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Switching Teams - Beer League


coopaloop1234

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So I've got a question for you guys:

- Have you ever had to leave a team where you enjoy playing with the guys, but the level is too low?

I'm currently playing on two teams (Div 4 + Div 8/ Out of 12). The Div 8 team I've been with for years, got back into hockey with originally, won many championships with, and am friends with the guys, but the level of play is just too low to enjoy.

A div 3 team that i've played many times against have decided to bring me on full time for the remainder of the season + Playoffs and for next winter season. This will mean next winter i'll be on a div 3+4 teams. Of course I'm going to take this, competitive hockey is far more fun for me and will allow me to further improve my skills as a goalie.

Thing is, I feel terrible for my low level team. I really enjoy the guys, but absolutely hate the level of hockey.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do? Is it worth taking on the higher level of play?

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Well there was the time I made it to the NHL, but...

JUST KIDDING!!!!

I have been in a similar situation playing in a band. We played the same crappy places. Our playlist was stale, and I was bored out of my mind. I grew to hate my band because they shot down every suggestion I came up with to freshen things up. In the end, it became a bitter break up, unfortunately...

It’s never easy to leave something where you enjoy everything except for the purpose you’re there.

You may burn a bridge, you may not. Tell them that you’re playing out the rest of the contracted dates unless they want to try someone else during the rest  of the season. Even suggest your replacement if you have one in mind. Stress to them how much you enjoy them, but you want more challenge, etc. 

Good luck.

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If you can, try to hook them up with a goalie - if you know anyone.

If you're going to leave, do it while your relationships are still on good terms. Keep in touch with them if they're your friends, and fill in when you can.

But - do what lets you enjoy the sport most.

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2 minutes ago, estogoalie said:

Yea, finding a team that are cool guys AND a good level of play is very tricky. It's like with chicks, either they are smoking hot but totally psycho, or then they are very cool but woof-woof. Your call. Good luck.

I give you.... the crazy hot matrix...

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@coopaloop1234 I been on the other side of it... I’ve subbed for teams that want to dump their tendy but seem to observe some code that doesn’t allow them to cut ties.  Do what’s best for you... but like others have said, if you can float them a replacement, makes you look like a stand up dude

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I was on two teams, needed to cut back, so I chose the higher level team.  My lower level team was unhappy.  I'll admit part of it was the politics of the lower level team that made me want to quit as well.  Do what you gotta do, but do it nicely.  And if you can find them a quality tendy to replace you, they'll get over it eventually.

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I've been very lucky to have been with my team since I started playing in men's league, and now I captain it (along with another guy so we have order on the bench). I joined when they were tier 3 because I had no where else to play, and we eventually ascended to tier 1 where we've stayed for almost three years now, and where I enjoy playing the most as a goalie. Granted, the roster has changed over that time, but we carry a consistent core of guys. Fun team to be on, too. The right blend of having fun whilst remaining competitive. 

I had one case recently where a tier 2 team asked me to play because their goalie had decided to go down a level, so I said sure. Only to find out they ditched him when I confirmed, and essentially told the guy "piss off - we got someone better than you". I felt terrible. Had I known, I would have rejected them. Poor guy was heartbroken. I played one session for them, and oddly enough played like total crap. Think I was subconsciously tanking it.

I've switched teams as forward. Mostly because of teams folding, and one case of a team with annoying baggage. Every other team had an issue with them, and some of their parents came to the games, often making a scene whenever shit went down on the ice. I even got red pants at one point so other teams I was friends with didn't mistake me for someone else.

So far I've enjoyed the new team I moved to this session in tier 3, but it's easier to switch as a player since most of the teams in the league are faithful to their goalies.

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I have my current team which im really enjoying playing and practicing with, level isnt too great but they guys are nice and we have fun. I was asked to play with another team where the level was better but the guys where just not nice ( stuff like chirping me when im playing for them  and complaining to team mates about how i was playing when i had an off night) so i decided they could go fuck them selves and left them without a goalie. my point is that if im not having fun playing hockey whats the point in playing, i wasn't getting anything out of playing with the team except feeling bad. After all this isn't my job its a hobby and i want to have fun.

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Thanks gents.

Funny enough, played with the low level team at the end of a back-to back. We lost 7-6 and were outshot 45-22. (this is after my high div team played where I faced 37 shots) It's extremely frustrating watching the guys in front of me just have no legs/conditioning and poor positioning and where I'm still out skating them despite it being my second game.

It's a pretty common occurrence and I just don't think I have it in me to do another full season of just being bored/frustrated. Having that game come right after making this thread sure is making my decision a lot easier to swallow.

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20 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Thanks gents.

Funny enough, played with the low level team at the end of a back-to back. We lost 7-6 and were outshot 45-22. (this is after my high div team played where I faced 37 shots) It's extremely frustrating watching the guys in front of me just have no legs/conditioning and poor positioning and where I'm still out skating them despite it being my second game.

It's a pretty common occurrence and I just don't think I have it in me to do another full season of just being bored/frustrated. Having that game come right after making this thread sure is making my decision a lot easier to swallow.

If you don’t do this, you will end up despising these guys. That is no way to be in a fun time activity.

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@coopaloop1234 I read this thread yesterday when you first posted in and wanted heckle you saying that I didn't know you had such an elitist attitude in you. Call you a cake eater... etc etc etc. But the truth is I understand. If the lower league guys don't understand... it is what it is. No need to burn bridges by any means... but I'm of the opinion to play as competitive as you can for as long as you can. 

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8 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

@coopaloop1234 I read this thread yesterday when you first posted in and wanted heckle you saying that I didn't know you had such an elitist attitude in you. Call you a cake eater... etc etc etc. But the truth is I understand. If the lower league guys don't understand... it is what it is. No need to burn bridges by any means... but I'm of the opinion to play as competitive as you can for as long as you can. 

I think that's the first time I would've ever been called a cake eater. :P

I definitely see why anyone could see my post like that. And I'm partially in that camp too, it's part of the reason why I've got reservations about it. I'm essentially giving them the shaft since they're not good enough for me. Obviously i'm going to phrase it far more delicately and do my best not to burn any bridges, as that's not my intention. I just only have time for two teams and I need to do what I find better for myself.

If I was single, I don't think I'd have too many issue playing for three teams. :P

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20 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I think that's the first time I would've ever been called a cake eater. :P

I definitely see why anyone could see my post like that. And I'm partially in that camp too, it's part of the reason why I've got reservations about it. I'm essentially giving them the shaft since they're not good enough for me. Obviously i'm going to phrase it far more delicately and do my best not to burn any bridges, as that's not my intention. I just only have time for two teams and I need to do what I find better for myself.

If I was single, I don't think I'd have too many issue playing for three teams. :P

First quarter is usually a busy time of year for me at work so I bowed out of a lesser skilled skate for a session... something had to go so I could have a decent work/life balance and I'm too competitive to take time off of the quicker league. The real crux is that in my experience slower skates are usually filled with great guys... some even decent hockey players. While the faster skates you get good to really good hockey players... but it's usually get a mixed bag on the great guy to jerk ratio. 

Cake eater.

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36 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

First quarter is usually a busy time of year for me at work so I bowed out of a lesser skilled skate for a session... something had to go so I could have a decent work/life balance and I'm too competitive to take time off of the quicker league. The real crux is that in my experience slower skates are usually filled with great guys... some even decent hockey players. While the faster skates you get good to really good hockey players... but it's usually get a mixed bag on the great guy to jerk ratio. 

Cake eater.

I find bigger douchebags in the lower divs. Those guys really have a hard time recognizing that the tough guy hockey player looks real fucking dumb in the ankle bender leagues.

Pie stuffer.

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Never know how things will work out and probably best to just make the change as gently as you can. The last two seasons of my Hockey Life 1.0 had a deal similar to Coop's. In my penultimate year, my team (Hardknocks ((Beer league name alert)) had a thing with another team (Nutcracker) that was very personal. Both teams were in Mens B so the hockey was pretty good for Beer League but both simply hated each other and the games were rough if not criminal. Nutcracker's goalie decided he had had enough and didn't want to go with the rest of the team to what was called Mens A and retired. Lo and behold, they asked me to play with them and I said yes while still playing with Hardknocks in the Mens B division. The next season, my last, I got some ribbing about it from Hardknocks and Nutcracker players but things worked out really well for each and myself until I blew a shoulder out in a playoff game. Still friends with guys from each team coming on 20 years later. So the adage about not burning bridges is probably apt and yes Coop, it was worth it. 

Fast forward to now and even though I am rostered on a team or two as their nuclear winter goalie, I was lucky to find a loosely organized skate/drop in that has some good players and for a dinosaur like myself, it is very nice to not have a game at 1030 pm on a Wednesday or worry whether so and so is going to blame me for a loss when I play poorly or blow an easy save. Having said all that, this relic snow flake needs a quiet space to eat some cake or pie.  :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

So that conversation went about as well as I expected.

They're not too thrilled, giving me that ol' guilt trip of abandoning them after 7 years. Now they want me to play the first half of the season because they can't find anyone to commit full time. (New season doesn't start till September....)

I'm working on finding them a replacement, but yea, they ain't too happy. lol

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I worked for a company (company A for clarity) for 2 years some time back. Great staff, really fun people, but the work was mind-numbingly boring and unchallenging. I left there when I got an offer to go to a job that was interesting and challenging while getting to work with state of the art equipment and extremely bright people.

When it was revealed I was leaving company A in a smaller staff meeting, I told them in no uncertain terms that they were the greatest people to work with , but also explained my reasoning and how it was good for my career. They understood and I stayed in touch with a lot of them for quite a while after (played Friday late night hockey with their group for a few years after my departure.)

I think you need to look at this in the same light: you are leaving to move to the next level (which is obviously what you want and enjoy). The good ones will understand, the other, well, they will always be "the others".

If it helps, I am still with the place I moved to from company A after 21 years and still look forward to coming to work 99% of the days - a lot of times you know what the right thing to do is, it's the actual "doing" that's the hard part

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5 minutes ago, Ghostender said:

If it helps, I am still with the place I moved to from company A after 21 years and still look forward to coming to work 99% of the days - a lot of times you know what the right thing to do is, it's the actual "doing" that's the hard part

Definitely sound advice. Cheers. 

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Coop, I think you do what you can to help them find a replacement but like Ghost suggests, move on and see how you do. You don't want to "what if" yourself once your playing days are done. Pretty classy of you to help them find a new guy; they should do the same.

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20 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

So that conversation went about as well as I expected.

They're not too thrilled, giving me that ol' guilt trip of abandoning them after 7 years. Now they want me to play the first half of the season because they can't find anyone to commit full time. (New season doesn't start till September....)

I'm working on finding them a replacement, but yea, they ain't too happy. lol

Geez Coop... how did it go down...

  • "It was nice playing with some of you, but i'm leaving." 
  • Sticky note saying "Going out for a pack of cigs." but you never came back (nor do you smoke.)
  • Explained the new team has guys who are much younger, more fit, have more energy, and they make you feel like the man you want to be.

Please tell me it was one of these and not @Ghostender's way to do right.

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3 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

Geez Coop... how did it go down...

  • "It was nice playing with some of you, but i'm leaving." 
  • Sticky note saying "Going out for a pack of cigs." but you never came back (nor do you smoke.)
  • Explained the new team has guys who are much younger, more fit, have more energy, and they make you feel like the man you want to be.

Please tell me it was one of these and not @Ghostender's way to do right.

lmao. Got a good giggle out of that one.

Naw, as I had to miss a game, they borrowed my old gear. As they were giving it back the next game, I asked the room if anyone was interested in playing goal next year. They asked why. And then I broke the news.

Though, those three options are definitely a much better way to go about it. :rofl:

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49 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

lmao. Got a good giggle out of that one.

Naw, as I had to miss a game, they borrowed my old gear. As they were giving it back the next game, I asked the room if anyone was interested in playing goal next year. They asked why. And then I broke the news.

Though, those three options are definitely a much better way to go about it. :rofl:

I had a guy pop into my locker room after a game and ask if I could stay and sub for their team immediately after... I actually couldn't had to head home... but then he came back 2 min later and offered me $50 to borrow my gear. Caught me off guard. Wasn't sure which was more insulting... that I come across as the type of guy who would loan out my gear... or that they think I would do it for a mere $50 (USD.) I'm not saying I'm better than a pimp... but you offer a Pontiac price for my Cadillac... we got some problems.

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29 minutes ago, BadAngle41 said:

I had a guy pop into my locker room after a game and ask if I could stay and sub for their team immediately after... I actually couldn't had to head home... but then he came back 2 min later and offered me $50 to borrow my gear. Caught me off guard. Wasn't sure which was more insulting... that I come across as the type of guy who would loan out my gear... or that they think I would do it for a mere $50 (USD.) I'm not saying I'm better than a pimp... but you offer a Pontiac price for my Cadillac... we got some problems.

I would never let somebody else in my gear. Especially after using a demo set of Brian's gloves and not being able to get the stench off my hands for days.

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