MThockeydad

I managed a successful 14U girls jamboree this weekend. We had six teams, and everyone had a blast. Zero parent, player, ref, or coach issues. Our 14U girls team beat their rivals Missoula in pool play. First time this season after 5 other pairings--resulting in 4 close losses and one tie. Missoula won the big trophy. Awesome fast, fun, intense game. 3 of our visiting teams are very new; they got to play each other and had a lot of fun. It was a great time, but also a relief to now have it completed. Went out for beers with my fellow managers on Saturday night and round-tabled ideas to keep building girls hockey in Montana.

Welcome to the addiction. I started two years ago at 38, and followed my '03 into the sport. I skated 4-5 days a week that year, started playing C league spring of '14, got to be a draft captain fall of '14, got my coach cert, helped coach my '01 daughter's team(mostly chasing pucks and gathering cones/tires), started managing their team, entered my first adult tourney, got to be a C league draft captain, started an adult beginner program, played a bunch of off-season tourneys this spring/summer; signed up to be the MT 14U girls league commissioner, got drafted to B league last week, and ran a 14U girls tournament this weekend. Freaking love it. Make sure your skates fit, skate with your kids as much as possible, and share the love with someone new next year.

Credit due to GreatestAmericanBeardo for the idea.

Ever read "Confessions of a Crazy Hockey Parent" by Bob McKenzie? I happen to be re-reading it right now and am in the chapter where his youngest son sustains a career-ending concussion. I have to admit I saw too much of a parallel. I truly hope that her road ahead isn't bumpy for the long-term. I'm less worried about her hockey career and far more worried about her life and long-term well-being. Physically and emotionally. I am really glad you said that. I hadn't even considered it. I posted to get the situation off my chest, but the best suggestions come from unexpected places. I'm short on jerseys and its a pain to get a single one printed...but in the big picture, letting her keep it is so much the right thing to do. Thank you, my friend.

One of the girls on the 14U team I manage and assistant coach is now completely out for the season due to a bad concussion (occurred 2 months ago). Here's the heartbreaking text I got from her last night: "I am very sorry but I won't be able to play hockey for the rest of the year. I wish I could it is really fun especially when u have a great coach like u. I went to the neurologist and he said that I have a moderate concussion and that some of my wires to my brain cells broke off when I hit my head and the wires started decomposing and giving off toxins which went into the liquid that my brain is floating in and killed my neurons also when the wires broke off it killed those cells also. I am so sorry we will bring the jersey back soon." Super sweet kid...she was never really engaged playing mites/squirts, took a year or two off, then really connected with our group of girls this year and started playing solid and loving hockey. Its put a lump in my throat all day, and I can only imagine how she and her parents feel. I hate it when kids hurt.Please send up a prayer or good vibes on her behalf that she gets well, not for hockey, but for her life and well-being.Fellow hockey players and parents: life is short and hockey is awesome--broken bones heal and we can live without a tooth or two--but please keep your head off the ice and out of the boards. Play hard, and respect your opponents' brains, too. We only get one.

You're in my thoughts.

A bunch of girls on our 14U team have discovered backyard and pond hockey. As a coach, and a parent, this thrills me to no end. Unstructured play is the best. No longer the provenance of boys, they are out playing just for the joy of playing....and a couple of them are learning some really dirty dangles!!!

Got a Christmas card from one of my 14U players. "Merry Christmas, Coach I love hockey. I like our games and our practices. Thank you for making hockey fun for me. Xxxx"

D is a very difficult position to start at as a beginner. I saw two people doing it very well this year--one a lady I mentored last season whom I picked up for my draft team this session, another a 14U girl who has 5yr of figure skating experience but brand new at hockey. The beginners who are successful learning at D are students of the game and good at accepting feedback and constructive self-critique. You have that. Combine that with holding the blue line when the puck is in their zone (when puck is on your side) and backing up your partner by heading home (when the puck is coming down his/her side) and you have D figured out.

Definitely a benefit to skating without a stick, particularly in your first year of skating. YES!!! Do a LOT more single-leg skating. Outside edges, inside edges, and particularly as Vet88 said above--balancing and gliding on the center of your blade. You can also work on mohawk turns, backwards crossovers, transitions, power turns, etc.

Sheet of melamine-coated hardboard from Home Depot and a can of lemon Pledge. :)

My passing and shooting are my weaknesses, im working a lot on them. Being in the right place at the right time and yourgood passing skills will get you far. Awesome that you have so much time available. To add to what vet88 said, definitely work on one-footed slaloms and edges and simple one-footed gliding.

I have both STEP and LS3 runners on my x7.0's. Both profiled to 8'/14' and medium forward by No Icing. The LS3 have a more pronounced heel and much more pronounced toe. I really don't notice much of a difference.

WOOT!

Yeah, a little swaying, but I have to admit that I do that as well when going backwards. You are very smooth and steady when you are throwing in those crossovers. Do try to drive a little more power through your legs to get a real burst of acceleration--but the balance part is far more difficult and you look great there. Very cool. Any comments from him? I had friends who played when I was a kid, but never had the opportunity myself. It cost as much in the mid-1980's as adult hockey costs me today. I had another opportunity to take it up when I was 19 or 20 when a buddy of mine in college started playing pickup games. I wish I had started then. I had another opportunity when I was 29 and my company built the ice rink I now played at. The project owners invited me to try it. I thought I was too old. I wish I had started then, too!! So...refer to your first post. Do not ever listen to the naysayers. :) I hope you're finding some dropin sessions and looking for league opportunities. You are truly ready. Just go play and have fun. You'll find out what else you need to work on (everybody does). I mean this in a completely constructive and supportive way: Your questions tell me you still seem to be a bit uncertain and lack some confidence. You need to get out and play hockey. You will have a stack of small successes (yes, and some failures) that will lead to more and more confidence....and the more confidence you have, the better you will play and the bigger successes you will have. Sorry, but you've sort of plateaued in skating...its not that you can't continue to learn, but you're at a point where skating itself isn't going to give you the same feelings of mastering new skills that it did a month or two ago. You need to get out and play hockey and find those new successes there. I myself learned very fast. I started only October 13, 2013 at the ripe age of 38. I've been the captain of a C division team now for two sessions and will probably move up to B league in the spring. I am not amazing, but I am very good for the short amount of time I've played. I am not saying this to brag, but I am saying this to tell you that your skating skills are on a trajectory far above my own....but now its time for you to play hockey. :)

Shame on them for not casting a wider net. Good for her!!

Those are damn sexy

I currently skate in regular X7.0's that I got two seasons ago and love them. I have STEP and LS3 steel for them. Figured I'd jump on these and stick with the Lightspeed2 holder...and buy more STEP steel. Screamin' deal. The seller on eBay still has a pair of 11.0D listed.

Scored some brand new old stock X7.0LE skates. :D

I subbed in B league again last night. Scored my first B league goal. Own goal off my skate 20sec after puck drop. :( I'm an idiot, but at least the team was strong and we won 5-3. I rarely play D and played D. It was an awesome challenge. I still had to go to my day job this morning!

Great game, great kids, great fellow coaches, great parents? Quadruple win!! My '03 "found a couple new gears"...or maybe a "faster car" this past weekend. I'm assistant coach and manager for her big sis' 14U team, and she had one weekend free before her peewee season started full swing, so we grabbed her for a road weekend so all four of us were at the same rink at the same time. Something clicked and she was suddenly doing seamless transitions, feet never stopped moving, head up looking for open ice, skating through traffic, and doing beautiful backwards crossovers. I don't know where it came from. I can't take credit! '01 big sis is back from a shoulder injury that kept her out all last season. She's rusty, but its just so great to have her back on the ice having fun. She scored the first goal she remembers making (previous one was in '13 and it went off the back of her leg into the goal and she didn't know until after the game that she was credited with the goal). Its a team with a lot of younger '05-06 girls, and she's turned into a cool big role model for a couple of them. My adult C league team (I'm the Captain) has the worst record in the league, but we're the most fun. We are the team with jello shots in the locker room after every game, and the opposing team, refs, and zam guy always come hang out with us. Life is good!

syinx, I really like that overhead bench shot. Did she have a growth spurt this summer, EJB? Great celly shots!

Listen to the podcast. Its people like us.

Calgary, eh? Check out the Beer League Podcast: http://beerleaguetalk.libsyn.com/ Its actually produced in Calgary, but they do Skype interviews with a lot of people. I'm sure Nick and Brett would love to interview you. Did you enjoy your 3v3 pickup game? Did it make your heart happy? Welcome to hockey!