I can barely skate. Getting better slowly, but I'm also getting older quickly, so I'm probably (maybe even hopefully) never going to play hockey above the lowest tier. That hasn't prevented me from playing beer league hockey. Believe it or not, I am not always the worst skater on my team. Other poor skaters come in, and they also improve, just like me.
I started playing hockey about 20 years ago, when one of my college mates (from Providence) invited me to play pick-up roller hockey with a group that used to play in a school yard. Eventually, the two of us started playing in some casual, friendly ice hockey pick-up games as well. Fortunately, for me, I seemed to be in with a good crowd who were far more amused than annoyed by my lack of skill. I've known plenty of short fuses, but really bad people have been few and far between. Shortly, another college friend (this one from Toronto), encouraged me to join a league at Pickwick, not at the same level as him, mind you; obviously, I was in Division 5, their lowest tier. I also played on a roller hockey team around that time. After a couple of seasons, work dried up for me for a long time, and I had to hang up the skates entirely.
Last year, I started playing again, and, of course, I was still terrible, and also older, but I'm having a blast. I like being part of a team as I'm improving my game. We won a championship in my first season, lost in the finals in the second season, and then won maybe one game in the third season. This season, we are back to being very good again. My skating is still pretty poor, but I try to make up for that by keeping my legs moving the whole time, and playing smart, good position. Also, I am consigned to wing.
We play at a level below Copper, if you can imagine, and that's one of the reason why it's a great situation, if you're looking for a relatively chill situation. True, everyone is competitive, and the will to win can cause tempers to flare at times, but mostly it's friendly competition. So, as you'd expect, at this level, there's a mix of complete beginners looking to improve their game, and experienced players who are either getting older or just maybe burned out from the extra tension that higher levels of competition can bring.
Initially, I thought the pressure to be useful would make me work harder, but that aspect is a mixed bag. One thing is sure, however, and that is skating against better players with something on the line has helped me get better quickly. While my game has improved, I've hit a plateau, and I need to put in more ice time to get to the next level, so that's the next thing on my agenda. Seems like many of you are putting in the work before even jumping into a league, which I commend.
But I thought I'd share my story to let you know that you don't have to be among the strongest skaters on your team to jump into the lowest tiers of beer league, unless you only want to play D.