It is always nice to get that first win out of the way.
It is even better when it comes against the old team that you really didn’t like, and were more then happy to leave, and Hockey Player scores his first goal of the season.
I was really quite nervous before the game. To make it worse I didn’t get HP to the rink in time for the team warm up because of a screw up on my part about when the game was supposed to start.
But as I sat there I was worrying that maybe the old team had gotten a bunch of really good players? And maybe, just maybe the coach has suddenly gained a new understanding of how to teach hockey to a group of young players.
Naw!
HP’s team was on them right from the drop of the puck. I don’t think that the old team even got a shot on net in the entire first period. The final shot total was 41-9 in favour of HP’s team.
I thought that HP played a strong game. He was excited about playing his old team and skated hard right from the start of the game and made a number of smart plays. His game sense is improving. When he scored his goal, banging in a rebound, he gave an arm pump to celebrate. I could tell that he was excited to have scored that one.
Friends, whose son had played with HP for the last 4 years, called last night after the game wanting to know how the big rematch had gone. They were all glad to hear that the “good guys” had won. We talked for quite a while and we both ended up gushing about how happy we were with out current situations compared to last year.
It is like having been in a bad relationship and now you have gotten out of it, and have found someone else and you are very, very happy with the new situation. I am not exaggerating!
The boys have a practice tonight and then nothing until games next Saturday and Sunday.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Another "good effort"
Another game, another good effort and another loss. The coaches, while happy with the effort level generally, are starting to hint that bottoms are going to be stuck to the bench if the game plan is not adhered to with a little bit more enthusiasm.
The team got off to another slow start, the second time in 2 games, and it really puts the boys behind the eight ball. Throw out the first period from the last two games and we had a pair of ties instead of a pair of losses.
Hockey Player has a 2-hour practice tomorrow afternoon, a game against one of his former teams on Sunday and another practice on Monday.
The team got off to another slow start, the second time in 2 games, and it really puts the boys behind the eight ball. Throw out the first period from the last two games and we had a pair of ties instead of a pair of losses.
Hockey Player has a 2-hour practice tomorrow afternoon, a game against one of his former teams on Sunday and another practice on Monday.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Good efforts
I suppose at some point the boys will think that a "good effort" is not enough and won’t be happy with anything less then a win but for now everyone, parents, coaches and players, seem to be happy with the "good efforts" even if we do get those wins.
Hockey Player’s team played their first 2 games this past weekend and at face value they lost both games but they played 2 of the better teams from last year and they played both of them hard. One game went down to the last 10 seconds and the other was, except for the first period, an even game.
There is much to be hopeful about in this young season.
A practice tomorrow and then our next game is on Thursday- against another of the top teams.
Hockey Player’s team played their first 2 games this past weekend and at face value they lost both games but they played 2 of the better teams from last year and they played both of them hard. One game went down to the last 10 seconds and the other was, except for the first period, an even game.
There is much to be hopeful about in this young season.
A practice tomorrow and then our next game is on Thursday- against another of the top teams.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Little Hockey Player
Now the real wrinkle in the family schedule comes when I start coaching my other son’s team. Right now, I am “just a parent” on Hockey Player’s team, and really, I am quite happy to be “just a parent”. Mind you I do find myself “coaching” in my head during the games that I have watched, getting’ antsy when someone tries to shoot the puck up the middle of the ice instead of around the boards, for instance, but I do know my role on this team.
I heard someone say it beautifully as to what the role of the parent is; “Your job is to drive the player to the rink and get them there on time!”
Little Hockey Player wants to play select hockey this season. He did play select 2 years ago but didn’t make the team last year. I volunteered to coach the team for this coming season and as you know; “Coaches kid always makes the team!” The association will have its first “open skate” this weekend where anyone and everyone that is of the right age can come out and skate for an hour. I declined to run the skate myself and have hired Outside Guy, former NCAA player, to come out and do it for me. I know him quite well and have used him in the past and I think that he is very good with kids of this age; he’ll make it fun. I have asked Outside Guy to “use” Hockey Player during the hour to demonstrate and help set up the drills etc.
The drill for Little Hockey Player, once his season gets going, is that he will have 1 select game a week, 1 select practice a week and 1 house league game a week. The house league game and select practice both happen Saturday mornings so that makes the schedule easier to follow and only “ruins” one day. The games could be scheduled any time during the week, except Saturday, and could be at any number of arenas around the city- that is a whole post unto itself!
I heard someone say it beautifully as to what the role of the parent is; “Your job is to drive the player to the rink and get them there on time!”
Little Hockey Player wants to play select hockey this season. He did play select 2 years ago but didn’t make the team last year. I volunteered to coach the team for this coming season and as you know; “Coaches kid always makes the team!” The association will have its first “open skate” this weekend where anyone and everyone that is of the right age can come out and skate for an hour. I declined to run the skate myself and have hired Outside Guy, former NCAA player, to come out and do it for me. I know him quite well and have used him in the past and I think that he is very good with kids of this age; he’ll make it fun. I have asked Outside Guy to “use” Hockey Player during the hour to demonstrate and help set up the drills etc.
The drill for Little Hockey Player, once his season gets going, is that he will have 1 select game a week, 1 select practice a week and 1 house league game a week. The house league game and select practice both happen Saturday mornings so that makes the schedule easier to follow and only “ruins” one day. The games could be scheduled any time during the week, except Saturday, and could be at any number of arenas around the city- that is a whole post unto itself!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tournament redux
One tournament in the books and now the regular season beckons.
I wasn’t 100% accurate with my pre-tournament predictions, in that we didn’t win a game, but all of the games that we did lose, and we lost 2, were within the 4 goals or less prediction.
The first game we lost 3-1 and we didn’t get beaten by a more skilled group of individuals but rather we got beaten by a group of individuals that played as a team. I remember watching them in the warm ups and thinking that, from a skill stand point, they looked just like our kids.
But they had obviously played together last year, or the majority of the team had anyway, and it showed in the way they played on the ice. They played a better positional game and moved the puck much better than Hockey Player’s team.
We actually had Hockey Player sit out the second game because of concerns at school. He missed the last half hour of class to play in the first game and he would have had to miss a whole hour to play in the second game, and my wife and I thought that was too much for him to miss. We wanted to send the message that school has to come before hockey.
The second game was one that I thought they might win but ended in a 2-2 tie. The funny part was, because the other game in their pool ended in a tie, they actually had a chance to advance to the play off round if they could win their 3rd game.
My wife took HP to the 3rd game and she said something that I have felt for quite a while; that this year won’t be a repeat of the debacle that was last year because the kids all try hard. The score was 5-2, with the 5th goal being scored into an empty net. HP got an assist on one of the goals.
The season starts this weekend and the first two games are against two of the top teams from last season. Nothing like jumping into the deep end with both feet and all of that!
I wasn’t 100% accurate with my pre-tournament predictions, in that we didn’t win a game, but all of the games that we did lose, and we lost 2, were within the 4 goals or less prediction.
The first game we lost 3-1 and we didn’t get beaten by a more skilled group of individuals but rather we got beaten by a group of individuals that played as a team. I remember watching them in the warm ups and thinking that, from a skill stand point, they looked just like our kids.
But they had obviously played together last year, or the majority of the team had anyway, and it showed in the way they played on the ice. They played a better positional game and moved the puck much better than Hockey Player’s team.
We actually had Hockey Player sit out the second game because of concerns at school. He missed the last half hour of class to play in the first game and he would have had to miss a whole hour to play in the second game, and my wife and I thought that was too much for him to miss. We wanted to send the message that school has to come before hockey.
The second game was one that I thought they might win but ended in a 2-2 tie. The funny part was, because the other game in their pool ended in a tie, they actually had a chance to advance to the play off round if they could win their 3rd game.
My wife took HP to the 3rd game and she said something that I have felt for quite a while; that this year won’t be a repeat of the debacle that was last year because the kids all try hard. The score was 5-2, with the 5th goal being scored into an empty net. HP got an assist on one of the goals.
The season starts this weekend and the first two games are against two of the top teams from last season. Nothing like jumping into the deep end with both feet and all of that!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Possibilities
We had our last practice before the tournament and I was struck by the difference between the team that Hockey Player is on this year and the horror show of which he was part last year.
Well there are lots of differences- for instance, watching the practice last night I think that it is always nice to see the kids moving, and moving with some enthusiasm and sense of purpose, instead of standing around having someone talking at them or dragging their back ends through a bunch of disconnected drills. But the one thing that got me, on the eve of the team playing some meaningful games, was the sense of optimism amongst the parents about the season.
Now, who knows how long that will last? We will loose more then we win this year, I think that much is certain, and the bright and cheery sense of optimism could easily be replaced with some nasty grumbling and cynicism over a prolonged loosing streak. But right now there is a sense that there are a lot of possibilities ahead for the boys.
Well there are lots of differences- for instance, watching the practice last night I think that it is always nice to see the kids moving, and moving with some enthusiasm and sense of purpose, instead of standing around having someone talking at them or dragging their back ends through a bunch of disconnected drills. But the one thing that got me, on the eve of the team playing some meaningful games, was the sense of optimism amongst the parents about the season.
Now, who knows how long that will last? We will loose more then we win this year, I think that much is certain, and the bright and cheery sense of optimism could easily be replaced with some nasty grumbling and cynicism over a prolonged loosing streak. But right now there is a sense that there are a lot of possibilities ahead for the boys.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tournament predictions
A practice tomorrow night and then Thursday we are into our first tournament of the season and a chance to see the team in action for real.
There is a lot of excitement and anticipation on the part of the parents and coaches about how the boys are going to do, not just in the tournament but also in the season in general. The tournament will take care of itself and is really only a stepping-stone into the season and league play. Whether or not they know how to run an effective penalty kill, for instance, is less important then seeing how, or if, they compete and the process of them playing together and becoming a team.
There is excitement from the kids because they should get their game jerseys at the practice tomorrow night and then they can start to look, I.E. feel, like a real team.
A buddy of mine, who has a son on, and he is the manager of, another team in the same division as Hockey Player’s team, which also happens to be in the same tournament, said to me that expects to have most of the parents on his team in a state of shock by the end of the tournament. He said that 75% of the kids from his team came from select/ house league programs last year and might be in for a rude awakening playing at a level higher then they played last year.
We have maybe half of our team from select/hl programs, and the difference in skill level shows, but the kids work hard and they are willing to compete.
My prediction for the tournament is that the team goes 1-2, with no loss by more then 4 goals.
There is a lot of excitement and anticipation on the part of the parents and coaches about how the boys are going to do, not just in the tournament but also in the season in general. The tournament will take care of itself and is really only a stepping-stone into the season and league play. Whether or not they know how to run an effective penalty kill, for instance, is less important then seeing how, or if, they compete and the process of them playing together and becoming a team.
There is excitement from the kids because they should get their game jerseys at the practice tomorrow night and then they can start to look, I.E. feel, like a real team.
A buddy of mine, who has a son on, and he is the manager of, another team in the same division as Hockey Player’s team, which also happens to be in the same tournament, said to me that expects to have most of the parents on his team in a state of shock by the end of the tournament. He said that 75% of the kids from his team came from select/ house league programs last year and might be in for a rude awakening playing at a level higher then they played last year.
We have maybe half of our team from select/hl programs, and the difference in skill level shows, but the kids work hard and they are willing to compete.
My prediction for the tournament is that the team goes 1-2, with no loss by more then 4 goals.
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