Category: Hockey Lessons

Adult Beginner Hockey Classes at MB Ice Arena

Adult Beginner Hockey Classes at MB Ice Arena
MB Ice Arena, the official training facility of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be offering hockey lessons for adults, starting later this month. The lessons cost $150 for nine one-hour sessions; that averages to $16.66 per class, which is a good price. It looks like these classes are geared towards absolute beginners, so if you have... Read more »
By Sal Barry,
March 1, 2018 at 7:26 pm • 

Adult Beginner Hockey Lessons in Evanston

Adult Beginner Hockey Lessons in Evanston
The Robert Crown Center in Evanston (map) is now offering beginner hockey lessons for adults. According to the website: This is an introduction class to skating & stick/puck handling. Participants should have some basic skating skills before start of class. A helmet/stick/elbow and knee pads are required. Equipment not provided.  The class is taught by... Read more »
By Sal Barry,
July 12, 2017 at 1:05 am • 

Sharpening Up: Back to Class

Sharpening Up: Back to Class
My 3 on 3 teamlet dissolved in 2015 so I returned to the novice classes at the Skatium in Skokie. I feel like going back to class after getting in some low level structured league play is helping me get more out of the class. When you first start skating, you are wobbling around trying... Read more »
By Shellie Lewis,
March 28, 2016 at 1:01 am • 
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I don't miss you, Blackhawks fans

I don't miss you, Blackhawks fans

"Oh great, the Blackhawks fans are here."

Every woman in the locker room before our beginner ice hockey class paused when someone said this.

"Wait, aren't we fans too," we asked?

"You know what I mean," she said. "The fans."

We got it. She meant the fans that were here just as spectators.

...

By Shellie Lewis,
December 8, 2015 at 1:41 am • 

Four Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Hockey Lessons

Four Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Hockey Lessons

Hockey lessons aren't cheap and ice time is at a premium. You might take an hour-long lesson, but how much learning do you do during that hour? You take your turn in drills and try your best, but what else can you do? I've thought of four ways that I've tried to maximize my time spent on the ice during my hockey classes...

By Sal Barry,
March 26, 2015 at 9:26 am • 

Scrimmage is the Study Hall of Hockey

Scrimmage is the Study Hall of Hockey

I have grown to resent too much scrimmage in my hockey lessons. Sure, a short scrimmage at the end of a hockey class is an ideal time to apply what you learned that day in a low-stakes, game-type situation. But too much of a good thing quickly becomes a bad thing. I am a college professor, and giving my students some time to work in class to practice what they learned is helpful. Were I to make 90% of the class time "study time" each week, you can bet there would be complaints. Why? Because you don't learn anything new in a scrimmage, just like you don't learn anything new in study hall. And scrimmage is the study hall of hockey...

By Sal Barry,
March 24, 2015 at 12:41 am • 
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Beginner Hockey Clinic at Niles Outdoor Rink

There’s a new opportunity for beginning hockey players who are looking to improve their skills. Starting this Monday in Niles is a weekly hockey clinic which offers to help beginners with skating, stick handling, shooting and positioning. The class runs from November 17, 2014 to March 9, 2015. What makes this an enticing opportunity is that you... Read more »
By Sal Barry,
November 11, 2014 at 5:17 pm • 

Review: Skokie Novice Adult Hockey Class ★★★★★

Review: Skokie Novice Adult Hockey Class ★★★★★
If I’ve become knowledgeable about anything since I’ve started learning how to play hockey, it is on beginner hockey classes. Not the curriculum, but the classes themselves. So far, I’ve taken “noob” lessons at Franklin Park, Johnny’s Ice House and now at the Skatium in Skokie. In fact, I like the Novice Adult Hockey Lessons... Read more »
By Sal Barry,
February 26, 2014 at 12:20 am • 

'Hawks fans watch my class

Over 100 people watched my Hockey 102 class at Johnny’s Ice House today. Not because they wanted to see “The Hockey Noob” in action — could you blame them? — but because the Blackahwks had practice right after our class ended. Everyone wanted to score a goal with so many people watching, but despite our... Read more »
By Sal Barry,
January 25, 2014 at 4:38 pm • 
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Review: Johnny’s Ice House Hockey 102 class ★★★★★

Review: Johnny’s Ice House Hockey 102 class ★★★★★
This past summer, I took the Hockey 101 class at Johnny’s Ice House and loved it. Towards the end of the ten-week session, I found myself wanting to be challenged more. Hockey 101 is great for absolute beginners, but at this point I no longer felt like an absolute beginner. Instead of repeating Hockey 101,... Read more »
By Sal Barry,
January 22, 2014 at 1:35 am •