The Beer Leaguer

Beer League Myths

• The Beer Leaguer • Season 2 • Episode 10

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We scoured the internet to see what people think Beer League Hockey is. All of that was then fed into AI and out popped a list of Beer League myths. In this episode we go through this list and either confirm or debunk these Beer League Myths.


Links

  • ChatGPT
  • Can AI Make You a Better Beer Leaguer? (episode)
  • Mike Steiner from Beers on Ice (episode)
  • Locker Room Talk (episode)

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Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of the Beer Leaguer Podcast.In this episode, we're gonna talk about the top beer league hockey myths.And now, these are not myths that are taken from just me.These are actually culled from all over the internet and then dumped into ChatGPT and saying, "Give me the top ones."So if you remember, we did a previous episode where we used ChatGPT to come up with different ways to improve at hockey and different things we can try doing.Kind of a similar thing here, except I gave it a bunch of different resources and said, "Hey, figure out here the top beer league hockey myths."We're gonna go over them and see if they make any sense or not.Myth number one, you need expensive gear to play well.Well, I'd like to think that this entire podcast is busting this myth.I n- do think this is something that people think, and this is something that kinda gets stuck in peoples' head, especially if you haven't played hockey before.You're just picking it up, and you, you know, have only watched pro hockey, you see everybody has brand new shiny gear for the most part.Obviously, if you've played hockey, you know you don't need expensive gear to play well.Does expensive gear help in some situations?Yes.Are newer sticks, I'm not saying the most expensive sticks, but newer, modern composite sticks probably easier to play with than, like, old wooden sticks and stuff like that?Yeah.They're nicer.They're lighter.They're more consistent.That's great.But do you need that?No.Are more modern, more expensive, newer, better skates maybe easier to play in?Not necessarily.Uh, that's a big thing that gets talked about online a lot is, a lot of the top-end skates are not great for beginner skaters, so usually you don't want those.Usually, you want, like, a little bit of a lower-end skate, 'cause those top-end skates are made for players that are, you know, super aggressive when they play, are really leaning into turns, and really kind of beating the crap out of the boot.They're made for that, havePeople have tons of, you know, ankle flexion and stuff like that, whereas lower level and beginner skaters, we don't have that.We want something that kind of keeps, you know, our foot kind of placed properly and keeps us as steady as possible.We don't have the ability to really utilize those higher-end skates, so sometimes they're not as great.So that's a good example of more expensive is not necessarily more better.Uh, for per- your protective equipment, generally the more expensive stuff you get is gonna be more protective, but that's only if it fits properly.Uh, just 'cause something is more expensive, if it doesn't fit great, you know, for, like, gloves or a specialty helmet or any other pads, that is not better for you.That is gonna probably be worse.Uh, the kind of outlier for that, for protective gear, is definitely pro-stock stuff.Pro-stock stuff is usually not the most expensive.It's usually a notch or 2 below that, pricing terms, and it's probably actually more protective than the most expensive stuff, 'cause a lot of times, like with pro-stock gloves, for example, is they will not be the most expensive.But what they will usually have is some sort of added protection on them, like something, uh, on the back of the hand for shot blocking and stuff like that, that you won't get if you just go and buy something off the shelf.So that is more protective for you for cheaper than the most expensive.So you need expensive gear to play well?Definitely not true.Definitely, definitely notAll right, myth number 2, if you didn't play as a kid, you'll never catch up.Now, catch up to what is, I think, the big crux of this.If you didn't play as a kid, are you going to be turning pro when you pick it up, you know, even, let's say, even say your late teens?Not even talking really beer league, which is probably late 20s and on.No, you're not gonna catch up to those kids.You're not gonna be turning pro when you've first put on skates when, you know, you're 18.Just really doubt that that's gonna happen.I don't see any way that that happens.But never gonna catch up to other beer leaguers?Totally not true.Totally not true at all.Uh, there are plenty of people playing, you know, low level beer league hockey, obviously, 'cause a lot of those people start when they're adults, you know?A lot of times, beer leaguers start because their kids pick up the game, so you know, they're in their 30s and 40s and stuff before they ever put on skates.And so you'll catch up to those people, no problem.But even in higher levels of beer league, there are people that don't start playing, you know, until their late 20s, early 30s, probably even people in their 40s that either, you know, just kind of come to it naturally, work really hard to get good at something, or are natural athletes and can be a very high level and good beer league player for it.So if that's what you're shooting for, is catching up to other beer leaguers, yes, it's never too late to start.If you're hoping to turn pro and you just discovered playing hockey sometime in your late 30s, uh, sorry, I don'tI- I don't think the NHL is calling you for that.But you can still play beer league, and as we all know, that's where everybody winds up anyways.So you're just getting a head start.All right, myth number 3.And I don't really get this one.Beer league isn't real hockey.I d- I don't- I don't even know really what that means, that, that it's not real hockey.I'm lo- looking here at what it says, and it doesn't really have a great explanation for it.I can only assume that this is from people that are like, "Hey, you're not getting paid to play.You are paying to play, so it's not real hockey."And from that aspect, it's not a real job, but it's definitely real hockey.I mean, you're playing the same game using the same equipment.it's, it's hockey.Probably not as fast, definitely not as good as, quote unquote, real hockey or professional hockey, but it's still hockey.You know, you have the same kind of stuff going on on the ice, the same stuff kind of off the ice, camaraderie and all that and building up a team and everything.And all those things we've talked about in other episodes, that stuff is still real and still happening.That's still hockey.So I, I, I don't get where this comes from.I hope people don't think thisI'm sure that this is really an idea of people that have never played, like, adult sports of any sort, so they think it's not a real sport because it's not organized through, you know, a school or you're not getting paid for it.But it's definitely real hockey.100% real hockey, for sure.So that's, that's just silly.Uh, myth number 4 that it has on here, goalies don't need warmups.I mean, I'm not a goalie, so I, I, I don't know how much I will be able to speak to this, but yeah, they do.Goalies need to warm up.If anything, your warmups should probably be more focused on getting your goalie as warmed up as they want to be versus all the players being warmed up.You know, you can kind of do both of those things simultaneously.So get the goalie as many shots, whatever kind of shots they want, whatever kind of warmup they want, make sure that they're getting that.That should be a priority.And then everybody else can kind of do whatever warmups they wanna do aroundI mean, I know some skaters just wanna do a couple of laps around, maybe do a quick stretch, and then you're good to go, you know, in this, that very long, uh, few minute warmup that you have before games.You know, get that in.Some guys want to, you know, skate back and forth in the neutral zone a couple times, maybe take a couple shots, that's it.Some guys just wanna stretch right away and they're good to go.So players all have different ways that they warm up.Goalies are gonna have different ways they wanna warm up too, but they definitely need to.I mean, your goalie needs to kind of be, as soon as the whistle goes, needs to be ready to go.So talk to your goalie, find out what kind of warmup they want, make sure they're getting warmed up and everyone else just kinda fill in around it.You know, you should have enough guys out there that if your goalie wants a bunch of shots, you should be able to get them the shots that they need.And everybody else can do what they wanna do, you know, around getting the goalie to the shots, whatever they need.So yes, goalies do need to warm up, but make sure it's how they want toAll right, myth number 5.There's no place for systems in beer league.All right.I thought this one was pretty interesting, that there's no place for any kind of systems in beer league hockey.And I kind of agree with this, but not totally.Uh, overall in beer league, do I think you're playing a lot of systems and having set things for what you do?Like, "Hey, we're playing a, you know, a 2-2-1, and we're gonna do a, uh, 3 high umbrella for power play, and we're gonna run a diamond, uh, you know, 121 diamond on penalty kill," or a whole bunch of other junk I could throw out there that, you know, doesn't mean anything to most people.Are you doing that in beer league?Probably not.Uh, now if you're playing at a higher level beer league, uh, especially if you're playing on teams where it's a bunch of guys that played together, you know, some of those teams where everybody played high school together or at the same high schoolUh, a good example of that is when we talked to, uh, Beers on Ice and all those guys played, you know, professionally, but they also all played, you know, at the same high school and had very similar backgrounds for it.Could somebody like that be running systems?Yeah, I'm sure basic ones, you know, 'cause most beer league teams aren't practicing to get all the nuances down.But I'm sure that they could run some type of system to be all on the same page for what they're trying to do.That's very different than other beer leagues, more lower level beer leagues, uh, especially when you have people that have not played organized hockey growing up and their first exposure was a- as an adult.You're probably not playing any complicated systems.And I say complicated systems, as in what I was talking about, like s- different types of systems like that, or "Hey, we're gonna try and run neutral zone trap," or any kind of other stuff you've heard about.You're probably not doing that with people that picked up the game later in life and haven't really played organized hockey before, uh, just because it's a very different thing to do and it'syou have to learn these systems and beer league is usually something that, you know, you play once a week for it.You're, you're not a great idea to do that necessarily.But you can play some types of systems.Um, this is, I think, where having, you know, kind of a singular voice or 2 people just but, but a small group of people that try and guide what's going on during a game can be super helpful.So maybe not a full-blown system of things, but things more like, "Hey, you know, we're on, you know, we're, we're on a penalty kill.Only one person, you know, chase pucks."You know, and maybe even designate who that one person is so that people know what it is.Or, "Hey, we're on a power play, you know, we're gonna try, you know, this is wh- how we're gonna try and have people try and keep, you know, uh, uh, somebody going to the net or maybe 2 people crashing the net like that," and maybe more designating particularly you and you do this, you know, or similar things, you know, off of face-offs, very simple plays.So I think there is a place in beer league definitely for simple systems and probably more specific systems for people who are out at a single time.So things, you know, like designating certain people.Uh, normally in hockey systems, you would have stuff likeyou wouldn't name positions or players, you would have like F1, F2, D1, stuff like that, so forward one, second forward, first D, things like that, and that's how you would designate.And people have to be aware of their surroundings and who's with them to know if they are F1 or if they're F2 or F3 or D1 or D2 or whatever going out there.Whereas in beer league, I don't think you count on that as much.I think you're more looking at telling people to do things that are more to their certain strengths.So you're saying when, you know, hey, whatever this line is out there, you know, hey, your job is to do this and your job is to do this.I think that stuff does happen and is handy to have and good to kind of know in beer league just so lines kind of work together, people kind of work together and people aren't all rushing in the same place.Uh, for, for me, in beer league the whole idea of having systems is to help people not play like little kids where it's, "Ooh, puck's in the corner, let's all 5 of us go to the corner," or, you know, "Puck's squared out over there, let's everybody go over there and all cover the same guy."It's to kind of keep that stuff in place so it's more for that versus trying to do very structured plays and structured, uh, ideas of what you're trying to do.So I think there is a place for systems in beer league, but it definitely depends on your level, uh, depends on your team and systems being very loose for what I think in general hockey systems are thought of.All right, myth number 6, you're too old to improve.Uh, this was pretty good, I thought this was funny.Uh, no, you never are.You're never too old to improve at something.I mean, you might be getting, you might get too old to get better at certain things, but you're never too old to just get better at hockey in general.I mean, hey, maybe as you get older you start to slow down a little bit because that just generally happens.Doesn't mean you can't get, you know, smarter about things, make smarter plays, uh, get better at passing, get better at shooting, get better at stick handling.That can still totally happen, you know, so you're not getting worse, you're getting better at other things.Uh, I think the whole point of beer league is kind of finding that balance always, you know, 'cause everybody's getting older, everybody's getting var- you know, you get various injuries, you getj- just slow down as time goes on and it's finding the different ways to compensate for that, you know, whether it be, hey, you're getting in, you end up getting in better shape and that helps you get faster because you're getting older so maybe your decline in speed isn't that much.Or, you know, like I said, maybe you just kind of start to slow down 'cause you're getting older but you're a lot smarter with how you play now and you know better to look around and what you're seeing and, you know, making better passes and stuff like that.So maybe parts of your game start to drop but other parts of the game go up to improve that.That I think is the whole interesting and fun part of beer league as years go on is watching that.So definitely never too old to improve and there's no blanket thing of what you improve as you get older that everything has to get worse.You can improve a lot of aspects of stuff as you get older.You know, I mean, maybe you were never very fast to begin with but as you get older you learn proper skating technique.You know, you take a power skating class, you go to one of these, uh, adult hockey camps or something like that and you get to be a better skater technique-wise which makes you a way better skater as you've gotten older.That can totally happen.That's a thing that does happen with people.So I think that continual hope and strive to improve at hockey as you get older is one of the great things about beer league.That's one of the super fun compe- competitive things that happens with it.So that's totally not a true thing that you're too old toAll right, the next myth, and I really like this one.Beer league refs don't care.Is this a total myth?Is this totally true?I have met and seen, I don't know if played with is the right word, but been ref'd by a multitude of refs, kind of all over the beer league spectrum.Are there ones that really don't care and don't wanna be there?They, they are out there.There are ones that you, you wonder why you're bothering to show up.You know, like, really, you seem miserable.But I would say for the most part, beer league refs do care.they're out there to, you know, have fun too.They're having fun the same way the players are.It's a different thing that they're doing.They're not playing.Uh, some of them do play, some of them used to play, some of them never played, but they're getting out there and doing something that they enjoy too, so it's very similar to the players that are out there.Uh, they do care what's going on, they do wanna have, you know, good games.Uh, there, there are good ones, there are bad ones.There are tons of mediocre ones on a huge scale there.Uh, that's a very big gray area.But I think they do care.And I can totally see where this comes from, 'cause I think a lot of players do think the refs don't care because, you know, the refs made a call against me that I didn't agree with or I didn't like all their calls or whatever.That's not true.I mean, honestly, some of the refs that really do care are just not great refs.I mean, you're playing in beer league, you know?I'm sorry, you're probably not gonna have all stellar refs for every game.It's just nature of it.So some of the refs that really do care I think are just not great at reffing.Sorry, just how it goes.And some of the refs that don't care at all are some of the better refs, you know, they probably ref other higher level things and they're doing beer league just as an extra, you know, couple of bucks in the pocket during the week.So there's a, there's a lot that goes on here.Uh, I'm gonna read kind of the excerpt here, 'cause I think this, uh, sums it up pretty good for this.Uh, what they say is, "They do care, but they're often underpaid, overworked, and refereeing 3 to 4 games in a row."Which I, which I agree with.That's, I think, all true.Um, but yeah, usually they're reffing a lot of games.Uh, that's a big thing I know I hear from refs, is it's very different if you catch, you know, a beer league ref on, say, a Thursday night and they haven't reffed games yet that week versus you're getting them on a Sunday night and they just reffed some, you know, like high school tournament all weekend and did, like, 12 games and then they're doing a 10:30 game on a Sunday night.You're probably getting a very different level of refereeing with that.So I, I definitely agree with, with some of that.But yeah, no, beer league refs, they care, but just like players, you get various levels of what caring means and various levels of ability.how it goes.I don't know what number we're on now.Uh, but the next myth is fighting is part of beer league.I find that very interesting that they would say that, but I get where that comes from.If you watch a lot of, like, clips that people put from beer league games and stuff like that, is I'd say about maybe a third of them are just complete fails from people, you know, somebody that can't skate or people that are just falling over all the time, or whatever.And a couple more are people doing really cool things during a beer league game, but a majority are definitely fights and just stupid crap that happens during beer league.So is that a part of beer league?Yes.Is it a big part of beer league?Uh, I know here by me, we have a couple different leagues that are around, and there is definitely one league that is known as the one that has fights and has crap break out, uh, way more often during games, uh, because it's just not sanctioned well.It's not, uh, the league doesn't sanction the stuff well, doesn't really do a good job of keeping things properly competitive or any of that.So it leads to a lot more fights and things that are close to fights and a lot more of that kind of stuff going on.Uh, the league that I play in is a lot more strict around those things.They will put the hammer down on a lot of that kind of stuff.So does fighting happen?Yes.But it's pretty rare, that it does happen.Uh, you know, a lot more often than actual fights would be having, you know, kind of the, you know, the tussle between guys that is also a lot of, you know, shouting at y- and yelling at each other about stupid stuff and that kind of a thing that happens.There's a lot more of that.That totally does happen, but actually people throwing punches at each other, that's pretty rare, uh, for the amount of games, at least I know in my league that it happens.But like I said, other leagues can happen more.Uh, but really, it's not a part of beer league.Does it happen?Yes.Should it happen?Probably not.That's usually a problem with the league if something like that is regularly happening, especially if something like that is regularly happening across multiple teams, 'cause there are definitely guys that show up to beer league with the sole intent of trying to start fights.Like, they think that that's part of hockey is throwing punches and getting intoAnd if it's, like, a particular person or a couple particular people, that's not a league issue or anything like that.And that's not saying that fighting is a part of that league or fighting is a part of any of that stuff.It's just a couple of idiots that are just trying to make it really crappy for anybody else that, you know, just wants to go out and play some hockey and then go to work the next day.So is fighting a part of beer league?Unfortunately, a little bit.Hopefully not very much where you'reAll right, I'm gonna kind of try and rapid fire, 'cause there'sI got a lot, I got a lot of these that it came up with.Uh, if you have any ideas for some beer league myths you would like to hear talked about, shoot me a message.Uh, let me know.I would love to hear some of those, and maybe we'll do a followup episode on this.Uh, thebeerleaguer.com has a lot different ways you can get ahold of the show, so go check that out.Let me know some of your beer league myths.All right, rapid fire through a couple more of these.You have to start young to be good.You already kind of busted that in the beginning.You don't.Does it help?Yes.Do you have to?No.Do I know people that have started later and are still really good, better than people that play when they're young?Most definitely.Goalies are weird.Yeah, pretty much for the most part, goalies are weird.I mean, you're buying all that crazy gear to, uh, stand by yourself and have people shoot at you the whole game.Probably have something loose in your head if you're okay with that.So yeah, for the most part, goalies are weird.Uh, and the last one I have on here is you can just show up and play.And that sounds weird, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna read the truth part here that it says, the, the kind of busting of it.And it, and it makes sense.It says, "Sure, but the real beer league experience involves locker room culture, pregame rituals, team chats, bringing beer, and remembering your socks."I would say your jersey and all of your gear, but socks, sure."Just showing up isn't the same as belonging."And it says that you can bust this myth by celebrating the off-ice stuff true.And it says you can bust this myth by celebrating the off-ice stuffI think that's a very good one to end on, because you know a big theme throughout all these podcast episodes is kind of the off-ice stuff, the locker room stuff, the fun of hanging out with the guys, you know, getting to do stuff as a group.And I've talked about in various other places and on other episodes about you're an adult.It's hard to make friends as an adult, and beer league hockey is one of the great ways to do that.So can you just show up and play?Can you just show up right before the game starts, put your stuff on, run out there, play, be the first one back in the locker room, get your stuff off, and get the hell out?Yes, you can.Might you enjoy it?Possibly.Are you getting the most out of your beer league experience if you're doing that?Definitely not.Are your teammates going to like you if you do that?I mean, if you're a really good player, they might not care as much, but you are missing out on, I think, the most impa- important part about beer league, which is kind of the off-ice stuff, is the hanging out before and after games and the camaraderie that you get with other players.So you can just show up and play.It's totally a fine thing.And there are plenty of people I know that normally will hang out, but they have, you know, "Hey, got this going on tonight, I gotta book it after the game," or gonna be showing up right before game time versus getting in a little early, stuff like that.I mean, happens to everybody.You know, they have life outside of hockey.So that stuff happens.That's very different than if you're always showing up right before you get on the ice and leaving right after and not hanging out with anybody.ThatIf you wanna do that, fine, but you are missing out on what I think is the most fun part and the best part about beer league.You've heard me talk about it, you've heard Mason on these episodes before talk about it.That's kind of the great part of it.So you can just show up and play, but I don't think you should, 'cause you're missing out a lot.That's it.There you go.That, that is some beer league hockey myths, I think mostly debunked, but at least talked about.Like I said, I would love to hear some myths that you have or that you've heard.You can get ahold of the show, thebeerleaguer.com is the place to get all the info for everything that you need for how to get ahold of the show, past episodes, whatever you want, all there.Go check it out.Thanks a lot for listening, and we'll catch you in the next one.

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