So, I decided I needed to do something. You know, get off the couch. My kid mentioned something about friends playing ice hockey over in Roxbury, and a lightbulb went off. I used to skate, ages ago. How hard could it be?
First step, gear. Man, I forgot how much stuff you need. Went digging in the basement, found my ancient skates. Looked online for used gear. Spent a whole weekend driving around, picking up dusty pads and a helmet that smelled kinda funky. New stuff? Forget about it, cost a fortune.
Getting Back on the Ice
Finally got everything sorted. Headed down to the Roxbury rink. Felt weirdly nervous just lacing up the skates again. Took me forever. Stepped onto the ice and, wow, almost went down immediately. Felt like Bambi out there. Seriously humbling.
I just skated around the edges during a public session for a few weeks. Tried stickhandling a puck I brought. Mostly just trying not to fall and break something. Saw some guys playing pickup, looked intense. Way faster than I remembered.
Heard about some informal adult league stuff, more beginner-friendly. Signed up. Showed up for the first skate. It was… interesting.
- Lots of guys like me, trying to recapture youth.
- A few surprisingly good players who probably shouldn’t have been there.
- Total beginners who made me look decent, thankfully.
The pace was manageable, mostly. But it was chaos. No real positions, just chasing the puck. Fell a bunch. Got a few bruises. The locker room chat was fine, typical guy stuff, but scheduling was the real killer.
The Reality Check
Trying to make those late-night ice times after work, getting home near midnight, then dragging myself out of bed the next morning? Brutal. Missed a few sessions because work ran late or I was just too wiped out. Felt guilty about spending the money and the time away from family, especially when I was so bad at it.
It wasn’t quite the glorious return to sport I’d imagined. It felt more like another chore, another thing to squeeze into an already packed schedule. You try to do something fun, something for yourself, and it just becomes another source of stress. Reminded me a bit of trying to push projects at work that nobody really has the bandwidth for. You put in the effort, but the stars just don’t align.
So, what happened? I finished that first season. Didn’t sign up again right away. My gear’s still sitting in the garage. Maybe I’ll give it another go sometime, maybe not. For now, just walking the dog feels like enough exercise, and it’s way cheaper.
