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My First Set of Hockey Skates

Oregon Canucky

Entry posted by Oregon Canucky

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My First Pair of Skates.

After a six month battle with the wife, I finally got her approval to play hockey.

Sure, I could have told her to "bugger-off" months ago, but I knew that she

wouldn't keep me from anything I REALLY wanted to do. A variety of excuses

were slowly confronted and the Wifey eventually gave in. My foster son (also

named Matthew) just offered up a chuckle "Youre gonna get

smashed" he said with a grin. I responded with a nod.

"I know! Its gonna be awesome!"

So, one of my hurdles was just learning to skate. I had plenty of rollerblade

experience from my youth, but very little time on Ice. Either way it had been 17

years since I had done either. I wasn't derailed by the thought of the learning

curve as I knew it would take some time to get all the gear that I needed anyway.

I searched local ice rinks (4 in my area!) for open ice times, learn to skate lessons,

and options for hockey in the future.

Excited to hit the ice, I wanted some hockey skates!

I knew I could have rented figure skates at all four of the rinks and hockey skates

at three of them, but I also knew I was going to need them anyway so I scraped

together 200 dollars for a sturdy set of beginning hockey skates.

I didn't want to make the mistake of buying something off the internet.

I'd read enough to know that you want your skate to fit real nice, and

while you pay more at a local shop, you'll likely get a baking and your first

sharpening for free. My hunt took me to Sherwood ice arena. Their pro-shop

was a twenty minute drive, but was well worth it for the experience. I tried on tons

of skates and attempted walking around in them. Wobbling and nearly

falling over didn't discourage me, Instead I laughed about it and explained

my new-ness to the shops other customers.

The bustling shop had a good number of people in and out. They wanted stick

extensions, skate sharpening, and heat moldings. Looking around I actually got

intimidated for a moment. At 30 years old and 5'4, almost all of the guys' sticks

alone were taller than me. But they were all very polite and spent time talking to

me about starting hockey. They shared their personal stories while their little kids

ran around like maniacs in the smallshop.

Eventually I Picked a pair of skates. The Bauer Vapor X3.0 Limited Edition

(black and white) Skate. Paid One-Ninety, got them baked andsharpened,

and left with them, blade cozies and a practice ball in hand. Overall It

was such an awesome experience and I left wishing I didn't have to wait until

Saturday to use them.

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goalie13

I hope you got a helmet to go with them! :)

I don't know if you have anything local like this, but at our local rec center we have a public skate called 'stick & puck'. No real gear required, just skates, sticks, gloves and helmets (pucks are provided).

It's an hour free skate where you can fire the puck at the net or just do laps or whatever. Sometimes a few guys will set up passing drills or cone relays for fun. Worth looking into.

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Oregon Canucky

We do have "sticktime" in my area, but im really focusing on the skating basics as I can join an "Adult Introductory Hockey" group class. Just have to be able to go forward and backwards with crossovers and transitions. Funny it doesnt mention stopping. heh.

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goalie13

Nice. When I learned to skate I liked the stick and puck sessions because I felt like the stick gave me a sense of balance.

An introductory hockey class is a great way to go too. Most of how I learned to skate came while playing in a rec league in Victoria. Maybe the full gear boosted my confidence?

Good luck!

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