So you want to play Hockey? Step one – Learn to ice skate.
Let’s not beat around the bush, the first step to playing ice hockey of any level (even the most casual), is learning to ice skate. So, how do you go about that.
Learn to skate – Ice Rinks
Well the first thing you need is ice to skate on! If you’re based in and around Manchester, you have possibly three options. Planet Ice at Altrincham is Manchester’s local rink, closely followed by Blackburn and Widnes. For ease, we presume you’ll be able to access Altrincham the easiest (their website is linked below).
Currently in the UK, the best way to learn how to skate is to get down to the rink, hire some skates and give it a go! YouTube tutorials have improved loads in recent years. They can really help and it is nowhere near as scary or difficult as it seems!
Learn to skate – programmes
There are beginner ‘learn to skate’ programmes for adults at the rinks. They run infrequently however and often rely on having secured enough interest to put on the course in the first place. Due to this they can be difficult to find any details on. Your best bet is to give the rink a phone call and register your interest/find out if there are any upcoming courses. Such courses can speed up to the process of learning to skate. If you are looking for your kids, there are more options available (and additionally a lot of ‘learn to play hockey’ programmes include skating as part of the course.
After you’ve been to a few ice skating sessions and enjoyed it, the biggest recommendation is to get your own skates. This will help the learning process massively (more to come on this in a future post)!
So what are you waiting for, get on the ice and give it a go!
Posts – coming soon:
Beginner ice skates – what to buy
The best free skating tutorials
Ice Hockey Schools