I migrated over here from the Goalie Crease Network and Goalie Store Forums. As far as my hockey background is concerned, I took a very unlikely path to where I am today. I played football and basketball in High-School. We didn't have any rinks nearby in those days, so organized hockey was pretty rare. I did grow up across the street from a lake, so we did some skating in the winter and some pond hockey. In college, there was organized floor hockey league in our dorm @ MSU. That was my first experience with any type of semi-organized hockey. I was hooked. When I got out, I stumbled upon another floor hockey group near my house, and played with them for 20+ years. Mostly as a forward to start, but eventually migrated to goalie out of necessity, as we constantly struggled to find 2 goalies. I hated it at first, mainly due to lack of proper equipment and any clue about how to play the position. Over time, I picked up some used street hockey gear and learned to love playing in net.
Nine years ago, my youngest son started playing hockey, and I started to get the bug to play on the ice as well. At the age of 40, I signed up for an Adult Hockey Clinic (as a skater) at our local rink and did that for a whole winter to work on my skating. While there, I noticed that they rarely had two goalies for the sessions. I asked if they wanted another goalie and they were thrilled. It gave me a chance to learn under zero pressure and with other old guys like me who were new to the game. One of the guys from the clinic eventually asked me if I was interested in subbing for their pick-up session at another local rink. I agreed and have now been a regular goalie there for the past 7 years. 4 years ago I started subbing for a 40+ league at my local rink. It was the first time I had ever played in any actual games, with Refs. I loved it and wanted more. It took me 3 years of subbing to land a regular gig in that league, and then 4 games into that season, I suffered a pretty serious groin/sports-hernia injury. I took about 4 months off to heal and rehab and came back in Sept. So far, so good (knock on wood), in part due to the special brace I designed that keeps me from over extending my legs when I butterfly.
As I side note, I was an Assistant Coach for my Son's team for 5 years and went through Level 4 Coaching Certification. I worked with the goalies and was in charge of the defensive pairings and changes during games. I enjoyed doing that, but also don't mind sitting back and watching the games as a parent now that my Son is on the Varsity team for his High School. He has one year left, so have to soak it in while it lasts. He now plays with me on Sundays at the pick-up session I mentioned earlier. It is a real treat to be able to skate together (except when he lights me up for a hat-trick!). Glad to be part of the new forum! Cheers! Mike (aka SrSieve),
Catches: Full-Right
Age: 49
Hometown: Troy, MI
Primary Rinks: Troy Sports Center, Cranbrook
League: Michigan Sting Hockey Program (TSC)
Hgt/Wgt: 5'10" / 185
Pads: Vaughn Vision 35+1
C/A: Bauer Supreme
Glove/Blocker: Bauer Supreme
Skates: Bauer Supreme One-100s