Okay, I’m going to start the first line on my first blog post with an admission: adult ice hockey is incredibly niche. Compared to other popular topics, even sports-related, ice hockey (playing, not watching) is itself limited audience, even in most parts of urban Canada.
So you’d think if I wanted an ice hockey blog to get off the ground, I’d need to appeal to as broad a base as possible for even the slightest chance at gaining followers.
You’re probably right.
There’s also a gap in the market. Over the last 10-or-so years, I’ve encouraged (to start) and coached dozens of adult hockey players. We’re lucky enough to live in Toronto, Canada, likely the largest hockey playing market in the world, sheer volume-wise, and even then options were limited with:
- Equipment & Reviews: we have some of the largest stores in the world, with endless selection. They are a hockey players’ dream. The problem? Beginners usually can’t make sense of such an overwhelming selection. Turning to online reviews provided little advantage: most are read-throughs of product features, not true reviews, and those of actual on-ice reviews are often biased toward a specific type of player (the reviewer) rather than a series of qualities for your consideration.
- Instruction: There are several online resources (see our favourite Youtubers) that offer useful skills videos. Where I’m from, there are also several options for adult instruction: learn-to-skate, play-to-learn, play-to-develop, beginner adult hockey, the list goes on. Problem is, they all offer progress on different aspects of playing hockey, and there’s no cohesive view of what’s needed for a beginner hockey player to improve.
- Context: Some of us want to play frequently. Some of us have busy schedules and want to know how to most efficiently use our valuable time. From there are even more difficult questions: Where do I start? Do I jump into games right away? How do I know when I’m ready? Drills, shinny, pick-up or league? What can I do off-ice if I can’t find enough ice time? These are all good questions and the answer to most, unfortunately, is “it depends”.
Adult hockey is, in many ways, a more complex beast than traditional youth programs. For many youth hockey programs, there’s a relatively linear pathway to follow, with skill levels, branches and specializations depending on what a young player wants to pursue (and budget, time commitment, talent, etc.)
Adult hockey, in particular for those who didn’t play growing up, has many factors that aren’t often prominent for consideration with existing hockey content creators:
- Do you have any hockey history or, are you starting from scratch?
- What are your personal motivations with learning hockey?
- How much time to you plan to spending on hockey?
- Should factors like non-contact or no-slapshots influence how you play, or what you buy?
Over the next several posts, I’ll be covering topics ranging from equipment to skill development to traveling for hockey, all with the unique perspective for an adult hockey player. I’d encourage all of you to think about your own personal considerations as we develop as hockey players.
For new players, these may be:
- What’s my overall budget and how price sensitive am I?
- Do I know if I’ll be able to find beginners’ hockey or should I be prepared to play with more skilled players (mixed games) right-off-the-bat?
- Am I going to take lessons or am I going to try and self-teach?
- Do I have opportunities to practice any skills individually, in-between lessons and/or games?
For more experienced players, these may be:
- Do I need to upgrade any of my pieces of equipment? Why?
- Do I still notice myself progressing? Why or why not? What can I be doing differently?
For many adults, at least those who’ve managed to enter into the sport with the meagre resources currently available, hockey begins with a bit of a honeymoon phase. There’s so much to learn, so many skills, and you likely see yourself improving on a daily basis. It feels good.
Many also plateau after only a couple years. It’s still good exercise, but isn’t as gratifying. You may be playing mostly pick-up hockey and just aren’t noticing yourself improve. You may have become a solid division D/E adult league player but division C (or higher) seems unrealistic no matter how hard you try.
Fortunately:
These problems are common.
Unless you’re already playing at a high-level, your barrier almost definitely is not a lack of talent.
We can help.
I’d like to thank you for visiting my site, and I offer my personal thanks for your support. If you’ve made it this far down the blog, I think you now understand the niche I’m trying to carve out.
It won’t be perfect and I’m only one person. Therefore, if there’s anything you need as a player that isn’t here and can’t be easily found elsewhere, please let me know and I’ll adjust.
Otherwise, welcome, enjoy and have fun!