u/CinemaPuck

Sharks are partnering with Northern California adult hockey rec leagues, led by NCWHL, to bring an adult skills clinic and Q&A with KCS to the Bay Area!

Possibly just a thing around my leagues, but I play D-league and have noticed an obsession with slap shots around my rinks. And it’s kind of annoying because they go wide or high and miss the net 90% of the time.

Realistically, it’s much easier to aim wristers and snap shots. They’re also way faster to get off, unless it’s a one timer (rare in my leagues). So why not go for those shots?

I mentioned in a game last week that maybe we should try wristers or snapshots instead of clappers after we missed like 15 shots in a row, and the guys looked at me like I’d grown a third head lol.

Is there a rationale to this that I’m missing?

I’m new-ish to hockey, been playing about 9 months and am getting into skating that involves deep outside edge work (back crossovers, punch turns, etc).

In the past, I liked basically trying to get my skates as tight as possible for ankle stability. However, I did some lessons with a skating coach and she recommended not lacing up too tightly and leaving my ankle freedom to flex and get full range of motion. This tracks with more advanced skaters I know, who I’ve seen basically tie their skates like shoes and even leave their top couple eyelets undone.

I’ve definitely seen mixed messages about how tightly bound your ankles should be in skates, though.

More advanced skaters out there—do you lace your skates up tightly around your ankles or leave some room for ankle flex and movement?

For San Jose fans like me who are hungrily awaiting San Jose expansion news, the Shark City Hockey instagram is reporting that the expansion announcement for San Jose is coming next week!

I’ve been contemplating a big law exit for better lifestyle and more meaningful work. I understand that this comes with a pay cut.

I received an offer from a small firm (ten attorneys with two partners) that promises good quality work that would be much more meaningful than what I currently do. They do public interest stuff in partnership with nonprofits. They also have a 1600 hour billable requirement, which includes pro bono, BD, and some CLE time. This is better on paper than my firm, which has a 1700 billable minimum (not including BD) and 2050 for bonus.

The big downside is that their salary offer was $115k (I am a fourth year). They said there is usually a bonus, but it varies on a number of factors and may be as high as 26% of base pay in addition, or as low as like 5-7%. The highest paid senior associate makes $140k base pay.

I’m also nervous because I’ve heard some horror stories about small firms. They seem lovely based on meetings with them, but who knows. There are only two glass door reviews from 2021 and one gave them four stars, and the other one star…

Hoping for some insight!

I have received an offer from a small law firm, and am seriously considering exiting my big law job for a job with the small firm. I believe working with the small firm would be significantly more meaningful, provide better work life balance, and I also really like the partners.

That said, their pay offer is low. I expected a pay cut from big law, but their current offer is practically 1/3 of what I currently make. I had Also set my “absolute minimum salary” when job searching at about $10k above their current offer… I think if they raised it $5-10k it would make it a lot easier for me to leave my current job.

**Is it acceptable to negotiate job offer salaries from small firms? If so, what is the best way to approach negotiating a higher salary? Ideally, I would not lose the original offer if they say no to the higher pay, because I may take it regardless.**

Before it’s revealed that San Jose/Bay Area is not an expansion city and my dreams are dashed, I thought it would be fun to brainstorm some ideas for a team name:

* San Jose Sea Otters
* San Jose Sea Lions
* San Jose Herons
* San Jose Swift
* San Jose Redwoods
* Oakland Orcas
* Oakland Outlaws
* Oakland Havoc
* Oakland Fog
* Oakland Cranes
* Bay Black Birds
* Bay Bison
* Bay Breakers
* Bay Ice Wolves

Any other ideas?

I’m a female player in a coed D league, and I usually play D. I have been playing since last August in a women’s league, but just recently joined the coed league. One guy who has been on the team for a while has been playing as my D partner and is really frustrating me. I’m not sure how to manage it while maintaining good vibes on the team.

First, he has commentary for me on everything I should have done on my shift when we are on the bench between shifts. Oftentimes, his commentary is not helpful or anything I didn’t already know. One that particularly rubbed me the wrong way was when, while on the ice, he yelled at me that “I’ve got time” when I had the puck in the D-zone and so I wasn’t prepared when a player suddenly came at me from behind and stole the puck—when we got back to the bench, he was like “try turning the other way when a player is coming up on you.” Like, I would have if you hadn’t yelled at me that I had time…

He also is constantly riding up on my side. I feel like he thinks he needs to support me or something, but it’s confusing and causes a mess when I’m about to grab the puck on my side of the net and then he just shoots over in front of me to grab it. It creates a cluster and gets confusing about who is supposed to be where. At one point, I got annoyed and told him that if it’s on my side and I’m going for it, he should just leave it be.

It’s frustrating because I really don’t think I’m playing poorly. Like, I’m new to the team, but the only goals that have gone in while I’ve been on D happened when he was on my side and getting in the way... Also, I don’t think this guy is particularly good anyways, and therefore really not the best person to give me advice.

What’s the best way to get him off my back without causing conflict with him or creating any drama for the team?

I am currently playing defense in a coed league. I’m a girl, and the league is majority men who are a lot bigger than me. The offense guys like to come sit and the net to wait for tips.

I find that just stick lifting when the offense players are standing in the net doesn’t always work because they can strong arm me or push back into me and knock me off balance. So recently I started getting between them and the goalie, putting my stick against the top of their pants and giving them a push to tell them to get them out. I don’t push hard enough to knock them over, but they usually have to reposition and it’s effective for eliminating tip opportunities.

That said, this pisses them off a LOT. This past game an offense player who tried this several times started intentionally coming over to me and shoving me or hitting me with his shoulder when neither of us had the puck. I assume based on me pushing him out of the net.

Is the pushing strategy too physical for beer league? If so, what works best in this situation where stick lifts are inconsistent due to the strength imbalance?

EDIT: just want to clarify that the push doesn’t involve extending my arms, I’m leaning into them and using my body and legs to move them out.

I’m a newish player, started learning hockey last September. I’m currently playing on one team in a women’s D league and on another team in a coed D league.

In the women’s league, I’m on the faster side and usually play center or wing. However, in the coed league I’ve had a harder time getting scoring opportunities and getting past the bigger players. I’ve had a lot more success playing D in the coed league. In terms of enjoyment, I think D can be more fun in general, but I also love the rush of scoring when I’m on offense.

Now I’ve had the opportunity to play all the positions a fair amount, I was thinking I’d like to spend the time specializing in one so I can focus on that skill set.

How do people usually choose what position they are best suited to?