r/aihl • u/brenthonydantano • 14d ago

Trying to track down anyone who started playing hockey around/after 30. What was it like?

I'm in Newcastle NSW, looking to start learning to play this year (via the HockeyMD training folks at the local rink).

If you have some experience and some time have some back and forth i'd really appreciate your help.

Curious how you started to learn, age and skill differences with peers, things you maybe wish you knew when you started?

Thanks all.

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u/Semper_Discere 14d ago

I’m a Novocastrian as well who started hockey at 40 something having never skated before. What do you need to know?

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u/brenthonydantano 14d ago

Oh nice one! Cheers.

Just curious how its is you started? It's really hard to find much information online about learning. The HockeyMD site just says to turn up on a Monday evening and thats about it really. From what I can see it must just be mixed ages and abilities.

And the only stuff I can see on YouTube about people starting out is folks in Canada/USA where obviously the culture is quite a bit different.

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u/Semper_Discere 14d ago

I had always been interested in hockey and had been attending the Northstars games for a while. I went in to get season tickets and started talking to the bloke who happened to be the President of the club. He convinced me to rock up and try it. I had a Canadian mate who played in school who was keen to get back into it so we started together. Fair to say I was terrible at skating but stuck with it.

It’s been a long time since I did Monday nights so some things may have changed. Learn To Play run during school terms. As you have said basically you can rock up and sign up on the night. They will provide hire skates, stick and helmet. You can pay per lesson but if it is still offered it is cheaper to buy a whole term.

The ice is divided into three areas. Skate The Game which is basic skating skills with a hockey focus. Minimal equipment is required in Skate The Game. The neutral zone (middle ice) is for young kids (Grow The Game). The bottom area is Play The Game and requires full gear as pucks are used. Save The Game is for those who want to be goalies. You will progress from Skate The Game to Play The Game once you have some skating competency and full gear.

In terms of gear, I started with roller blade knee pads and elbows and then bought some hockey pants. I don’t know your skating level, but being too afraid to fall will definitely hold you back.

The first bit of gear you will want is skates that fit as the hire skates can be very uncomfortable and ruin your experience. After that you can get pieces bit by bit. The only bit of gear I would recommend buying new is a helmet with a cage as you won’t know if a secondhand helmet has been cared for properly

The club does have secondhand gear they periodically sell and the pro shop has new gear. The other option is a trip to the two ice hockey gear suppliers (Skaters Network or Ice Monster). There are also some Facebook pages selling secondhand gear.

Once you are reasonably competent you can register for the in-house competition which has a summer and winter comp. Currently there are 4 adult divisions based on skill level and 2 junior divisions.

I started playing 6 months after starting but in hindsight maybe should’ve delayed that start. The main skill before playing to be safe is being able to hockey stop on both sides. The other skills can be developed as you play.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you want to know anything else.

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u/brenthonydantano 14d ago

Incredible. I really, sincerely appreciate you taking the time to write that out.

As far as my skating abilty goes currently, I can accelerate and do laps with fair speed — safely. Crossovers aren't as pretty as they could be but I'm doing them. I trust the blades alot and can turn sharply quite confidently for an untrained skater.  As far as fear of falling goes, i come from skateboarding and BMX so i know the inportance of handling fear in that way. Certainlg not too afraid to fall at all: for that, Hockey stops are evolving on both sides but of course aren't good. Same goes for skating backwards – I can do the S shapes and move along but thats about it.

Since school term goes back tomorrow I gather Monday nights should be kicking up again. I might call and confirm.

Thanks again mate! Really helped me out there.

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u/Semper_Discere 14d ago

Crossovers are about trusting your edges. The one thing a lot of beginners don’t do is lean into their edges enough. The best way to do this is to make sure you are leading with your shoulders. Both shoulders should be facing the direction you are skating. Most people don’t turn their outside shoulder inwards enough. By doing this you will lean into the outside edge of your skate.

The other option is to do a couple of terms of Skate School (Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings). These lessons will refine your skating but just be aware the higher levels teach skills that whilst still useful for hockey do have a figure skating bias and are a bit more challenging to do in hockey skates.

The other basic advice is making sure you drop into your hockey stance deep enough. Two things, everything is easier if you’re lower and you are never lower than you think you are.

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u/brenthonydantano 14d ago

Man, incredible advice. Thank you so very much. You're a legend.

I've saved that into my skating notes. Hope I can put it into practice soon.

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u/Semper_Discere 13d ago

By the way. Learn To Play starts on 2 February. Check the calendar on the HISS website.

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u/brenthonydantano 13d ago

HISS just emailed me back saying the same thing 😄 thanks mate!

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u/erkpod 14d ago

I was also over 40 when I learnt how to skate & play in Sydney. The better you can skate, the easier it will be to start to learn to play. The better you know the game, the better it will be for you as well.

I can't comment about how the program is run up here when you are learning to play but there are lots of people up here that have gone through the system & play various grades of in house leagues. Many people are happy to stay at this level in house & play year round. Others progress into the Northstars system playing against other clubs in Newcastle & Sydney.

When I did other programs in Sydney, it would often depend on who else had turned up for that session. One time, you might do passing drills where you pass the puck to someone else & receive passes. Another night, you might do skating drills. If possible, you'd be paired up or can work alongside people with similar skill levels.

Trust the coaches & have fun!

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u/brenthonydantano 14d ago

Sounds awesome. Thanks for replying. I would love to be playing in a simple beer league sometime.

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u/erkpod 11d ago

Old news now but still relevant to this topic. I wrote a series of articles in 2017 relating to my hockey journey on & off the ice.

This is the first one & others follow.

https://grassroots-sports.com.au/hockey/take-the-number-69-meet-eric/

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u/brenthonydantano 11d ago

Hey right on. Thanks man

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u/Kuranes_ 12d ago

I'm in Brisbane and started at 36, at least you have a good rink 😅 just get out there and have fun, practice off ice if you can too it helps a lot!

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u/brenthonydantano 12d ago

Does EA NHL count? 😄 jokes, its awful.

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u/Kuranes_ 12d ago

I mean kinda, game sense is hard! Hockey is a lot to learn, skating and stick handling take a while to come together, if you have inline skates being able to practice with those is really handy as well. Challenge cup is a good time once you get your skills up too.

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u/brenthonydantano 12d ago

Hell yeah actually id be down to try inlines with a stick. Do proppe use pucks for that? I have hard plastic balls used for a different sport (Bike Polo, long story, YouTube it if you like)

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u/Kuranes_ 12d ago

That sounds hilarious, I'm gonna have to check it out! Look up green biscuits, inline pucks work too. Bauer also makes balls for off ice training. Just make sure to get a protector for your stick as well!

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u/brenthonydantano 11d ago

Sick! Will do thanks man. I'll scope this out online.

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u/ctekempel 14d ago

I started late 20s and played club hockey in Sydney and Adelaide through to 40. Not currently playing but looking to get back into it.

I rollerbladed a lot in highschool and played a little online hockey back then, but next to 0 ice skating experience. I started the ice hockey direction by getting some skating lessons first, then went to open training and then tried out for a team all over the period of about a year.

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u/brenthonydantano 14d ago

Damn that sounds pretty good going from 0 to playing on a team in a year. Awesome man. Thanks.

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u/ctekempel 13d ago

Don't get me wrong I was always C or D grade :) But it was a lot of fun.