Srsieve

My C/A started out white, but is pretty much brown at this point. Does that count?

I have to pay 1/2 price for my regular Tuesday league, however, every other skate that I do, or sub in, is free. Around here, it seems like there are more skates then there are goalies to cover them, so I get asked to sub constantly. Unfortunately, they usually ask me to sub on days I am already playing or have other commitments, so many times I can't do it. That is definitely one of the up-sides to being a goalie. However, once you have committed to play, you also can't back out at the last minute if something comes up, like skaters can. A couple times I played when I was sick as a dog, or could barely walk due to an injury, just because I had committed to be there, and they couldn't find a sub.

Same here in MI. Goalies are usually free and I could play 4-5 times a week if I had that much time. There seems to be a huge demand for goalies in the area. Even at the younger levels that is the case. One of the high-school teams in our city had to fold because they had zero goalies.

I would have sworn those were 12" pads by looking at them.

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

Yes, agreed. That space collapses and cushions the shot, which makes it easier to contain it in your glove without having it bounce too far away from your body. Not to mention less impact forces.

I am the opposite. I like to have some space in there for air-flow. I tried tucking it in, but I get so hot that I can't hardly stand it.

It would be pretty cool if you could get content from the last 12 months from the Goalie Crease Network uploaded into the new site. That way, we could search on old posts, videos, etc. Not sure on the legalities or the effort that would require, but it would be nice.