Hockey players in the DC area are always up for a good pick up game. After experiencing the worst pick up experience at the hands of Kettler Capitals Iceplex, I thought I would open a dialog with local players to find good places to play.
KCI has pick-up on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have attended some of their hockey sessions before. The Iceplex actually has a good pro-shop and great facilities. But the problem I had with them is how they were treating players who want to come and play.
I went back on Tuesday to play and forked over the 15 bucks (they take credit cards, which is nice). Only five players showed. To add insult to injury, the rink didn't even supply pucks. What the hell did I pay $15 for?
You can buy a 10 or $10 pass, but then I heard they expire. That means if you play pick up once a week and for some reason you miss a session, say good-bye to your hard-earned money.
Is there any player that pays more than $10 for pick up out there? Most rinks don't charge that much. I even tried to express this to a manager, but the girls working the front desk pulled a blond moment. That day they made $75 with 5 players that paid, they could have made $100 if they had the price at $10 and ten players showed. I explained that $100 is greater than $75 (basic math, who says schooling didn't pay off). All I got were blank stares.
So open mic time. What's your best pick-up and worst pick-up? Mine are:
Best - Mt. Vernon Recreation Center, Wednesdays & Thursdays, $8 for Fairfax County residents, $10 for all others. Usually a good mix of players and can be a fast game with good talent, but also draws some show boats who never change up or never pass, etc.
Worst - Kettler Capitals Iceplex - reasons stated above.
Honorable Mention - The Gardens Icehouse, Laurel MD, Good talent and fun personalities. Some older guys, but give them respect and you might play with former Capitals.
What is yours?
Showing posts with label Pick-up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pick-up. Show all posts
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Kettler Capitals Iceplex Pick-Up Dissappoints
So the Caps have this new facility atop the parking garage of Ballston Commons. They have a regular adult pick-up hockey sessions out and I notice that I could play today at 11:00 am. Very cool. I had some time to travel down Glebe Road and get some shots on net so I packed my gear and left.
On the 8th floor of the parking garage, the Capitals new practice facility looks different from the few weeks ago at the naming. There is a pro shop that carries Sid "the Kid" Crosby jerseys (as well as Caps, Red Wings, and Wild jerseys) and good selection of sticks and gear. I didn't get my skates sharpened there but it looked as if they had a guy who knew what he was doing back there, not just some high school kid that just sharpens rentals all day.
The facility is new and clean and nice. But the problem isn't with the facility, it's with the price. I had to fork over $15 to play pick-up. While the average around the DC metro area is around $10, the Kettler is keeping the casual players away. The total price is actually $16 if you include parking (but don't dally, after 3 hours it's more). You can purchase a 10 for $10 pass, which may not be a bad buy since your going to spend $100 on pick-up anyway.
Maybe it's because of the price, or the fact that it's new, but the session only drew four players including myself. The entire session was just shooting on the net and passing around. The ice was actually very good. They didn't clean the sheet after public session (most likely because there were only four of us), but the ice was still in good shape. We didn't play on the Capitals sheet where there are the official NHL markings on the ice and that was kind of disappointing.
Unless players start showing up it's not really worth the time or money to spend on Kettler's pick-up sessions. The locker rooms were a high-light, we dressed in the Smythe locker room. It featured some large pictures of Roy, Parent and Dryden. There are single shower stalls which don't drain correctly; you can flood the bathroom just by taking a shower.
I guess I was expecting a lot more than what I got playing at the Caps practice facility. If there had been more players it maybe worth the high price.
On the 8th floor of the parking garage, the Capitals new practice facility looks different from the few weeks ago at the naming. There is a pro shop that carries Sid "the Kid" Crosby jerseys (as well as Caps, Red Wings, and Wild jerseys) and good selection of sticks and gear. I didn't get my skates sharpened there but it looked as if they had a guy who knew what he was doing back there, not just some high school kid that just sharpens rentals all day.
The facility is new and clean and nice. But the problem isn't with the facility, it's with the price. I had to fork over $15 to play pick-up. While the average around the DC metro area is around $10, the Kettler is keeping the casual players away. The total price is actually $16 if you include parking (but don't dally, after 3 hours it's more). You can purchase a 10 for $10 pass, which may not be a bad buy since your going to spend $100 on pick-up anyway.
Maybe it's because of the price, or the fact that it's new, but the session only drew four players including myself. The entire session was just shooting on the net and passing around. The ice was actually very good. They didn't clean the sheet after public session (most likely because there were only four of us), but the ice was still in good shape. We didn't play on the Capitals sheet where there are the official NHL markings on the ice and that was kind of disappointing.
Unless players start showing up it's not really worth the time or money to spend on Kettler's pick-up sessions. The locker rooms were a high-light, we dressed in the Smythe locker room. It featured some large pictures of Roy, Parent and Dryden. There are single shower stalls which don't drain correctly; you can flood the bathroom just by taking a shower.
I guess I was expecting a lot more than what I got playing at the Caps practice facility. If there had been more players it maybe worth the high price.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Practice Facility Now Has Pick-Up
Caps new practice facility, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, finally has pick-up hockey for the Thanksgiving holiday week. I guess they are expecting some big crowds because they broke them up in different age groups. The schedule they have on their website is here.
I would expect a lot of players at these sessions considering it's the holiday and it is the Caps new facility. So don’t be surprised if there are 20 players on the bench. I am still debating whether or not to go. I hear the ice is pretty good.
Wash Post picked up on the heroic doings of Captain Clark. After taking a puck in the face, Chris Clark kept playing. There are some pretty good quotes from others on the team about the situation. The attitude on the Caps is in the right place. Japer also spreads the praise about Superhero Captain Clark.
I am getting nervous about the up coming game with Buffalo Saturday December 2nd. After Tampa Bay Lightning got spanked, I am not sure how the Caps will match up with them. I realize it’s a couple of games away, but it’s that blaring Sabres logo on the calendar that stares back at the Caps.
Caps first need to face down the Thrashers on a Thanksgiving Eve matchup. They have lost the previous two games with the Thrash both by the score of 4-3.
I would expect a lot of players at these sessions considering it's the holiday and it is the Caps new facility. So don’t be surprised if there are 20 players on the bench. I am still debating whether or not to go. I hear the ice is pretty good.
Wash Post picked up on the heroic doings of Captain Clark. After taking a puck in the face, Chris Clark kept playing. There are some pretty good quotes from others on the team about the situation. The attitude on the Caps is in the right place. Japer also spreads the praise about Superhero Captain Clark.
I am getting nervous about the up coming game with Buffalo Saturday December 2nd. After Tampa Bay Lightning got spanked, I am not sure how the Caps will match up with them. I realize it’s a couple of games away, but it’s that blaring Sabres logo on the calendar that stares back at the Caps.
Caps first need to face down the Thrashers on a Thanksgiving Eve matchup. They have lost the previous two games with the Thrash both by the score of 4-3.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Pick-Up Is Back
The season is starting to change. There is football on TV, the weather is getting cooler, and some of the ice rinks around D.C. are bringing back pick-up. Yes sir, pick-up hockey is back so I have to get my schedule down so I can make some time to hit the ice and stretch out the old legs.
While looking up some of the areas rinks to get the times and dates many of them will have for pick-up, I came across the Gardens Ice House's website and thought I would look around. They are the only ones, that I could find that have pick-up on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am normally at Mt. Vernon on Wednesdays and Fridays. Hockey four times a week, I can hardly stand it!
Anyway, I came across the league play on Gardens' website. That led me to and tempting link that was titled, Suspensions. This should be interesting. Just look at some of the infractions listed for their adult league:
That last one you heard right, the guy broke his stick in half and threw half at the referee, and the other half at the scorekeeper. The poor girl is just running the scoreboard. Not to mention that it's assault and you can get some serious jail time, I have seen cops get involved and it's not pretty. Guys sober up real quick.
It really makes me think of what kind of game some of these guys were playing. In the next column is the duration of the some of them, which includes permanent banishment from playing at the Gardens Ice House at all.
I know from playing in an Adult league, how easy it is for someone to lose their cool. But some of these infractions are just uncalled for. I have only been in a fight once on the ice, a full throwing punches and pulling the jersey. I got a 5 game suspension for doing so and regretted ever getting involved. It made me approach the game in a totally different way.
So for now I am going to stay away from that adult league, and just attend a pick-up game or two a week. It is not worth getting a stick thrown at you.
While looking up some of the areas rinks to get the times and dates many of them will have for pick-up, I came across the Gardens Ice House's website and thought I would look around. They are the only ones, that I could find that have pick-up on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am normally at Mt. Vernon on Wednesdays and Fridays. Hockey four times a week, I can hardly stand it!
Anyway, I came across the league play on Gardens' website. That led me to and tempting link that was titled, Suspensions. This should be interesting. Just look at some of the infractions listed for their adult league:
- "Match Penalty- Deliberately inflicting physical harm to a Game Official (Rule 601g1, League Rules)"
- "Match Penalty - Kicking an opposing player (Rule 623b)"
- "Game Misconduct - Using a racial slur towards an opponent (Rule 601f2) Probation and indefinite suspension applied under Rule 410, Supplementary Discipline"
- And my favorite: "2 Game Misconducts - continuing to dispute an official's decision after being assessed a misconduct (Rule 601a, League Rules) Match Penalty - Attempting to inflict physical harm to a Game Official by throwing his broken stick shaft at the Official (Rule 601g(1), League Rules) Match Penalty - Attempting to inflict physical harm to an Off-ice Official by breaking his stick in the vicinity of the Score Keeper and almost hitting her with the blade (Rule 601g(3), League Rules) (assessed under Rule 410, Supplementary Discipline)"
That last one you heard right, the guy broke his stick in half and threw half at the referee, and the other half at the scorekeeper. The poor girl is just running the scoreboard. Not to mention that it's assault and you can get some serious jail time, I have seen cops get involved and it's not pretty. Guys sober up real quick.
It really makes me think of what kind of game some of these guys were playing. In the next column is the duration of the some of them, which includes permanent banishment from playing at the Gardens Ice House at all.
I know from playing in an Adult league, how easy it is for someone to lose their cool. But some of these infractions are just uncalled for. I have only been in a fight once on the ice, a full throwing punches and pulling the jersey. I got a 5 game suspension for doing so and regretted ever getting involved. It made me approach the game in a totally different way.
So for now I am going to stay away from that adult league, and just attend a pick-up game or two a week. It is not worth getting a stick thrown at you.
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