AliVDSGocryinyourchowdah

Im in Aussie and play field hockey, have always wanted to play ice hockey and am considering getting into it - im 30 btw. Is this too old to start?

Skating wise what level of skating do you need be at to consider playing in lowest level social games. I can skate fairly confidently forwards, can do crossovers but can't skate backwards, change directions tightly or hockey stop. I went to look at the local "beginners" comp and everyone seemed to have these skills mastered pretty well which was a surprise as it was supposed to be for "beginners" I was expecting crap skaters like me! Should i develop my skating to this level at a minimum, and how long would it take to get to this say skating once a week and then after that to pick up stick / puck skills. Im generally pretty quick at picking up new sports as ive played a lot since i was young and still play field hockey. Im really keen but hoping it wont take like 12-18 mths to get up to scratch, and dont want to be like the total unco on the ice and people laff, what do you guys think, is it worth it? Any info / experiences really appreciated!

Thanks

CaroltheUndead

Ok first off im from the motherland of hockey CANADA EH but anyway 30 is not to old to start as long as you can skate and have played field hockey. Look towards a recreational league or team here there is no limit on skill most people in a rec league. Again saying this don't get discouraged because there will be good hockey player. Every team even in the nhl has week players. And remember you won't learn to play an instrument in a day and its the same with hockey

Doug

30 is not to late to learn ice hockey. But it's not like you'll just learn it over night. If you want to get better fast, you have to be on the ice practicing at least 3 times a week, 4 days a week is best though.

CriticalAcclaim

Never to late to start. From what I've seen "beginners" vary, some know how to skate decently while others basically look like they've barely ever been on the ice. You'll want to hit the rink before joining a team to work on your skating skills; focus on skating backwards and hockey stops. If you're going weekly and you really focus on working on those things, it shouldn't take too long before you can do it all. It will take longer to perfect those things, but after a few weeks I'd think you'd be able to join a team if you pick up things fast like you said.

Skating is probably the hardest thing about the game because without knowing how to do that, you can't play. You can pick up stick-handling much faster, and you can practice on dry-land before taking it to the ice which can make you feel more confident before hitting the ice having to do 2 things that you're not very experienced with.

CaroltheUndead

i do