Sunday

So it's been a few days, but our first official hockey practice was Sunday and it was really good. They're trying a new format this season and I gotta say, so far, so good. We started with a few stretches at center ice and even shared our names. It's funny, I played most of last year and really never got to know most peoples names. This year I hope to at least learn who five people are by name and face, should I run into them say at a "real" hockey game or the grocery store or even the park.

We stretched a bit and then did some laps of the rink both directions. We worked a LOT on stick handling. I love it. I need to get really comfortable with the puck this year. Coach Cal said I need to "Feel it. You know? There are things you just feel without seeing? You need to get to know the puck like that." Yeah, I know just what he's talking about, the first thing that came to me was my job, but the next thing was typing. We start out by hunting and pecking and sooner or later (most) of us are typing by feeling where the letters or the words are. So I am keeping that in mind as I learn to feel the puck.

 We also did some tight circles around cones. The idea is to pretend the cones are an opponent and skate around them with the puck like you would in a game. Then they had us take a shot into the net. It was good. Definitely a place to feel the puck as you approach the goal so you can fake out the goalie by staring at them not where you're going to shoot.

And at the end we did a superman drill. This is where the coach sets up several five-gallon buckets, supports a stick between them (think limbo) and we go under the stick arms first sliding on the ice in a superman-type fashion. I was well on my way down the ice when Coach Cal said something to me, distracted me and I nearly missed my chance to get flattened out and get under the stick. He has that knack, distracting me just as I need to do the thing I need to do. I don't know weather to tell him to knock it off or learn to play through the distraction. I probably need to learn to play through the distraction. In fact, that is most likely why he's doing it.

It's a very long weekend for me, in a good way, kind of a mini-vacation, I don't work until next Wednesday!! I am taking each of the kids to a hockey game this weekend (one kid on Friday, one kid on Saturday) since My Honey is out of town and hopefully I will get a couple runs in. I would still like to do a half-marathon before the end of the year, but my neck has been giving me some trouble so we shall see. Oh, and I can't get the time off guaranteed so that kind of throws a kink in making plans.