It’s been almost ten months of lessons, discovery, and tips. Here’s the top things I would pass along to the adult beginner:
1. Skate, skate, and skate. Every opportunity you can take to get out on the ice just to skate will pay dividends. As my neighbour, a former competitive dance skater told me: “Mileage. Skating is just mileage.”
2. Get small gloves so you can feel and handle your stick.
3. Look to the direction you are skating, it will happen immensely with stopping and turning.
4. Dry land stickhandling with a weighted ball, golf ball helps! It really does.
5. The ONLY jerseys you really need are a black and a white one.
6. Sharpen your skates more frequently rather than less frequently.
7. Like finding a good woman, you will probably have to go through a few sticks until you find the one that is just right for you.
8. Don’t take long shifts. It is always noticed who pulls the longest shifts.
9. A good rule of thumb: if somebody is ahead of you, pass them the puck.
10. Buy a sports tree to hang up your equipment. There are few things more unpleasant than putting on wet equipment.
11. Get some flip-flops and shower afterwards.
12. Go hard or go home. When you are out there, the only way to play is to play fast and hard. Believe me, everybody notices the guys who stand around. And these are the guys who usually take the longest shifts.
13. Try on as many pairs of skates as you can. Then go home, return the next day and repeat the process. In other words, don’t rush yourself when purchasing your skates.
14. Accept for your skates and helmet, think about purchasing everything else used.
15. The boards are your friends. As tempting as that cross-ice lead out pass is, it is almost always going to be knocked down.
