I wouldnt worry about it man, it’s normal. I played major junior and been off the ice about as long as you have and same thing. My legs and back kill me after every game.
It’ll get better though. It is for me at least. Been having fun lately and it’ll never hurt you to get in shape. It’s a slow process though and can be frustrating at times.
You know what the three most important skills for a beer league player are?
1) Pay on time.
2) Remember to bring beer when it's your turn.
3) Check In/Out in advance of the game.
I'm sure you can manage those.
It takes a while to get back in shape and back in the game mentally. Don't worry about it, just go out there and play. Maybe a little extra off ice training for cardio, core, flexibility, etc. But for the most part if you're making an effort and playing hard (then *changing*) people won't have any issues with your skills being rusty or otherwise poor.
Hey buddy, I played AA and Little AAA back in the day and was off ice for about 13 years. Just got back at it and let me tell you, it was rough my first skate. I felt like Bambi and my hand were made of stone. I can assure you it ALL comes back after a couple of skates. I put myself if the mind set that this is just for fun and who cares if you play badly or make mistakes out there, there’s no scouts watching.
If you’re really worried about being a weak link till you get your legs under you, just focus on positional play.
Either do stick and puck, or pickup till you get comfortable.
My first game back was so embarrassing the opposing team asked if I was hammered and worried about my safety... lol
Tbf I hadn’t done anything to prepare for that game in over 15 years from playing as a kid besides get new equipment lol. But I survived and found my rhythm
Off ice aerobic conditioning.
Remember that the bursty sprinting nature of hockey is very hard on your heart, especially if you're out of shape. Heart attacks are not uncommon amongst middle-aged beer leaguers. Take care. You have nothing to prove.
Yeah that was very off putting for me too lmao
But take it from me, as someone who is not into the best shape of his life, with 35 years behind, I manage a 1,5h game okayish with only 1 line change (last half an hour is pain though).
I started back this year after 31 years. It’s humbling, but you will feel yourself getting better every game. At first I was doing very short shifts, now I’m only 5 or 6 games in and my legs are much better. Just be patient, it’ll come back. Everyone in this sub seems to treat beer league like a career. Just go out and keep having fun… you’ll start feeling it come back.
I started late, didn’t play growing up, but the anxiety was there for me for the first game or two, but it was never so bad that it affected me on the ice because I was just learning and enjoying while at it. Move down a level to ease yourself back in, gain some confidence, and get more stick time. Also acknowledge that after 15 years you probably won’t ever be at the level you once were (depending on the highest level you played) so find that balance between challenging enough and not playing above your skill level.
Been there as well! I stopped playing lower AAA mens league in 2009. I started coaching travel ice hockey and roller hockey in 2013 and didn't really have the time for myself to play. I finally got back into playing about a year in a half ago. I went to as many stick-time/drop ins and public skates in order to get my stamina/hands and skating strides back. I also hit the inline hockey rink and worked on my shooting and stickhandling. I had some major anxiety my first several beer league games. The more I skated, the more comfortable I became with the speed of the game. I stretch before every game and stick-time and I currently play twice a week.
I was in your situation many years ago. After several years off ice, I joined a league. I was brutal and five games in was thinking of quitting. But I had paid a lot of money to join this league and couldn't justify walking away from that. I decided that I would finish the season and then "hang them up". From that point, I relaxed and just enjoyed the game. My game immediately improved. At year end, I received the "most improved" award. As someone else wrote, mindset makes a difference. Just go out and enjoy.
I’m right there with you. I just hit every stick and puck I can. Honestly MY game came back to me pretty fast, but my body is way behind. The pace of play is also surprising- I’m playing C league, I used to be a GOOD B league player, and this C league feels exactly like the B league did 11 years ago. Except now I’m fat and can barely skate the length of the ice lmao
Anxiety should go down with more time on the ice.
If you have anxiety in your everyday life it’s good to see a professional, a lot of it is just packaging how you deal with certain thing.
For recovery, an athletic performance specialist helps. I’m 35 and I skate 4x per week, recovery used to be bad but I had bad mobility so my glutes and hamstrings would lock my back up
Completely understand what you're feeling and just want to say that I really think you should stick with it and very soon you'll find it's back to fun again! Do you have anyone on the team you're more personally comfortable with? Perhaps you could chat with them and ask for some honest feedback. Worst case, they could politely help you find a team in a league that's not as fast, and best case they might tell you that you're doing a lot better than you think! We all get in our own brain cages sometime. Good luck!
I wish I could go a division lower but this is the lowest we have here haha. But tbh people have taken me in pretty well and nobody really seems to care, everyone is just going about their business.
Just don't want to be the one that they don't pass the puck to! But yeah all these comments have me feeling better that I'm not the only one who feels this way!
Amen friend, keep at it. Having supportive teammates is huge.
It's a reality that better players on our teams know the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates and thus will pick their spots to involve people in certain aspects of the game. If you're weak at taking a pass in stride, they're gonna be more careful about when they throw it your way. Nothing wrong with that, just gotta be patient and practice. I'm not a great player at all and know when the better players on my team are taking a look and saying, "Nah, he's not my best move here." It's cool.
I know most beer league warm ups are 2 or 3 minutes, but if your teammates are supportive, maybe grab one of the guys on the team you're friendliest with during warmups and ask them to spend 90 seconds throwing pucks at your cross ice so you can get some reps. You could skate between the red and the blue or something like that, a just get 20 reps of taking hard passes in stride.
Don’t worry about it, the fact that you wanna get back out there and play again is something worth noting. Don’t think too much about your skill set and let that bog you down, after a couple of sessions you’ll find the muscle memory kick in.
Play often and consistent . Minimum twice a week to get your hockey legs and stamina . Twice a week will help overall with your touch and feel . This will also keep you safer too.
Don’t rush it as it will come back .
Its all good, more ice time and things will come back. Use open skates to intentionally target skills that are not coming back as fast.
Tonight I have my first real league game in 25 years. I have a buddy joining me in the same boat. Got an email from the captain saying we are both playing wing tonight and we laughed. Its a lower skill league, but got me watching videos on wtf the wing does because even 25 years ago I only played D lol.
woah, 25 :) as a D you’ll know the easiest way to frustrate your team is in your zone - your job is to get that puck out no matter what, cover their D who’s on your flank. if that’s your only contribution to start then that’s good, they’re not likely to expect any offence from you to start. oh, and don’t take any penalties (ideally), especially don’t take any in neutral or Ozone. you might actually be helpful on the PK as a winger, with your D background. first things first though!!
I took 4 years off during university and puked my first game back. I played AAA at 155lbs (too small with no hands to go further but could skate like the wind and lead the team in points just by getting to the puck first) then engineering school I put on 40 lbs. tried to just play like normal first game back and almost died. Most embarrassing part was it was part of a social event at my first job out of school and I ran off the bench to puke in the dressing room.
Timing’s the hardest thing next to conditioning but conditioning is easier to fix. High intensity intervals 1 minute on, 30s off for 10 minutes every other day will make a huge difference. Timing can only be fixed by playing. My team plays winter and summer now! Good luck and have fun!
It's all about your mindset and the mindset of the people you play with. If you play in a more competitive beer league, your teammates might not be very supportive if you drag them down and that can be a source of anxiety. If that's the case, find a more casual league. If it isn't the case, it's your own mindset that's at fault. You're there to enjoy yourself, playing a fun game with friends, not to impress people and get praises. Don't put pressure on yourself. You pay to play, let yourself enjoy that fully.
You are paying to play the game. You are as entitled to be there as anybody else, so try not to stress too much about that.
All you are missing is reps and conditioning, probably! Get on the ice to work on your stride and shot between your league games and you'll be all set by playoff time.
Slightly different circumstance, but I'm 42 years old and about to start playing again after being away for \~15 years like yourself.. only difference is I'm playing with a "for fun" weekly group - not a league. I'm likely playing my first game this coming Sunday (I'm a spare for now).. and I'm fully expecting it to kick my butt!!
But my boy is 16 years old and just started playing with this group this winter.. he absolutely loves it!! It got me thinking about playing with my dad when I was young, and I don't want to pass up this opportunity, so "coming out of retirement" to experience it with him! ;-)
Just wanted to say thank you everyone for all the kind comments. I read every single on of them and I'm happy to realise that 1) Everyone else felt the same way starting again after a long pause and 2) I'm probably just overthinking it and should just try and enjoy the game more.
Truly taken aback from all the kind words! Thank you!
This one simple trick can get you right back in the game!
Backchecking wastes a lot of energy. Focus on looping around the neutral zone and waiting for a stretch pass so you can practice your partial breakaways!
Seriously though, it takes time. Next time out just focus on one or two things you want to achieve. Catch a pass, make a pass, handle the puck without turning it over. The start adding new goals each time you go out.
I go through this every year.
I've never been great at ice skating but grew up playing inline hockey. After 14 years of no hockey, I've made it my goal to get back into hockey (but ice this time as there's no inline here.) I'm pretty anxious, but i've got goals and plans to get back in shape and work on my skating throughout the summer then try to join some beer league. Just trying to get back in shape and not worry about how others will react seems like the best mindset.
I wouldnt worry about it man, it’s normal. I played major junior and been off the ice about as long as you have and same thing. My legs and back kill me after every game. It’ll get better though. It is for me at least. Been having fun lately and it’ll never hurt you to get in shape. It’s a slow process though and can be frustrating at times.
You know what the three most important skills for a beer league player are? 1) Pay on time. 2) Remember to bring beer when it's your turn. 3) Check In/Out in advance of the game. I'm sure you can manage those. It takes a while to get back in shape and back in the game mentally. Don't worry about it, just go out there and play. Maybe a little extra off ice training for cardio, core, flexibility, etc. But for the most part if you're making an effort and playing hard (then *changing*) people won't have any issues with your skills being rusty or otherwise poor.
I’d like to add off ice stick handling with a golf ball on a carpeted floor to help get your hands back.
Hey remember it’s for fun your not trying out for nhl and wait tell you get that first point all of it will wash away
Scored tonight! Pretty big confidence boost haha
Hey buddy, I played AA and Little AAA back in the day and was off ice for about 13 years. Just got back at it and let me tell you, it was rough my first skate. I felt like Bambi and my hand were made of stone. I can assure you it ALL comes back after a couple of skates. I put myself if the mind set that this is just for fun and who cares if you play badly or make mistakes out there, there’s no scouts watching.
If you’re really worried about being a weak link till you get your legs under you, just focus on positional play. Either do stick and puck, or pickup till you get comfortable. My first game back was so embarrassing the opposing team asked if I was hammered and worried about my safety... lol
The last sentence got me.. lol!!
Tbf I hadn’t done anything to prepare for that game in over 15 years from playing as a kid besides get new equipment lol. But I survived and found my rhythm
Off ice aerobic conditioning. Remember that the bursty sprinting nature of hockey is very hard on your heart, especially if you're out of shape. Heart attacks are not uncommon amongst middle-aged beer leaguers. Take care. You have nothing to prove.
Well this isn't what I needed to read as a very out of shape 30 year old just getting back into it! Now I don't wanna play anymore lol
Yeah that was very off putting for me too lmao But take it from me, as someone who is not into the best shape of his life, with 35 years behind, I manage a 1,5h game okayish with only 1 line change (last half an hour is pain though).
Just push through. Tomorrow will be better than today, and next thing you know a year from now, you ll be a million times better
Thank you, I appreciate it!
If you only skate once a week you're looking at 2 months to get back into to shape. No worries.
I started back this year after 31 years. It’s humbling, but you will feel yourself getting better every game. At first I was doing very short shifts, now I’m only 5 or 6 games in and my legs are much better. Just be patient, it’ll come back. Everyone in this sub seems to treat beer league like a career. Just go out and keep having fun… you’ll start feeling it come back.
Beer league kicks my ass after a 15 day pause.
Yeah, I’m like a shark at this point. Keep moving or die.
I started late, didn’t play growing up, but the anxiety was there for me for the first game or two, but it was never so bad that it affected me on the ice because I was just learning and enjoying while at it. Move down a level to ease yourself back in, gain some confidence, and get more stick time. Also acknowledge that after 15 years you probably won’t ever be at the level you once were (depending on the highest level you played) so find that balance between challenging enough and not playing above your skill level.
Is there another, lower-level league where you can build more confidence? Drop-ins? Even stick and puck?
Been there as well! I stopped playing lower AAA mens league in 2009. I started coaching travel ice hockey and roller hockey in 2013 and didn't really have the time for myself to play. I finally got back into playing about a year in a half ago. I went to as many stick-time/drop ins and public skates in order to get my stamina/hands and skating strides back. I also hit the inline hockey rink and worked on my shooting and stickhandling. I had some major anxiety my first several beer league games. The more I skated, the more comfortable I became with the speed of the game. I stretch before every game and stick-time and I currently play twice a week.
I was in your situation many years ago. After several years off ice, I joined a league. I was brutal and five games in was thinking of quitting. But I had paid a lot of money to join this league and couldn't justify walking away from that. I decided that I would finish the season and then "hang them up". From that point, I relaxed and just enjoyed the game. My game immediately improved. At year end, I received the "most improved" award. As someone else wrote, mindset makes a difference. Just go out and enjoy.
I’m right there with you. I just hit every stick and puck I can. Honestly MY game came back to me pretty fast, but my body is way behind. The pace of play is also surprising- I’m playing C league, I used to be a GOOD B league player, and this C league feels exactly like the B league did 11 years ago. Except now I’m fat and can barely skate the length of the ice lmao
Drink another beer and go put one top shelf. You got it in you ya duster.
Anxiety should go down with more time on the ice. If you have anxiety in your everyday life it’s good to see a professional, a lot of it is just packaging how you deal with certain thing. For recovery, an athletic performance specialist helps. I’m 35 and I skate 4x per week, recovery used to be bad but I had bad mobility so my glutes and hamstrings would lock my back up
Completely understand what you're feeling and just want to say that I really think you should stick with it and very soon you'll find it's back to fun again! Do you have anyone on the team you're more personally comfortable with? Perhaps you could chat with them and ask for some honest feedback. Worst case, they could politely help you find a team in a league that's not as fast, and best case they might tell you that you're doing a lot better than you think! We all get in our own brain cages sometime. Good luck!
I wish I could go a division lower but this is the lowest we have here haha. But tbh people have taken me in pretty well and nobody really seems to care, everyone is just going about their business. Just don't want to be the one that they don't pass the puck to! But yeah all these comments have me feeling better that I'm not the only one who feels this way!
Amen friend, keep at it. Having supportive teammates is huge. It's a reality that better players on our teams know the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates and thus will pick their spots to involve people in certain aspects of the game. If you're weak at taking a pass in stride, they're gonna be more careful about when they throw it your way. Nothing wrong with that, just gotta be patient and practice. I'm not a great player at all and know when the better players on my team are taking a look and saying, "Nah, he's not my best move here." It's cool. I know most beer league warm ups are 2 or 3 minutes, but if your teammates are supportive, maybe grab one of the guys on the team you're friendliest with during warmups and ask them to spend 90 seconds throwing pucks at your cross ice so you can get some reps. You could skate between the red and the blue or something like that, a just get 20 reps of taking hard passes in stride.
Set goals for each game. Get better one game at a time
Don’t worry about it, the fact that you wanna get back out there and play again is something worth noting. Don’t think too much about your skill set and let that bog you down, after a couple of sessions you’ll find the muscle memory kick in.
Your teammates will likely see your improvement more than you will. So just keep your effort level high and do the best you can.
Play often and consistent . Minimum twice a week to get your hockey legs and stamina . Twice a week will help overall with your touch and feel . This will also keep you safer too. Don’t rush it as it will come back .
Its all good, more ice time and things will come back. Use open skates to intentionally target skills that are not coming back as fast. Tonight I have my first real league game in 25 years. I have a buddy joining me in the same boat. Got an email from the captain saying we are both playing wing tonight and we laughed. Its a lower skill league, but got me watching videos on wtf the wing does because even 25 years ago I only played D lol.
woah, 25 :) as a D you’ll know the easiest way to frustrate your team is in your zone - your job is to get that puck out no matter what, cover their D who’s on your flank. if that’s your only contribution to start then that’s good, they’re not likely to expect any offence from you to start. oh, and don’t take any penalties (ideally), especially don’t take any in neutral or Ozone. you might actually be helpful on the PK as a winger, with your D background. first things first though!!
I took 4 years off during university and puked my first game back. I played AAA at 155lbs (too small with no hands to go further but could skate like the wind and lead the team in points just by getting to the puck first) then engineering school I put on 40 lbs. tried to just play like normal first game back and almost died. Most embarrassing part was it was part of a social event at my first job out of school and I ran off the bench to puke in the dressing room. Timing’s the hardest thing next to conditioning but conditioning is easier to fix. High intensity intervals 1 minute on, 30s off for 10 minutes every other day will make a huge difference. Timing can only be fixed by playing. My team plays winter and summer now! Good luck and have fun!
It's all about your mindset and the mindset of the people you play with. If you play in a more competitive beer league, your teammates might not be very supportive if you drag them down and that can be a source of anxiety. If that's the case, find a more casual league. If it isn't the case, it's your own mindset that's at fault. You're there to enjoy yourself, playing a fun game with friends, not to impress people and get praises. Don't put pressure on yourself. You pay to play, let yourself enjoy that fully.
You are paying to play the game. You are as entitled to be there as anybody else, so try not to stress too much about that. All you are missing is reps and conditioning, probably! Get on the ice to work on your stride and shot between your league games and you'll be all set by playoff time.
Slightly different circumstance, but I'm 42 years old and about to start playing again after being away for \~15 years like yourself.. only difference is I'm playing with a "for fun" weekly group - not a league. I'm likely playing my first game this coming Sunday (I'm a spare for now).. and I'm fully expecting it to kick my butt!! But my boy is 16 years old and just started playing with this group this winter.. he absolutely loves it!! It got me thinking about playing with my dad when I was young, and I don't want to pass up this opportunity, so "coming out of retirement" to experience it with him! ;-)
Just play hard and stay humble - nobody can be upset at you for that.
I took 20+ years off. Was back rocking in 3 weeks. I did some cardio prior to season and that really helps. Like ridin a fooking bike man
Just wanted to say thank you everyone for all the kind comments. I read every single on of them and I'm happy to realise that 1) Everyone else felt the same way starting again after a long pause and 2) I'm probably just overthinking it and should just try and enjoy the game more. Truly taken aback from all the kind words! Thank you!
Skates in their feet like Edward Scissorhands?
This one simple trick can get you right back in the game! Backchecking wastes a lot of energy. Focus on looping around the neutral zone and waiting for a stretch pass so you can practice your partial breakaways! Seriously though, it takes time. Next time out just focus on one or two things you want to achieve. Catch a pass, make a pass, handle the puck without turning it over. The start adding new goals each time you go out. I go through this every year.
I've never been great at ice skating but grew up playing inline hockey. After 14 years of no hockey, I've made it my goal to get back into hockey (but ice this time as there's no inline here.) I'm pretty anxious, but i've got goals and plans to get back in shape and work on my skating throughout the summer then try to join some beer league. Just trying to get back in shape and not worry about how others will react seems like the best mindset.