Tag Archives: hockey

Trying Tryouts

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I’ve held off writing this one so as not to jinx the Boy who spent the past couple of weeks (minus a few days) in Midget rep tryouts.  While some kids his age have given up hockey in favour of jobs, girls, etc. and not necessarily in that order; the Boy’s still got the competitive itch.  Though he didn’t say it I believe he was still hopeful of moving up a level to AA this year. He’s been an A player on the cusp of playing AA for the last six years.  Or maybe that’s just a hockey dad talking. Perhaps all he really wants to do is have fun playing with his buddies, which is really just as, if not more important, in the grand scheme of things.

Putting bias as far off to the side as I can, I believe he looked good relative to all the others trying out starting with the preliminary tryouts/mini-camp back in the Fall.   But the AA tryouts presented two challenges – lots of players/competition and players from two different age groups; 16 and 17 year olds with the Boy in the former, younger group. The first set of evaluations were broken down into two scrimmages of about 30 players per skate including a whopping 13 goalies competing for five goalie spots on three rep teams.  The Boy could at least count himself lucky for not being a keeper. The first skate went well with only a few standouts from my perspective.  The Boy held his own as he generally does.  In a scrimmage situation, there are few who will question his determination.

For the next evaluation, the younger hopefuls were off to an exhibition game against a nearby town running tryouts of their own.  It seemed the coach was trying to see which of the younger players might step to the fore in a game situation.  Because it was a game, mom decided to accompany me for her first glimpse at the process.  Of course, only a few minutes into this game, on the Boy’s fourth or fifth shift, he was pushed from behind in open ice and fell awkwardly on his left shoulder.  He was able to get up and skate to the bench, but you could tell some damage had been done – the left arm hung low.  The old adage, the bigger they are the harder they fell rang true.  At the end of the period he was ushered off the ice with mom, the certified trainer, in close pursuit. He laboured to take off his gear while we wondered if his collar bone or some other part of that general area was broken.  He was definitely in some discomfort.   4 1/2 hours and an x-ray later an ER doc was able to report that in fact nothing was broken.  However a sprain of the acromioclavicular (AC) joint would put a damper on tryouts for the next 5-7 days. The Boy’s chances of making the AA team were certainly compromised and the A evaluations were slotted to start in only four days leaving little time for a full recovery.  A quick conversation with the AA coach revealed that he would be hard pressed to crack the AA lineup, which would likely be dominated by older players, in any case.

Now hopeful to make the A team, we took the Boy to a sports medicine clinic for an evaluation and opinion on when he may be ok to go back on the ice.  His first skate was to be only six days after the night of the injury. The physio exam revealed a loss of strength and some lingering tenderness, however some treatment and mandated exercises showed promise. It was decided after a conversation with the A coach that he would miss his first skate, but make every effort to make an appearance for the last two tryouts. While the A coach would take his past performance into account, optics still required him to compete for a position.

As luck would have it, the third skate would not include any contact with more of a focus being placed on skills and goalies. And yet the Boy found a way, during a three on one drill, to fall and land on his wonky left shoulder.  I may have chuckled out loud at the irony of the situation, which raised the ire of some hockey moms sitting in front of me. The Boy took a quick rest at the direction of the coach. I was happy to see him return to the ice shortly thereafter.  The moms still let me have it for my momentary indiscretion.

The fourth and final session for those competing for spots on the A squad was to be a full-contact scrimmage. I told the Boy to play smart; keep your head up. As the Boy and his scrimmage side hit the ice, it appeared he was with the stronger and perhaps already chosen group; meaning the other was comprised of players battling for a couple of final spots. This situation was not lost on the players who’ve been trying out like this for several years. The Boy said after the tryout that one player who inadvertently walked into the wrong dressing room with the “chosen players” quickly looked around and quipped “Uh oh, we’re f%$#ed!”  The Boy, for his part, played smart and was decidedly cautious with good reason. On one particular occasion he had an opportunity to deliver a hit – he thought better of it; later claiming he would have “crushed that kid.”

And so, in the end, the lad returns for a seventh consecutive season of A hockey. He’s pleased that a few of his teammates from last year and other friends he hasn’t played on a team with for a while will be teammates this season. In all he figures they have a pretty strong squad with a mix of younger and a few older players.  The first practice is tomorrow night…the first game a few days later.  We hope the shoulder will be close to 100 percent for that opening tilt.  The already completed schedule shows several familiar late night games both at home and away.  With me on the Devil’s bench, mom is fretting some of the games she will no doubt have drive to after the snow falls.  We’ll split the duties whenever we can.  I will want to get to as many games as possible, knowing his minor hockey days are fleeting.

That being said, I can tell you that none of us will miss the stress of tryouts any time soon.

#imahockeydad

Back on Ice

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Alright…..so it’s still August and the Devil’s been on the ice a couple of times over the last two weeks.  Some would and have argued a couple of times too many.  An opportunity arose for some ice time with another team, which was offered to all of the members of her and my team.  A few, including the aforementioned Devil, who weren’t occupied with other Summer activities, signed on to get some early practice in.  Having not had her blades touch a frozen surface since mid-May,the Devil out-loud wondered if she may have forgotten how to navigate a sheet of ice.  While her conditioning was questionable and some rust was obvious, she took to it as she has every other season following the mid-year break with renewed enthusiasm for a game she’d come to miss even after only a couple of months. Though I know catching an edge in a drill and landing firmly on her ass did not sit well with her (pun wholly intended).  I likewise marked myself appreciating the sights, sounds and even the smells of the abruptly sprayed snow, the well-struck goalpost and the ripe dressing room – familiar indeed.

In a week’s time, my new team will take to the ice for our first official practice. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t some nervous energy guiding my new role.  Everything to this point has been administration.  Next week the proverbial rubber hits the rink.  I’ve already mapped out two full sessions, replaying instructions in my mind both before I hit the pillow and upon waking at least a full hour before I need to the last couple of mornings.  I’ve always said of delivering presentations that if you’re not nervous, it doesn’t matter enough to you. This does matter to me.  I have expectations around building a team, imparting a few hockey skills to propel these young athletes forward and hopefully instilling some positive life lessons along the way.   I assume my players have expectations of me; varied as they will surely be.  And I know many parents have already fashioned a set of desired outcomes, as they’ve every right to do. While I will have a staff to support me, I will still be the focal point in good times and bad.  I’ve accepted this role. I expect to look back six months from now to see my fretting was worth it.  I’ll measure success on the hopefully enlightened faces of players after a solid practice or hard fought game – win, lose or draw.  I want my players to realize it is just a kid’s game, the rink is an unbeatable place to be on a frigid Winter morning and they are fortunate to have the opportunity to just play.

As for the Boy, he and some buddies are entered in a pre-season “fun” tune-up tourney this weekend.  “Fun” in midget boys games generally means lots of inappropriate, testosterone-induced trash talking followed by the occasional dust-up in the corner along with a few goals tossed in.  I understand it’s been tough rounding up enough players, but the Boy for his part is raring to go.  I’m pleased to note he still loves playing the game — he comes by his competitive spirit naturally. I get the sense he’s also looking forward to tryouts in a few weeks as he’s been chomping at the bit to get some frozen pond under his restless feet.  As a coach, I’ll likely see fewer of his games this year, but will make a point to cherish each of them more with the clock undoubtedly ticking down.

So, ok…enough with the romantic talk already…gimme a stick, puck and bring on Hockey Season!

#imahockeydad

Changing Face of the Game

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Hockey Canada is considering a few adjustments to minor hockey to curb recent drops in registration.  Enhancing non-contact leagues appears to be at the top of the list in light of recent concerns around concussions and other injuries.  The NHL, for its part, isn’t setting the best example.  Hockey purists will no doubt claim the sport is just fine the way it is, but hockey does need to react to threats from other sports, video games and rising costs to name a few. Every sport, for that matter, has to grow and evolve in the face of challenges to its popularity.  I appreciate a good hockey hit as much as the next guy, yet you need look no further than women’s hockey to see a high level of skill and really entertaining hockey without head hits, hits from behind and the other bad sides of what can be a pretty violent game at times.  Maybe it is time to take a harder look at non-contact options to get more kids playing and staying in hockey.

Summer’s Been Nice, but Startin to Get The Itch

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Sometimes at night I can hear the ice crack
It sounds like thunder and it rips through my back
Sometimes in the morning I still hear the sound
Ice meets metal…
Can’t you drive me down to the Big League? 

Tom Cochrane

Midway through Summer and basking in a heat wave; a far cry from an icy cold rink in February.  It’s been a while since there’s been any real hockey talk, but it’s never too far from our minds.  Some kids continue with 3-on-3 leagues, Summer hockey camps or hockey-specific conditioning as the Boy and Devil have both done in the past.  I personally feel it’s important to get away from it for a couple of months and to develop rounded athletes in multiple sports.

We’ve been offering optional dryland training once a week for the girls on my team this upcoming season. Our trainer has done a great job of mixing team building in with the exercise. Attendance has been pretty good from week to week with only a few who haven’t been able to get out because of commitments they have in other sports from baseball to soccer to ball hockey.  And that’s just fine by me.  There’ll be plenty of on and off-ice conditioning once this team is fully assembled.

While there have been no hockey practices or games played, there has been plenty of admin in anticipation of the season ahead.  A bank account has been opened, rosters have been created, on-ice plans have been drafted.  The other night, hockey mom and I got together with a group of parents to discuss fundraising to offset some of our costs next year.  One tournament has already been booked for September, another is earmarked for November.  We have our eyes pealed for a few more to round out the schedule around practices, league games and playoffs.  Next week I’ll sit down with my coaching staff to get their input on how we, as a group of four 40+ men, will work together to develop the individual and team skills of a bunch of undoubtedly temperamental 13 and 14 year old girls.  Say a small prayer to the hockey gods on that front for us.

The practices and games will be upon us before we know it.  It’s likely no surprise that I’m itching to get going. Though they’re older, with other interests and priorities, I’m pretty sure the Boy and the Devil could use a wee scratch too.  Keeping us all away from a rink for a couple months serves to stoke the flames of competition; it’s good to miss the game; to want to get back to it again.  A new season will bring new challenges, new teammates, new friendships along with some victories and hopefully fewer defeats. Regardless, it’s all good when the Zamboni door closes after its final round inviting the quick clamour of skates, sticks and pucks just ahead of whistles and cheers.  I don’t have to be there to see,  hear or feel it in my mind’s eye, but there’s nothing quite like the real thing.

 

#imahockeydad

Sometimes the Hockey is Pleasantly Secondary

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This past weekend was a great example of how hockey can be an excellent backdrop and excuse to simply get away to have some fun.  Our family spent the weekend in Niagara Falls where the Boy took part in a Summer tournament. Where else would you expect me to spend Father’s Day?  You naturally go into any tournament wanting to win, but the emphasis in this case, as it should be in the majority of situations, was on having fun – both for the Boys and their families in tow.

Upon dropping our Boy off at the front door of the first arena on Friday afternoon, we made our way to the back of the parking lot to join several other hockey moms and dads in some Summer hockey tail-gating.  As I scanned the parking lot I could see pop-up trailers, RVs, bbq-flavoured smoke rising from well-prepared grills and multi-colored, ice-filled coolers.  The general rule is to arrive one-hour before game-time, which leaves plenty of time to pop open the back door of the van, turn on some music, sit back in a lawn chair, sip a cold beverage and wonder what the unfortunate working people are doing.  It was almost difficult to rise up and head to the rink to watch the game as puck-drop drew near.  And such would be the case over the next few days as the temperatures rose and the beverages seemingly got colder or at least certainly more refreshing.

The rest of the weekend included a surprisingly efficient and affordable team dinner, a customary trip to see one of the Wonders of the World, a pre-game round for a few fathers including yours truly on a phenomenal golf course, purposely missed late-night curfews and two white-knuckled walks for me and the Devil thru a couple of Niagara Falls’ finest haunted houses. I’m confident the feeling should come back to my over-gripped hand any day now.

And oh yeah, there was a little hockey mixed in there too.  The hockey portion of the weekend saw the Boys play to a 1-1-1 round robin record putting them firmly in 5th place entering the playoff round.  All of the games were close and they could have just as easily been 3-0.  They would fall 3-1 in their first playoff game, which relegated them to battle it out for 7th, which they were able to secure with a 4-0 victory to end on a high note. It may have just been me, but it seemed the fun had outside the rink found its way onto the ice – win or lose.

The original plan in putting this team together was to enter two tournaments, with Niagara being the second. But at the end of day two Boys and parents alike were talking about looking for a third opportunity to hang out and maybe play/watch some hockey.  And to be clear, a few more wins than losses will certainly be welcomed. For some this will perhaps become more of a priority as the real season draws near.  I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in hoping the fun stays the primary focus.

#imahockeydad