I’ve played on some amazing beer league teams and some not-so-great beer league teams. I’ll tell you what I have noticed are the biggest differences between a good team and a bad team.
The best ways to make your beer league hockey team better are to never give up in a game, go to a team practice together, talk to each other on the ice, get locker room beer, and make fun of each other.
I’ve played on teams that are full of skilled players that don’t play a team game. These teams are actually not fun to play on. I’ve enjoyed my time on the ice way more when we actually play as a team. Make good passes and drink beer together while laughing. Those are the best teams to play on.
Don’t Give Up In A Hockey Game
It’s the worst when you are down by 2 or 3 and your teammates give up. Yes, a 2 or 3 goal difference sucks. Is it impossible to come back from that? Have you guys even given up that lead before?
If your team goes down by a few goals and everybody starts bitching at the ref or you guys start getting agitated at each other, I promise you, things will only get worse.
A recipe for disaster is complaining about each other. The best way to deal with this is discussed later.
Just keep playing your game. Make passes, support your teammates, and get shots on net.
And remember, It’s beer league hockey. Not giving up is different than being an aggressive douchebag. Not giving up doesn’t mean slashing the goalie’s glove or aggressively attacking a player without the puck.
Not giving up means let’s play hard and let’s play for each other.
Go To A Team Practice
Ask around the rink if anybody knows of a local practice that some of the guys go to. I live in Tampa and we have a few that are open to all skill levels. Those are the ones that are great for newbies. You will find people that are a lot better than you. Play with them. They will make you better.
The cost to rent ice in your towen will obviously vary, but I bet its somewhere around $200/Hr. Most teams have at least 10 people on them. That’s only $20 a person to get a sheet of ice for your team. You can work on some good stuff in an hour period.
Work on passing, talking, breakouts, and defensive strategy.
Talk On The Ice
Talk to each other on the ice. It makes a huge difference. If you are open on the boards. Yell “boards” at your teammate. This let’s them know to throw the puck up the boards to you.
If you aren’t open Hollar “ no , no , no” At your teammate
Tell your friends on the ice what you are doing. Crashing the net? Yell “ I’m Crashing”
I’ve noticed that talking to each other is especially important when playing defense. It’s you and your partner.
If you are going to change spots with him/her let them know which man you are taking. Either point or yell.
I’ve also noticed that talking on the ice is a habit that you build. Start with yelling encouraging things like “good play” or “you got em” These are easy sayings for our drunk brains to compute while taking in all the info that we see on the ice.
After you are comfortable yelling on the ice start letting your teammates know what you are thinking while playing.
It will help a ton.
Not only will talking on the ice help but talking on the bench after the play helps as well. Let each other know what you were thinking. This will help your chemistry.
Understanding how you guys think on the ice will help you make better plays together.
Get Beer In The Locker Room
This might be the most important thing on the list. Or maybe that’s the slight alcoholic in me talking, not sure.
But seriously, a beer after the game really loosens up the conversation. The team that only plays together and then leaves is not as strong of a team that has at least one beer together after the game.
Even if you don’t drink you should at least hang around for the bull shitting.
A good conversation after the game about how things went and personal life will make a stronger team. This is half the fun of beer league. When you have a good group of people to have a beer with and talk about random life things it elevates the whole beer league experience,
Make Fun Of Each Other
This is a fine line to walk depending on the person, but when done right it’s the best. You get to troll people who aren’t pulling their weight but in a fun way that the person getting chirped likes as well.
“Damn Jimmy, if you could just bend your legs when you skate, you might actually be good! “
I think this takes some of the pressure off a little bit too. I don’t find myself having as much fun on a team that is super serious. When your team is full of people that don’t understand that this is just beer league hockey it’s just not as enjoyable.
we all have day jobs and a family, there are no NHL recruits in the stands.
This kind of mentality also leads to a toxic and divided locker room.
Winning is fun, losing is less fun. However, yelling at each other will not make you a better team. Instead of getting frustrated, have some fun with them. Or even better, give them some pointers while pulling their leg a little bit.
Making Your Beer League Hockey Team Better
It’s beer league hockey, it’s fun but It’s more fun when you are winning. You win by playing as a team; making great passes, being encouraging to teammates. I’ve seen a less skilled team beat a more skilled team because they played as a group.
The best way to make your beer league hockey team better is to install the never-give-up spirit, go to practices, talk to each other on the ice, have a beer together after the game, and poke a little fun at each other.