A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Twenty-One.

A quick post- I survived my first game!  I was the fourth Right Winger with some great players.  I think I ended up playing about 8 or 9 shifts.  Not much ice time, because the 3 other RW- really really good players- all played long shifts.  I don't mind the small amount of ice time... for now.  It was a good way to start out, to be honest.  I do have to admit that I am the worst player on the team... I'm going to campaign hard for the nickname Link.

The team is made of a few core members and a bunch of new players and free agents.  The team wears light blue sweaters- one of the Pittsburgh Penguins sweaters, I think.  Only about 4 or 5 of the team has full on game sweaters with logos, and the rest of us are in light blue practice sweaters.  The number I wanted- 54- is taken, so I ended up with 21.  I can live with that.  We had a full team last night- 8 wingers, 3 centers, 6 defense-men and an incredible goalie. 

We played a sponsored team called Realty Source.  We led through pretty much the entire game, but they pulled their goalie in the last minute and scored to tie.  Ties are decided by a shoot-out in our league, and they won.  I was on the ice for one of our goals, but wasn't really involved in the play.  I was rarely involved in the play, to be honest, but it was cool to be part of a team that can hold it's own. 

The absolute worst part of the night was that I didn't get home until nearly 1 in the morning.   Alisha was up, so after I showered, we talked.  I admit, that I was a bit...  discouraged may be strong...  but a little concerned, maybe.  Concerned that I'm not going to be able to improve and be a part of the team.  Today though, I realized that I was so concerned about the little details, and learning the little things- getting off the bench, paying attention to the man I was going to replace... that my head wasn't really in the game.  I was also trying to absorb all the advice I was getting.  That's so damn cliche.  Anyway, I think that will change as I get more comfortable- which was already happening during the game.

What's not comfortable is wrenching my knee on my 2 to last shift... coming off the bench.  OFF THE BENCH!  Cripes.  

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Twenty.

So... here we are.  It's been nearly a year since that first time on the Evergreen pond ice, when I decided to start on this crazy quest- to play hockey in a beer league.  Tonight is the beginning of the end of that quest.  I say beginning of the end, because I'll be playing my first hockey game in a league, but it's an 11 week season, and I plan on playing in the future.  Wow.

The team that I've been assigned to is Icemen.  It seems that it's the team that beginners and 'free agents' play on.  I've received a few emails that indicate the team is filled with new players, and they have a load of spare sweaters- for all the new faces.  When I was skating last week, there was a guy skating with his daughter.  On Friday, I went to get a pre-game sharp on my skates, and he was at Player's Bench doing the same.  We recognized each other and chatted a bit.  He plays in the D2 league, but he started out on Icemen.  He told me that Icemen always dresses a lot of skaters.  For him, as an experienced player, it made for a frustrating game, because he didn't get a lot of ice time.  For beginners, like me, he thought it was ideal, because we can ease into the flow of a game and a team.  In the end, he and a bunch of Icemen split and started a new team.  As a joke he emailed the captain and told her he was sniping me.  Oh, for fun.  It did make me feel a little more comfortable- knowing I wouldn't be the only newbie, or playing every shift, and being able to watch how the game is played.  

There are only 4 teams in the D4 league, so we'll basically be playing each other over and over.  We play late Wednesday games, so Pub Quiz is going to have to go on the back burner, which is a bit of a bummer.  I'm excited though!

I should clarify on something in Part Nineteen- the reason I'm nervous after listening to so many NHL and hockey documentaries is because of the part of the game called chirping.  I'm not good at it, and although I'm not terribly sensitive to taunts, I'm afraid it will keep me from really pushing things.  I know I can change my attitude to a 'not give a fuck' one in camps, but am unsure how it'll transfer to a game, when other players may count on my performance.   We'll see at 11.15 tonight!

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Nineteen.

I've signed up for the D4 league at Big Bear as a 'Free Agent'.  I'm really nervous.  At work, I'm able to listen to documentaries, and I've been listening to loads of hockey films.  It doesn't help.  I know that it's a rec league for beginners, not the pros, but like the camps I've been too- I get nervous about really screwing up.  I've never been much of a team sports guy.  The two sports I've excelled at are sports that require individual efforts- track and fencing.  In track I was a sprinter and ran the 100 and 200 meters.  I was a part of relays, but once the hand offs are done, it's up to the individual runner.  In fencing, it's always one on one.  I'm a classic introvert, and don't make friends easily.  I'm not good at locker room banter.  I've done ok in the camps, but I'm worried it'll be different being part of a team- something I've not done since I was about 12.  Here we go... 

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Eighteen,

The incredible experience of the SDOHL camp came to an end last night.  The drills we did were almost completely beyond my skill- lots of pivots and backwards skating stuff.  I have cracked that though!  I can skate backwards!  I even did a passing drill while skating backwards.  I say I cracked it, because I figured out how to do the C cuts with both feet and can move down the ice with some confidence.  I need to continue to work on it- and get the transitions and crossovers, but I'm closer than ever before.  Like I said after the DU camp- I can do this.  There's a slight difference than how I see that statement now though.  Before it was the realization that I have the passion and can develop the skills to play.  Now I see that I need to get into some games to improve.  I'm going to continue skating a couple of times a week and try to get to a stick and puck or two- and then I sign up as a free agent at Big Bear.

As an aside- I grabbed a Champion athletic shirt from Target for about $10- it really did make playing more comfortable.  At the end of the night, I wasn't left with a soaking wet t-shirt.  

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Seventeen.

The team I was invited to join has seemingly fallen through.  I never received an email from the guys who were arranging it, and I didn't go to Big Bear last week.  I'm not terribly upset.  The league was playing at a rink pretty far from my house, was really expensive, and was at a level I thought was to high for me- a complete beginner.  I'm going to sign up as a solo player in the Big Bear league instead.  I'm not sure how that all works, but I've got an email into the rink to get some information.  I'm sort of hoping that there's a skills draft, because I'd like to see how that kind of thing works.  I've got a friend who may want to join me, and I went for beers with some of the guys who I skated with way back when all this started back in January, and they're all really excited about playing some pond hockey this winter.

The SDOHL hockey camp is still going great.  One more session.  I'm really learning a lot and think I'm really improving.  I've gotten loads of tips and encouragement from everyone.  It sort of makes me wish I didn't live so far from the rink (about 17 miles with a 45 minute drive)- I'd defiantly join that league.  I'm also trying an experiment with my skates, because of some of the drills we've been doing.  We've been doing a lot of edge work, and I found that I slide all over the ice, so I'm going with a slightly deeper hollow to add a little bite.  We'll see how that goes. 

To add a little bit of visual fun to this- I've made some equipment changes. 

I replaced my old JOFA shin guards with a nicer JOFA set.  I found them at the used sports store for a whopping $10.  They are more comfortable, easier to secure and sturdier.

I've also gotten a new sweater and socks.  It seems that there's a sort of unwritten rule that says newer players go with dark sweaters and more advanced players wear light colors.  Not hard and fast, but just the way it seems- so I went with a dark green, but got grey socks.  I look like a member of Slytherin.

Finally, I've found a brilliant stick with a curve I really like.  It's the Sher-wood LE PP10 stick.  It's got a lie of 4.5 with a mid-heel curve of about a 1/2 inch, a rounded toe and is slightly open.  It's a great passing and puck handling stick.   The only problem is that they only make the stick in the 5030 line, which are wooden sticks, so if I ever decide to make the move to a modern composite, I'll need to find something else- I may do that once I've played a season.   It is lighter than the Easton stick, though.  I only got one, to try it out, so I'll need to pick up another one before I join a team.  I've also been experimenting with wax, but I don't think I'm good enough to notice a difference.

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Sixteen

I am again fully and completely in over my head with this SDOHL camp.  I thought I would be, and it doesn't matter.  Everyone has been really great and I've gotten loads of encouragement and help.  My attitude continues to be - not worry about looking dumb or what people think, and realize that the experience is going to make me a better player. 

On the down side- the Foothills rink is a really depressing place.  It is next to the swimming pool complex I spent most of my childhood at, but wasn't built until 1995- long after I left the neighborhood.  It's small, dark, dank, smells and has dodgy ice.  

I'm still on track to play on a team starting in October.  Woot! 

A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Fifteen.

 Another step- I’ve registered for the Southwest Denver Oldtimers Hockey League Fall camp.  The camp is four weeks starting on the 15^th of September.  I‘m really looking forward to it, but I know I need to continue the not really caring thing.  I’m still worried about my backwards skating, even though I did better tonight than I ever have. 

I’ve been trying to skate every Tuesday and Thursday.  There has been a cadre of guys out on the ice a lot of the time I’m there.  We’re all at about the same level.  We gave each other a couple of tips on backwards skating and hockey stops a week or so ago, and continued tonight.  Towards the end of the night, one of the guys- Aaron- asked what I was trying to get out of skating and I told him about this hockey lark.  He said they were working on the same thing.  I asked if they were in a league, and they are just starting in October.  He asked if I was interested in playing… so yeah, I’m on a hockey team.  My quest to play a season in a beer league is about to come to fruition.  HUZZAH!!!!