What position should I try to learn as an adult beginner in hockey?

Question

I am 29 years old and have decided to learn how to play the game of hockey. I am fairly athletic and have played sports such as basketball, football, and baseball in my high school and a portion of my college years. I am 6'5" and about 205 lbs. and am just now learning how to skate first at public skate, etc. Does anyone have any advice as to what position I should learn to play considering I am a bit too old to learn them all? My initial thought was to try defense since I am very tall and not all that fast on skates, however it would sure be fun to score also. Any advice?

Answer 1

Your best bet would be to play either forward position. Because you dont skate well defense will be a tough position as they need to be a bit more mobile and make quicker decisions. Plus if you are learning the finer points of skating you probably arent real good skating backwards, a requirement to be a good D-man. Forwards in rec. hockey arent always the best skaters and given your size and lack of speed you could be a force in front of the net. Learn how to position yourself and practice keeping your stick on the ice as much as possible in front of the net and soon enough you will net an occasional goal. Since you played other sports at the high school and college level you should be able to handle the occasional beating and banging in front of the net (personally that is my favorite part). Work on your skating and practice anywhere you can with someone flipping pucks toward you to get off quick shots and try having someone flip pucks into your feet and learn to use your feet and stick to get the puck towards the net quickly. Good luck....and keep your head up!!!

Answer 2

I think the answers that recommend learning the game first are right. Learn how to skate forward and then backward. Whether you are a defenseman or not you need to be able to go backwards. Then learn how to handle the puck. Learn how to pass the puck and finally how to shoot it. Don't worry about the slap shot right away either, the wrist shot is more accurate anyway. If you really want to beat goalies, practice your backhand. Play a lot of pick up, usually you can play all the positions in pick-up hockey and get a feel for where you are comfortable.

Most of all, make sure you are having fun. Too many guys for get they are paying to play instead of the other way around.

Finally, if you do settle on "D", don't think you can't score, check out the NHL stats and you'll see some great Defensemen who are also tops in scoring.

Answer 3

I organize a rec hockey team in BC and all new players I usually put at either left or right wing to start. These positions are the easiest to start out at and the easiest to play positionally. The centreman usually has to do more skating and has to be strong on skates for the faceoffs. Defense is tough because the backwards skating is essential and positioning is really important. The main thing I suggest is to work on skating as much as possible, work on proper positioning, and ask teammates questions to help with your hockey development. The main thing though is to have fun and try to score.

Answer 4

Instead of trying to pick a position you need to just concentrate on learning all the basics first. I think its great that you want to learn hockey because it is a great sport. You need to realize though that it is way more complicated than baseball or football. Practice and try to get good at skating, stopping, shooting, passing, etc. and then worry about picking a position. Goodluck.

Answer 5

BEFORE you start playing any position..become as good as u can at skating..puck handling..etc. Then maybe u will see a difference and be able to play forward..either one requires just as much athleticity..each one has its own purposes