Old Man making a comeback!

[JayMcC28]

Hey gang...not sure if this is the right thread location but here goes...

I played goal my entire life until about 20 years ago...knee problems forced me to move out of the cage. Now I think I  ready to give it another shot but I have virtually no gear and I am getting overwhelmed by EVERYTHING.

I guess I would consider my style "hybrid". In my hey days it was all "stack the pads" and skate saves. Towards the end of my run I was just starting to toy with a little bit of the butterfly style. I am not averse to adding more of that to my game but now I am trying to find used gear and my head is spinning.

Skates: one thing I still have are my old Bauer Supremes with the cool white cowling. I would prefer to keep these to begin with the keep the costs down...just in case this experiment doesn't work out. Is that going to be problematic? I did see these "cool" overdrive blades I could attach to the bottoms.

Pads: full butterfly or hybrid? Size? After doing some reading on sizing I went to the local Play It Again Sports and tried a few pairs on. I was surprised that the size that seemed to feel the best were 34"+1. However,  I wasn't wearing my skates. Also, the best feel seemed to be non-hybrid mostly because thaty allowed me to rotate the pad so I could land on the inside knee cushion.

Stick: what? No lie listed? Back in the day I used an odd "15" lie. No idea where to even start here.

Anyway, I was a pretty solid keeper in my day, played right up through college (club) and then into pretty competitive men's league before I dropped out for about 5 years...joined back in for maybe 3 years in the early 2000's before the knee problems acted up. Any thoughts or advice would be welcome!

[coopaloop1234]

[creasecollector]

Welcome back to the crease!

Not a gear comment, but just wanted to share some advise as you make your way back. Stoked for you, dude!

Like most things, transitioning back into the game can be fun but humbling. I would go easy on yourself and your expectations. Like you, I dropped out of the game many years back after I turned 18. A few years later, my mind knew what I had to do but my body just couldn't get there. 

However, like mine, your first skate back could be incredible. The game will quickly humble you after that, and then the real process will begin.  

It can be frustrating and fun at the same time, but you do eventually make your way back. Enjoy the process and remember why you started playing goal in the first place. Best of luck!

Edited December 24, 2024 by creasecollector

[Fullright]

@JayMcC28: welcome aboard and dont let @coopaloop1234 bother you. He's a good guy and a great goalie. He's rehabbing from a bad knee injury so he crabbier than usual and has a rabbit fetish. You'll get plenty of good advice here because the members here are really good in net and really helpful.

Edited December 24, 2024 by Fullright

[MTH]

On 12/23/2024 at 2:43 PM, JayMcC28 said:

Any thoughts or advice would be welcome!

Stay home. Go play golf.