JoDo Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 I'm curious how many of you play some type of organized hockey, mainly adult rec hockey. I grew up playing hockey in Hamburg and now play in an adult league in the Pacific NW. I work PT for the rink running our league and would like to hear about other adult rec leagues and how they run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 I played for a D-league team for a while. Unfortunately, a scheduling conflict kept me out this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 I play three days a week currently so long as I'm getting sleep at night. I alternate between net and skater depending on the need. Net is my love though. Last adult league I was in was a C league at Lakeshore in Roc about three years ago. It was pay up front and play. Our team never suited more than a line after the first two games, it was brutal haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDS Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD has the largest adult league on the east coast. We have something like 80 teams and 1200 players. I'm finishing up my 4th year and play on two teams in 2 separate divisions. I'm a part of a club that has 5 teams in 5 divisions. Our setup is average. The ice is usually bad because it is used from 6am to 12pm. Our officials can be brutal at times. There is also no "ringer" oversight which makes for some dirty games. When you play down 6 divisions and still take it upon yourself to lead the league in scoring - you should suffer huge consequences. We get time slots at 10:00pm at night... It is also outrageously expensive. For 21 games I think we pay around $8000 per team. Yet, it is the funnest thing I do. I do my best to learn and play real team hockey, as opposed to just skating around mindlessly, so it has really upped my appreciation of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 I grew up playing and played in C leagues after I finished college. Played D leagues well into my 30's. Haven't played in over 10 years though. Coached minor Bantam house league for a few years. IMO the biggest problem with most adult leagues is controlling ringers and skill level. As SDS mentioned, I found that teams bringing on ringers was the single biggest problem, and yeah, it did make for some hostile games. I miss playing but stopped because, 1. my knees just don't take the abuse well anymore and 2. in my current community the only league at my skill level is 10pm Thursdays. My alarm goes off at 5:15. No way playing until 11:30-12 and then spending an hour and a half winding down works with a 5:15 start to the work day. Getting old sucks. It ain't for the faint of heart I tell ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spndnchz Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Sometimes the girls and I wip out the minnie sticks in the basement over Margarita's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDS Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Sometimes the girls and I wip out the minnie sticks in the basement over Margarita's. Do I need to look that up on urbandictionary.com? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Do I need to look that up on urbandictionary.com? My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Sometimes the girls and I wip out the minnie sticks in the basement over Margarita's. Are you bending over or on your knees when you girls are playing with those sticks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Sometimes the girls and I wip out the minnie sticks in the basement over Margarita's. This takes on a completely different meaning for anyone that still believes you are really a guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Lindy Ruff NOW Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 shes always mentioning margaritas! some one tries a little too hard eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'm in a ridiculously massive league out in Boston. The scheduling usually sucks because the one guy running things has to organize everything for a hundred or so teams spread out over several weeks. Somehow this year though, we've been constantly getting games at the same rink, which just happens to be the closest one to home and is a DI women's rink. So the travel and the ice conditions have been really good this year. As always, the refs still suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Sometimes the girls and I wip out the minnie sticks in the basement over Margarita's. Over Margarita's what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I swim to improve my conditioning and that really helps me. Those battles along the boards are often won by the guy who has that extra bit of gas in the tank. I didn't score any goals tonight but we won, so that's cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Dwight Drane Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I swim to improve my conditioning and that really helps me. Those battles along the boards are often won by the guy who has that extra bit of gas in the tank. I didn't score any goals tonight but we won, so that's cool. Good stuff....better than running and saves the joints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Good stuff....better than running and saves the joints Yes, swimming is a fantastic workout. I use to play floor hockey and that is hard on the body, all that running Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoDo Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Great replies! I run a league of 30 teams over 4 divisions. I love hearing about other rec leagues and how they work, so keep it coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cereal Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Good stuff....better than running and saves the joints Oy... A runner myself. If my knees are anything likes Dad's, though, it won't last too much longer :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spndnchz Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 These... jeesh. Ur all horny MF'rs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROC Sabres Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I grew up playing and played in C leagues after I finished college. Played D leagues well into my 30's. Haven't played in over 10 years though. Coached minor Bantam house league for a few years. IMO the biggest problem with most adult leagues is controlling ringers and skill level. As SDS mentioned, I found that teams bringing on ringers was the single biggest problem, and yeah, it did make for some hostile games. I miss playing but stopped because, 1. my knees just don't take the abuse well anymore and 2. in my current community the only league at my skill level is 10pm Thursdays. My alarm goes off at 5:15. No way playing until 11:30-12 and then spending an hour and a half winding down works with a 5:15 start to the work day. Getting old sucks. It ain't for the faint of heart I tell ya. I played in a D league in Rochester for a bit but the price was starting to get too steep to want to continue at this point. I agree though. Ringers are the worst part about any league you play in. One team specifically signed up for D league knowing full well that they were going to be better than any other team (guys that didn't make their college hockey teams but had a lot of skill). The biggest problem was that they place that ran the league knew about it and refused to police the skill level of who can play because they didn't care as long as they were getting their money. I understand during the summer when all the college players are looking for something to do while they are off but having a team like that year round is a slap in the face to anyone that has respect for the game and those who play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I'm in a ridiculously massive league out in Boston. The scheduling usually sucks because the one guy running things has to organize everything for a hundred or so teams spread out over several weeks. Somehow this year though, we've been constantly getting games at the same rink, which just happens to be the closest one to home and is a DI women's rink. So the travel and the ice conditions have been really good this year. As always, the refs still suck. Can't beat us? Join us! C'mon Shrader, what are you waiting for! You know you can do a better job than any referee, EVER! I play in Hockey North America. Not by choice, but the guys I played summer pickup with were already in the league and asked me to play some solid 'D' for them. So far, so good. We lost last night 3-2, but I was plus-1 and not scored upon. Refs let EVERYTHING go. I think they were talking themselves out of calling anything, instead of just calling it last night. Amazingly, I wasn't involved in any fracases, but I did get a slashing penalty when a guy about 20 years my junior got around me. Lucky for me, he took a hooking penalty about 20 seconds after I was called. Phew! I also play pickup with a different group of guys. Truthfully, I enjoy the pickup more than I enjoy the league. Less intensity, although we still play hard. Nobody's trying to kill you out there, though. Pickup is where you can really improve your game. Nobody really cares if you try to make a play and it doesn't work. I also referee, if you don't know that already. Love ya, Shrader!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoDo Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I use an ID card system in our league. A-it verifies you are registered with USAH and B-it's color coded to skill level. For instance an A level card holder may have a yellow card. The refs collect the cards as players get on the ice, a yellow card would not be allowed in a C level game. There are more details but you get the point. It's not a perfect system but we have drastically reduced the "ringer" problem. I'm a goalie who plays in the A division but struggles. I should be in B but a few of my forwards would not be allowed to play in B. Collectively we are about .500 We pay as a team about 4700 for the season for 24 games. It works out to around 197 per game per team. Most games are at 9:45 or 10:30pm with a few 8:45 slots. How do these ice times compare with you back there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korab rules Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I grew up playing a little pond hockey. Lived way out in the burbs with no ice or leagues. Took up organized hockey to keep up with my kids. Ringers are a huge problem everywhere. Guys trying to relive their glory days are usually the guys that never had them in the first place. Now I refuse to play in the leagues - I enjoy drop in much more. There is a regular group that attends, and everyone recognizes we have to get up and go to work the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrapj Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Down here in Atlanta our league is closely monitored by the people who run the league. No one new can join a team without going through an evaluation prior to each season. All captains are on hand and make a determination about a players skill level and where he is slotted. We currently have 3 different skilled divisions. The top division has some excellent young/college, ex-college guys. The lower two divisions are more beer league/fun, though it is still quite competitive. The lower divisions have a player goal limit per game to cut out the ringers. Game times are late like everywhere else. Always treated like the redheaded step child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimiVbaby Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I play in the C3 division in Buffalo at Holiday/Leisure rinks. I played floor hockey for 7 or so years and got quite good at it, but knew the reality that I needed to play ice hockey to feel somewhat legitimate as a hockey player. I started over the past summer and really haven't ice skated in close to 17 years. I'm not in the lowest division which was frustrating at first but I can somewhat hold my own now. I'm not the best skater especially when it comes to stopping but everything else I learned from roller hockey growing up. The major problem with the fall leagues is the fact the games are so inconsistently scheduled. We'll play 3 Mondays in a row, have off 2 then play every other week for awhile. The summer league had less teams and more consistency. Holiday Twin Rinks does a pretty decent job moving teams up and down divisions to keep things fair. There's always a ringer on the team and stuff does get out of hand sometimes but in all it's fun to play. I'm just at the point where I need to play consistently or I won't keep on getting better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.