USA Hockey Adult Hockey

Every hockey player has a story about how they started playing.

Maybe a picture exists in a shoebox somewhere of you, barely old enough to walk, with your first pair of skates.

Maybe you didn’t catch the hockey bug until later in life, and you have some painful memories of trying to catch up to everyone else.

Whatever the case, you started. And now you won’t stop. There’s a good chance you’re hooked for life, and in honor of that we present a list.

10 Reasons Why an Adult Hockey Player Will Never Hang Up the Skates:

Fitness: Hockey is tremendous exercise, and unlike jogging on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike in the winter, you actually accomplish something when you play hockey. As we get older (and inevitably our bodies follow suit), maintaining a level of fitness is vital to our health, happiness and overall well being. For some adult players, hockey is the best exercise they get. For some, it’s the only exercise. Giving that up would be a detriment, and they know it.

To feel young: There is something to be cherished about playing a game. It’s a reminder of our youth, when there was seemingly endless time and countless players available for pick-up games. When did we all get so busy? Oh, right, adulthood. For an hour or two on the ice, though, you get to feel like a kid again. That’s a pretty nice feeling.

That perfect goal: In many life pursuits, the dream of perfection is out there. In hockey, perfection comes in the form of a perfect goal – the type of play where the stars align, the puck goes tape to tape to tape, maybe there’s a delicious saucer pass and a sweet rooftop one-timer to finish it. Sports are art, and hockey is no exception. You keep playing for the art.

Competitive spirit: While the intensity level in an adult hockey game is dialed down a bit from, say, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, anytime you divide up teams and drop the puck, the competitive juices start to flow. Nobody wants to lose. Having a healthy competitive outlet is vital for many players and keeps them going.

A link to past glory: Maybe you were a star in high school or college or even got a sniff at some level of professional hockey. Your old stories can only take you so far. Unless you keep playing, those tales of games a generation ago start to sound like a variation on one theme: the older I get, the better I was. So instead of reminding everyone how good you were, you keep showing them how good you still are.

To maintain sanity: Let’s face it: an unfortunately large portion of life can sometimes feel like drudgery. Wake up, go to work, eat dinner, watch some TV, go to sleep, repeat. If every day was like this, we’d go crazy. That’s why we play hockey – to remind us that it’s good to get out of the everyday routine and to give us something we look forward to every week.

Togetherness: Whether your team has been together for more than a decade or less than two line changes, the camaraderie of being on a team and in a league keeps a lot of players going. When you think back on teams you played on as a kid, it’s not just the games you remember. It’s the people. 

Peer pressure: On the flip side, if you have been on an adult team for a really long time, you also might not dare quit because you would face the wrath of your teammates. It’s not that you would ever want to hang up your skates, but even just imagining what would happen if you did is not a pretty sight.

Postgame beer(s): If you add grabbing a beer to just about any event, it’s going to sound a lot better. Even chores like moving furniture or picking up a friend at the airport are appealing if there is a cold one attached. Playing in an adult hockey league is no different. A chance to wind down after a game and extend the evening? Yeah, that keeps people going.

The big stage: And last but certainly not least, playing in an adult league gives you the opportunity to play in big tournaments. You can play for USA Hockey Adult Rec National Championship or sign up for some of the many pond hockey tournaments across the country, including the heralded Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships in Eagle River, Wisconsin. At these events, of course, you’ll find fitness, feeling young, great goals, competition, glory, something to look forward to, camaraderie and most certainly beer – all the things you play for all year in one weekend.

Why do you keep playing?

Tell us on our Facebook page.