@Imadickens
Thank you for caring. My injury was many years ago, but for an active person like myself, that no running, no skating for 18 months was an eternity. As far as hockey, I started playing as a young boy growing up in Public Housing Projects. My mother raised myself and my 3 older sisters by herself.
We made our on hockey sticks out of scrap wood given us from a store that built furniture about half mile from our Projects apartment. We played with a ball on the asphalt plaza outside our apartments. Couldn't afford skates until I started my paper route at age 8, and was able to pay for them.
I started my own Adult Hockey League in our city. It was primarily because there was only 1 Amateur League, and it was run by kind of a clique. They grew up playing on ice and me and my friends did not, so they deemed we were not good enough to play.
Started that and ran it all by myself, nothing delegated, run by only me. That was for 52 years. During that time most of the players were men over 50 years old, many that had never played before. My oldest player was 78 when he moved out of town.
I also helped start a World Wide Adult League in the early 1990's. At that time there was just my Adult League and the other I mentioned above. It added another 12 teams of Adult Hockey in our City. It had a Beginners and Intermediate Leagues.
The Beginners League had many 20-30 year old men and women that had never even skated? They had 8 weeks of teaching, by a former NHL player, and myself. Then they would play 16 games after that time. I was the Referee in most of those games, along with running and being the Ref in my own League's games. I played for several decades and also was a Referee for over 30 years.
There are now 5 Adult Hockey Leagues in our city, all different levels from beginners and all the way up to former College players and some former Pro players. A place for all adults to play at a level matching their skills? Age was/has nor will ever be a factor to any adult in our city that wants to play hockey. Also many Youth Hockey Leagues in our city.
I was honored by our city's Hockey Hall of Fame back in 2005 for my work at making Adult Hockey Leagues available for all Adults of all skill levels. Now this Hall of Fame has greats like the late Gordie Howe(MR.HOCKEY)/Terry Sawchuck(held the record for most Goalie NHL wins for many decades), and Coach Scotty Bowman(who has won more Stanley Cup Rings than any NHL Coach), who all started their Professional careers, here in our city in Nebraska. I was/am truly humbled to have my name on an award given me by the same organizations as these Greats of National Hockey League Fame.
Sounds like your son lives on the East Coast if his team is the Devils. Course mine is the NY Rangers and I am in Nebraska. If there are no Adult Leagues where you son lives? Have him read this post of how I went about making a place for myself and many thousands of other men and woman to play the game most of them love. Not easy, as I was also working my regular job at Western Electric/AT&T most of those many years.
A very long post, but hey, I love my life of hockey. Be careful now with that injury. One can never ice and elevate too much every day, especially if you spend much time upright. Blood flows to that area and it does cause swelling?
My best to you and to your son finding a place to play,
hckynut(john)
hckynut(john)
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