Breakfast Club Summer Week Two-ish
It might be week #2 for most of you, but it was week #1 for me. Rumor has it that Gary showed up last week? Hmmm... didn't see him this morning, though. Given that I was AWOL last week, however, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for this week.
Speaking of attendance roll call, it was a veritable chickfest, with a whole four token females on the ice. Martha will be shifting between Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I should be able to get a spy report when I see her at soccer on Sundays if we end up on different mornings. So, boys, stay on your best behavior :)
Not that anyone behaves poorly. Far from it. Hockey players are good people! We are "there" for each other. Like Geoff, for example. Lyle couldn't be there this morning, so Geoff jumped up and filled in. He was even there before Joe and Scott! And doggone, is Geoff peppy. It's hard to drag around the ice, all hang dog and sleep deprived, when Geoff is running the show. "Pep" and enthusiasm were helpful today, seeing as we spent quite a bit of time humbling ourselves with..spinning in circles. Yup. You read that right. "Help, Lyle, I'm dizzy!" "Laura, you were dizzy when you got here, and we already knew that." Ah, but I'm leaving some things out.
We started with some stationary warm up puck dribbling and draws. Then warmed it up a bit more by skating laps with tight turns to the boards and a corresponding change of direction on the whistles. Head's up!
There's only an hour to work with in the summer, so we quickly split into three groups. One group, led by the ever sanguine Scott, was focusing on stride technique. Balance becomes all that more critical when you've got your stick over your shoulders and your hands on your stick like a ox yoke. Can you say "face plant"? Luckily, we were all masters of grace, and our faces lived to see another day. And, no, skating with the puck should not mean you devolve into a choppy upright robot. Your stride should stay low and balanced even when you're trying to herd that silly little puck around.
Another group was in the care of Goeff, focusing on passing. Stationary passes on your fore and backhands. Focusing on eliminating the "thwack". If it's a thwacky pass, then you're teeing up instead of playing hockey, and your pass most likely won't go where or how you wanted it. If it's a thwacky receive, then chances are the puck is hopping over you stick. Catch and release, always moving your stick with the direction of the flow. Ever the spark plug, Geoff was jumping into the mix and working with random players. Passing on the move, give and go, you name it, it's all still passing and you need to keep that catch and release smooth!
The third group was in the humble care of Papa Bear, a.k.a. Joe. Here, was where all that twirling came back with a vengence. Surprise, surprise, it's a rare game situation where you're able to skate end-to-end without having to evade something while you're trying to hang onto the puck. Go figure! So Joe had us working on a variety of turns and moves, all the while keeping that puck firmly captured against our stick blade. Pull it back with you, then evade with a 270 to your backhand...or a 450 to your forehand. And, oh yeah, keep your head up, if you're serious about this, because if you're the defender and you're trying to set up your breakout, seeing where the backcheckers and your teammates are is often a useful skill.
And just because we could, we finished off with a lively pair of half-ice scrimmages. No goalies? No problem. It's only a goal if you get the post or crossbar. A change of possession necessitates a pass out to the coach and back in. Four on four, or five on five, depending on the depth of the pool. Everyone pulled at least one doubled-shift when the change-ups ensued. Guaranteeing plenty of smiles, and another successful morning of breakfast clubbing.
Hurry back, Lyle, and in the meantime we'll keep our heads up and our eyes on the goal.
Speaking of attendance roll call, it was a veritable chickfest, with a whole four token females on the ice. Martha will be shifting between Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I should be able to get a spy report when I see her at soccer on Sundays if we end up on different mornings. So, boys, stay on your best behavior :)
Not that anyone behaves poorly. Far from it. Hockey players are good people! We are "there" for each other. Like Geoff, for example. Lyle couldn't be there this morning, so Geoff jumped up and filled in. He was even there before Joe and Scott! And doggone, is Geoff peppy. It's hard to drag around the ice, all hang dog and sleep deprived, when Geoff is running the show. "Pep" and enthusiasm were helpful today, seeing as we spent quite a bit of time humbling ourselves with..spinning in circles. Yup. You read that right. "Help, Lyle, I'm dizzy!" "Laura, you were dizzy when you got here, and we already knew that." Ah, but I'm leaving some things out.
We started with some stationary warm up puck dribbling and draws. Then warmed it up a bit more by skating laps with tight turns to the boards and a corresponding change of direction on the whistles. Head's up!
There's only an hour to work with in the summer, so we quickly split into three groups. One group, led by the ever sanguine Scott, was focusing on stride technique. Balance becomes all that more critical when you've got your stick over your shoulders and your hands on your stick like a ox yoke. Can you say "face plant"? Luckily, we were all masters of grace, and our faces lived to see another day. And, no, skating with the puck should not mean you devolve into a choppy upright robot. Your stride should stay low and balanced even when you're trying to herd that silly little puck around.
Another group was in the care of Goeff, focusing on passing. Stationary passes on your fore and backhands. Focusing on eliminating the "thwack". If it's a thwacky pass, then you're teeing up instead of playing hockey, and your pass most likely won't go where or how you wanted it. If it's a thwacky receive, then chances are the puck is hopping over you stick. Catch and release, always moving your stick with the direction of the flow. Ever the spark plug, Geoff was jumping into the mix and working with random players. Passing on the move, give and go, you name it, it's all still passing and you need to keep that catch and release smooth!
The third group was in the humble care of Papa Bear, a.k.a. Joe. Here, was where all that twirling came back with a vengence. Surprise, surprise, it's a rare game situation where you're able to skate end-to-end without having to evade something while you're trying to hang onto the puck. Go figure! So Joe had us working on a variety of turns and moves, all the while keeping that puck firmly captured against our stick blade. Pull it back with you, then evade with a 270 to your backhand...or a 450 to your forehand. And, oh yeah, keep your head up, if you're serious about this, because if you're the defender and you're trying to set up your breakout, seeing where the backcheckers and your teammates are is often a useful skill.
And just because we could, we finished off with a lively pair of half-ice scrimmages. No goalies? No problem. It's only a goal if you get the post or crossbar. A change of possession necessitates a pass out to the coach and back in. Four on four, or five on five, depending on the depth of the pool. Everyone pulled at least one doubled-shift when the change-ups ensued. Guaranteeing plenty of smiles, and another successful morning of breakfast clubbing.
Hurry back, Lyle, and in the meantime we'll keep our heads up and our eyes on the goal.
posted by Suburban Hockey @ 8:22 AM
0 comments
