Bill Playing Hockey

It has been a really long time since I've played hockey on a consistent basis. When we first moved down to NC I tried to play a few times here and there but never got into a league. With my first job traveling, and then the birth of the kids, it was really hard to find the time to join a league. Well I finally decided it had been too long and I'm going to get back to playing again. I don't travel anymore for work, and the kids are getting old enough where it's fun to take them out and do things.
I really enjoy playing both as a Player and as a Goalie, but I just recently purchased some new goalie equipment so I started off with that first. For those of you that might remember, I had a problem with my left thumb when closing my glove, so the new equipment was to allow me to switch to catching with my right hand instead. This has worked out very well so far, my thumb doesn't hurt anymore and my play seems to have stayed at the same level. I also found a steal on a new set of leg pads that actually fit me the way I like (my old ones were too big for my tastes) and a new chest protector that fit better and allowed for better ventilation. I've played a few pickup games and/or practices on ice and am really enjoying it. Two problems though....first, I am waaay out of shape lol and second, both ice rinks just started their summer sessions and I was too late to make a team. Still desperately wanting to get back to playing, I'm turning to my first love and joined a house team at the inline rink. Karrie and I figured it's probably been around 4 years since I played a league as a player not a goalie. I'm really looking forward to playing again, especially as a player. Goalie is great, I love the challenge and I really like learning the new position, but I started out as a player. It will be a fun way to get back in shape and be able to play without worrying about my positioning or not making a save. I can just go 'play'.
I posted some pictures of a recent pickup game of my in goal, and a practice session that Bob and I did where I skated on ice for the first time as a player. Boy is that different then inline lol!! My first inline game is this coming Wednesday, June 3rd and I'll post on what happens. Hopefully Karrie and the kids can make it to some of the games and we can get some pictures up of that too!