There's a league down here, and I've never played anything more than floor hockey in gym class. What do I need to know, and what do I need to do? My first problem is trying to figure out what size skates to order. I wear a 9.5 shoe, do the skates match up on the size chart? Where should I buy them from? There is literally nowhere near me that I can find that sells anything better than the "wal-mart plastic wheel" skates.

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I play roller hockey here in the summer.

Most wear skates a bit smaller, I think mine are a 9 for a size 10 shoe size. The only chain stores I've seen carry roller hockey skates are Dicks and Sports Authority which is wear I got my first pair which wore out after a season :/ but it's not really something you can chance getting online.

Next thing to figure out is what kind of surface you'll be playing on since you're a smaller guy. If it's something smooth, you'll probably want a softer wheel for better grip, but they can get expensive. (Mine were $8 a wheel :/)

Then equipment. Most roller leagues only mandate shin pads, roller hockey pants, gloves, elbow pads, and a helmet. Personally I like wearing full hockey pants, but roller pants are a lot lighter. I also do not wear a cage or visor because I'm not terribly attached to my face, but if I were, I'd probably wear a visor instead of a cage which are like $30 at dicks and just screw onto the helmet. (Most helmets already come with cages).

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

i use abec 9 bearings, but honestly, anything above a 7 can be overkill. abec swiss are bitching, but theyll cost you a penny.

you can get skates online if you know your size, i always get mine from either peranis or hockey services here in michigan. wheels are a HUGE thing, as the softer, the better, but theyll crack alot. i tend to use indoor wheels for the inner wheels, and outdoor wheels for the outter two. i just like that reaction.

i wear, when i play forward, a helmet, skates, inline pants, shinguards, and a cup. no elbow pads (but i dont wear those when i play ice either)

heres some skates for ya on peranis web site.

http://www.hockeyworld.com/index/page/c ... me/Skates/

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Well, I ordered skates, I went with Easton Synergy F5 Senior, they come with Rink Rat Eclipse 74A Indoor Wheels and Abec 9 Bearings.

What about stick and gloves? I doubt I'll be playing in anything more than a pickup game any time soon, but I feel like if I'm going to start practicing and trying to get better, I ought to at least have a stick and gloves.

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I don't really have a preference for gloves, just picked out whatever fit and was cheapest.

Kind of the same way on sticks. I have an Easton Synergy SE2 that I've really liked (obv the SR version). It was $70 but marked 30% off.


I also have four (yes 4) Wooden Nike Bauer Supreme 35 sticks because they're cheap and I like the curve and weight so much and they stand up well on my driveway.

Prolly not a bad idea to get a few roller pucks/balls to dick around with depending on what the league uses. You could probably make a decent hockey goal out of PVC pipe for $40ish dollars, that's what I did.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

honestly dude. nothing compares to wood. a sherwood feather lite stick is my weapon of choice. if you go with composite, at the peranis site, they have cheap deals on composites. i got a warrior compo for 35 bucks that they rebranded INNO because of small defects in the graphics. exactly.

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Yeah composite sticks are typically too expensive to be worth it. I have another composite senior stick that's so flexible it might as well be a junior stick that I use for floor hockey. I got it for cheap up in Potsdam.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

a feather-lite gives you the lightness of a composite, with the feel of a wood. composite stick will give you serious kick in your shot though.

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The only thing I've ever been particular about is wheels, everything else I pretty much got the cheapest stuff available.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

So I went with a cheap wood stick (like $30), some $40 gloves, and bought some elbow pads for shits and grins. Haven't work the elbow pads, and realized that the gloves don't get in the way of stickhandling the way I thought they would.

I've learned I can't skate for shit. Not that it's a surprise to me, I've never owned anything more than a pair of WalMart plastic-wheel specials, and that was about 14 years ago. I also can't skate backwards. Its frustrating as hell to watch my friend skate effortlessly while I'm nearly falling over trying to move.

The skates seem super stiff; I baked/molded them last night, but they're still really uncomfortable on my ankles. Is this something that just goes away as I get used to wearing them, or am I doing something wrong?

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youll get used to it and the skates will soften some.

i have wide feet, so my feet are sore after like 3 seconds skating, but i just grin and bear it.

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My new skates made me bleed the first few times I wore them, but they're pretty good after being broken in. They fit my feet really really well, which is rare for me.

I learned to skate in college because a friend of mine was pretty into aggressive skating, so I was jumping down staircases and shit, it was a bit of a scale-back to hockey, haha. Skating backwards for me took a little practice. I grasped how it needed to be done, but it was weird learning how to actually do it, and then transitioning front to back takes some practice as well.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

The bake only reduces break in time by about 50%, the only way to break in skates is to just wear them. I know this may sound weird but wear them around the house or while watching TV. It'll help break them in a bit too. Just try to have your feet flat on the floor or they may hurt your feet worse.

My ice skates were never baked, but I wore them and it hurt my right foot for about a month, I sucked it up and just kept skating and now there is no pain at all while wearing my skates, unless I skate for a few hours my arches hurt a bit.

Skating will come in time also. The more you put in, the more you'll get out of it. Honestly a kid asked me today how long I had been skating for. I said about a year, which is true. And he said with the way I skated he would have thought I had been skating all my life. He said most people he's asked that skate like me have skated their entire life.

I had skated throughout my life, but wasn't until a year ago I got serious into it.

Also if you're back at Wilmington, why not ice hockey instead? I know they have a rink there because UNCW has a team. Plus since there is only one rink in the Dub, plenty of talent shows up at stick n pucks and pick-up games, which also helps you become a better player.

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Not quite in wilmington, I'm in jacksonville, otherwise I would definitely just play ice hockey.

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jacksonville florida? i saw an ice rink south of downtown along 95 on my trip down to miami.

oh, north carolina. mistake.. tit.

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There's a Jacksonville, NC Mike.

I know some people who used to live there.

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You're also going to have to get used to handling the puck/ball at higher speed than your used to(as you now know from losing it in your skates and going "aw fuck"). I used to take my stick/ball/skates to the bike path in spring to get re-accustomed to it. Skating itself is fun, so just go out every chance you can. I always liked to try to skate hard for one 15 minute period during every skate. It keeps your heart rate up, and helps you build some wind.

So the pain in my ankle is basically where the top of the skate ends; it's really hard, and there's no padding there. I guess they're some sort of composite material, but it's stiff as hell. Is it a *suckitthefuckuppussy* situation, or is there some other remedy I don't know of, or a piece of equipment I'm not wearing?

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skates take a while to break in, and likewise, your feet have to grow accustomed to skates as well. suck it up, pussy.

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very well. Any tips for skating backwards? It's kicking my ass.

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