iQfOreVa

holy crap man. i just got done playing today and wow your info helped. i was pretty much always in the right position at the right time and made some huge plays. i still dont have any confidence when i get the puck. i'm trying to get better with puck handling, but i have to wait until the ponds and outdoor rinks open up. it'll be the only way i can get some alone time with just me and the puck.

'treezy

good idea bro.

That's how I got good at handling a soccer ball. I used to always pass it when I got it or try and make a play and screw up. But it was all mental.

I found a wall and started kickin the ball agaisnt it then get closer and closer and closer, and then whenever I'd walk somewhere I'd kick a soccer ball along the way and I eventually taight myself/made-up some tricks to keep the ball under control and to trick the eye of someone watching the ball.

It helps, glad your progessing. ...and aren't you in ALaska? Just go find a lake it should be frozen over by now.

iQfOreVa

naw...the lakes aren't frozen all the way yet. we had some freak hot days last week and it screwed everything up. there should have been enough snow on the mountains for us to go 'boarding, but not enough yet.

wait until you see my new toy. laugh.gif

01tibby

skating on a pond is so much different than a rink. i got to go out on one when i went to vermont.

ironh19

I remember when I started playing hockey. Ironically I was injured playing football and after my leg healed it was very weak so my buddy puts me in some skates and hands me a stick. I kept falling and couldn't handle a hockey ball to save my life. but damn near everyday , even when it was raining our below freezing, or in the 100s, me and him played and played using each other as competion. For training, once I learned the bascis of skating, him and I wore weights on our legs and wrists and we would skate to our school that was several miles away. we would handle the puck and pass it back and forth for several miles. and we did this stuff for years. around the time we turned 14 we played for the first time in a league. we had actually came up with plays that we named after the detroit redwings players. by watching the wings players we actually we able to mimic those moves when we played.

Naturally, when we played for a team for the first time it was hard adjustiung to such competion, but it didn't take long for me and him to adjust. by this time I had surpassed m buddy and needed more of a challange so I would watch the other players and decided who was real good compared to the rest of the kids. Once I found them I kept training to surpass them. At 15 the junior league got boring and asked the league if we could play for the adult league. They let us and we kept up to their pace. I was the 3rd highest scorer in that league. when we were 16 my best friend moved away and I was forced to train alone and around this time frame my (very 1st) g/f left me so I was in very rough shape. I skated from my house to about 20 miles out (which I do not recommend you do) I was so distraught that I punished my own body. Well a cop found me on 98 pukeing my guts out and crying. all I had to live for was hockey because it was all I had left and I strived to be the best. well that abusive training paid off and scored 3 goals a night, sometimes more. I had 2 goals in life, win mvp and win a championship. I won an MVP award towards the end of my career(don't want to use that word but thats all I can think of) however during my last season, the new coach of my team would rarely play me, I had more goals last season then that whole team combined and she wouldn't play me. and no I was not a puck hog. I finally got fed up and walked off the team during a game, I had scored only 2 goals that season. So I quit and started working on cars. well over the years I have recieved a back injury and 3rd degree burns to my ankle. I haven't held a hockey stick for 4 years. I would give anything to have those years back. Sorry for the book but this should give you a perspective from the eyes of someone thats been there.

'treezy

are you watching ANA VS. PHX right now?

yes, Phoenix HAS a hockey team. lmao.gif

silvertibbs

It's too bad you had to leave your team ironh, you should have been the better person and found out what the coach wanted out of you. Obviously you were a good player, what with scoring all those goals. It's too bad you quit the game. Is there a recreational league you can play for?

iQfOreVa, you should practice with a golf ball. Ultimately the best way to start stickhandling. Find a smooth concrete surface to start with and use the golf ball to stick handle back and forth. When you get really good you should be able to stick handle fairly quickly.

The key to this excercise though is to not make any noise with the stick hitting the golf ball. It's tough but a great way to learn puck control.

We just might make a hockey player out of you yet. LOL Been able to follow any NHL games lately???

iQfOreVa

hm, i'll try that silver. right now tho, there's just way too much snow everywhere. once they freeze the ponds and have the outdoor skating rinks, i'll use those to practice by myself.
i havent really watched nhl games (i work at night and have tons of work to do) but i did go to the nanooks hockey game on sat. they played michigan and it was pretty interesting how they played.
toward the end of the game, i thought the nanooks were getting really sloppy...almost like they didnt care. if it was me, i would have been playing my ass off.
one question: is it normal for a professional or college team to have line changes every three minutes?

ironh: man, i hate hearing stories like yours. it sounds like you could have been a great player...maybe its time you picked up a stick again. smile.gif you know, let the past be the past.

demon_fox

ironh:/ man i am so sorry to hear your story but like he said ^, it is time to pick up the skates and go at it again. no matter where you are i am sure there is a league near you.
iQfOreVa:/ glad to here we have another hockey nut on board. if you have a chance watch the detroit redwings. they are aguably the best team out. not to mention they are part of the original six..
but keep trying and youll get better. it has happened to all of us that have played at some point in our hockey career fing02.gif

ironh19

since I last played I have gained 60 pounds and gotten way out of shape, the only excercise I get now is turning wrenches. I now have 2 jobs plus college I cannot afford or have time to play. The thing with my coach was her son and her sons friends played on my team so they got more time out there then me and some of the other guys. Its funny though because the coach before that one didn't want me sitting down. When I got tired I would sit for about a minute and she would ask me to let her know when I was ready to go back and she would send me after the next whistle. The rink I played at has long been closed down so now the closest one is in the next city over. Maybe if the navarre YMCA makes an adult league I will consider going back out there.