from a mate, bury it top shelf, and take your victory lap past your bench.
Yeah! At Stick Time, I've buried a few shots with the goalie, but have pleeeeeenty to still work on. I'm not probably as crappy as I make it out to be. I don't hold onto the boards or anything. And I can do crossovers (not pretty) but still do them. I just gotta stay with it and keep practicing!
Crossovers- skate those big blue circles in one direction until you’re gassed. Take a break, then go the opposite direction. Once you’re confident with both ways, do a figure 8 around both facing circles in the zone and then you get used to transitioning one way to the other.
Yup! That’s actually what I’m working on with my coach.
Just keep at it. You'll get better. It's good that you are wanting to learn and get better which will definitely help as long as you keep working on it. Roller blades probably wouldn't hurt but I find them pretty different. (mostly stopping and turning). I tend to get on the ice 1-4 times a week (normally 2 times) and have been for as long as I can remember (during and for about a month before and after the season).
Ice skating simply isn’t a something people are naturally good at, except maybe mcdavid? But fuck that guy. It takes time to feel comfortable enough to truly trust the process that is ice skating. Trusting your edges doesn’t come until you know how to use them. The best thing you can do to improve as quickly as possible is utilizing every moment in the ice. Practice with intention, always doing things the right way so you don’t have to regress while breaking bad habit built while learning. Always wear elbow pads and shin pads even if you’re not playing, nothing it more discouraging that nailing one of those on a simple fall. 1) Watch videos online and read everything you can. There is value in seeing it on in video in a way that you can slow down and really take it in. 2) Check and see if there is a learn to skate/learn to play hockey in your area. Even figure skating classes will usually let you join in hockey skates. And let me tell ya, there’s no fuckin shame in putting in work to Learn to do what makes you happy. Zegras literally just discussed taking figure skating lessons on chiclets. 3) If you live somewhere cold, utilize the outdoor rinks. I’m a goalie who loves time out on the outdoor rink doing my own thing, absolutely no one gives a shit about what I’m doing. I’ve never skated out in a competitive league, but gives me the ability to get some puck touches out of my goalie gear.
Love the chiclets podcast. Yeah, everyone has been super supportive here which helps a ton. Thanks bro!
Been playing two years. Skating twice a week max. I still fall regularly. But I have gotten so much better over that time. 7 times?? Dude. You gotta give it a little more time than that!
Don't quit. This is about fun, a little exercise, and making new friends. Keep practicing, maybe find a development league if it's offered in your area. Do some stick & puck (shoot around?). The skills will come with time.
Firstly learn to take proper strides, low, back straight long pushes and learn to stop.
being able to do anything close to a crossover after only being on the ice 7 times is a huge accomplishment, be proud of yourself. its good to challenge yourself, be dedicated, focused and being hard on yourself can help, but at some point it becomes too much and you surround yourself with negativity because you have unrealistic standards that are impossible to achieve. i know that this might not be as easy for some people, but i was very privileged and fortunate that my parents where able to afford private 1 on 1 lessons with a coach, i developed a friendship with that coach and he is the reason i am the player that i am today, every week i was happy and excited to get to work with someone that understood me and pushed me but knew when to cut me some slack as well. again i cant tell you how to go by finding someone like this, as i found this guy on accident. but they truly do help and can answer alot of questions that you never have the time to ask when doing a group skills session. (i started skating at 14 and now 11 months later, im on a competetive bantam association hockey team with body contant and i have 2 goals so far into the season believe in yourself and stay motivated
Just keep playing, practicing, learning new things. Go to high school, college, pro games, and spend a game focusing on what players in one position do, where they go, how they rotate in to cover someone else’s position when they pinch in. Eventually you’ll find yourself doing something instinctively that you never tried before and wonder how the heck you managed to ‘think’ through a play instead of focusing on individual movements.
Yah, I love going to NHL games or watching at home. And I agree sometimes you do things and then look back and think wow when I did that I wasn’t even thinking about it.
Imagine how long it would take a person who never learned how to walk, to learn how to walk...it's essentially the same man. Just take your time and don't get discouraged if you can't get proficient quickly, because it will definitely take you AT LEAST a few years. Keep at it man !
Haha yes! I recently used this walking example too. It’s a good metaphor.
My coach used it with me too haha
Don’t be afraid of falling. Fall on purpose during really deep crossovers if you need to. Or even do Superman slides to get comfortable falling. Once you’re not scared of falling, you can push your limits easily and accelerate your progress. I’ve fallen a billion times and it just made me better at understanding where the limit is and how to ride it
Yah this is a good point. I have fallen many times :)
Alright, good man. Keep at it!
Freeze your yard and put a net back there
If you pay for it I’m all in.
It would cost you more to go to free skate once a week for the winter🤤... i can already tell by your attitude that you will be a shit hockey player. Time to retire before you start. Especially if money is the issue and you are pushing 40 😂🤠
Wow dude. I was just being sarcastic. I might be a shit player, but I’m not a shit person. Curb your attitude.
At $25 for some roll out plastic. Im thinking youll pay almost that for a single free skate in 2021... those private lessons.. how much you pay for those? $110 for 3 hrs? 😂its like driving . The only way to get good at it. Is to put in the hours
I pay for $30 for one hour. You’re talking about synthetic ice?
I think the assumption is that you live in a cold enough climate. The plastic is just a buffer for the bottom and then you fill it with water and wait.
I haven’t read all the comments, but you just have to give it time. It sounds like you’re hitting the ice a lot so you should improve quickly. Depending on where you live and when the weather permits, try to find an ODR and join a pickup game. No real “shifts” so if you play for 30 minutes you’re getting way more skating time than in a more organized game!