How much would it be for me to start playing hockey?

J Senzie: How much would it be for me to start playing hockey?
I am of course a fan of the NHL, and specifically the Red Wings. It has just occured to me how much I hate myself for not starting to play hockey at a younger age. I am 15, 6 feet tall, probably 150 pounds, and wear size 11 shoes.

If I were to buy used equipment, how would I go about this? And by hockey, I mean Ice Hockey. And how would I practice and train? Would I have to start with ground hockey?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Trevor
Look for a play it again sports in your area. I started playing when I was 13 and I had a helmet plus a pair of skates that my dad didn’t use anymore and all the equipment cost me about $ 500. Factoring in the skates and helmet that price would have risen to about $ 750 – 800. Next once you have your equipment you need to get ice time, its probably too late for you to join a winter team, so you’ll need to look into power skating classes, which in my area will run you about $ 300 at least. Also look into local community centers or skating rinks and go to their fun skates, you can learn the basics of skating there and fun/family skate should run you $ 3 – 5 for a couple of hours. Also once you’ve learned to skate you can always go to shinnies at local rinks to play a game for an hour or two, these usually cost between $ 5 and 15 dollars depending on the amount of ice time.
I think it goes without saying that if you know people with old equipment try to buy/borrow their stuff for cheap because hockey is a very expensive sport. Also maybe try to find some figure skating classes for beginners you can join, I know it sounds lame… But in all seriousness it will be much cheaper to learn how to skate with figure skating classes (all you typically need is the skates and maybe a helmet) and you’ll learn faster to skate through figure skating.
Anyways all in all equipment id say about $ 700 – 800 and to learn to skate will be an ongoing battle…
ANOTHER thing to remember when you are buying skates, not only ask for help to make sure they fit, but also make sure the boot stiffness matches your weight/skill level. I have made the mistake of buying expensive skates just because they were expensive in the past and I suffered. As opposed to when I bought my current skates which were less expensive, but the boot flexibility is perfect for me, my skating was instantly better and the new skates didn’t take as long to break in (all natural no bake) nor do they constantly hurt as badly.