Hockey
My friend Jared has been encouraging me to go play hockey with him sometime at the Pavilion in Greenville but I haven't been able to fit it into my schedule until today. In spite of having grown up in Maine, my skating skills are marginal at best. I did play a little pick-up hockey at Northland but that was seven years ago. I'm pretty limited in what I can do on skates. I can't skate fast, turn sharp corners or stop without hitting a wall so I knew in advance that I would not be mistaken for Wayne Gretsky.
I figured out very quickly that I could use the hockey stick to support myself when I started to lose balance. Other than that, the stick didn't get much use. We skated around for a little while first so everyone could warm up. "Fat boy" here was tired before everyone else was warmed up. I did learn a little though. I found that if I had control of the puck and I was able to skate towad the goal at a leisurely pace, I could get it in past the goalkeeper; it was a different story once the game started.
At one point I was getting comfortable charging the goalie with the puck and shooting. I made a few and missed a bunch. So I decided to try to fake him out and shoot from a little closer. I got up speed and moved the puck back and forth well. I waited until I was really close and then . . . realized I wasn't going to be able to stop in time (see first paragraph). I took the shot which went wide and promptly crashed right into the goalie. I'm pretty hard headed so normally I would win a head-to-head collision, except when the other guy is wearing a helmet and face shield. So I've got a nice little bruise under my left eye.
Once the actual game started I barely got near the goal. I scored two goals off rebounds (are they called that in hockey?) and stole the puck once (twice actually but apparently picking up the puck and sticking it in my shirt doesn't count as stealing). Most of the time I managed to miss when it was passed to me and as I turned to get it I would keep turning and turning and turning and fall over.
By the time I made it from one end to the other the action on that end was usually over and everyone else was going the other way. On one such occasion, I had barely made it to the half(court, rink, field) line when they started coming back. I turned around and headed the other way just as the puck was passed to me. I was way ahead of the nearest defender so I got closer (not too close, I had already tried that once) and set up for my shot . . . and fell flat on my face. From then on, whenever I got the puck I would look up and see the goalkeeper set up his lawn chair and start cranking out strawberry daquiris with his blender.
I had a good time though. I will definately have to play again and see if I can improve my skating a little. I should get more protective gear though. . .
I figured out very quickly that I could use the hockey stick to support myself when I started to lose balance. Other than that, the stick didn't get much use. We skated around for a little while first so everyone could warm up. "Fat boy" here was tired before everyone else was warmed up. I did learn a little though. I found that if I had control of the puck and I was able to skate towad the goal at a leisurely pace, I could get it in past the goalkeeper; it was a different story once the game started.
At one point I was getting comfortable charging the goalie with the puck and shooting. I made a few and missed a bunch. So I decided to try to fake him out and shoot from a little closer. I got up speed and moved the puck back and forth well. I waited until I was really close and then . . . realized I wasn't going to be able to stop in time (see first paragraph). I took the shot which went wide and promptly crashed right into the goalie. I'm pretty hard headed so normally I would win a head-to-head collision, except when the other guy is wearing a helmet and face shield. So I've got a nice little bruise under my left eye.
Once the actual game started I barely got near the goal. I scored two goals off rebounds (are they called that in hockey?) and stole the puck once (twice actually but apparently picking up the puck and sticking it in my shirt doesn't count as stealing). Most of the time I managed to miss when it was passed to me and as I turned to get it I would keep turning and turning and turning and fall over.
By the time I made it from one end to the other the action on that end was usually over and everyone else was going the other way. On one such occasion, I had barely made it to the half(court, rink, field) line when they started coming back. I turned around and headed the other way just as the puck was passed to me. I was way ahead of the nearest defender so I got closer (not too close, I had already tried that once) and set up for my shot . . . and fell flat on my face. From then on, whenever I got the puck I would look up and see the goalkeeper set up his lawn chair and start cranking out strawberry daquiris with his blender.
I had a good time though. I will definately have to play again and see if I can improve my skating a little. I should get more protective gear though. . .
posted by Bobby Wales at
5:52 PM
2 Comments:
The BIG question is: Will THey LET you play again?
Does Jared still consider you a friend?
Do we get another picture tomorrow when the eye is even prettier?
Hey,... just happened to "drop by" to see if you had updated.... .... your post made me laugh. It was so descriptive, I could visualize it all in my mind. :) I shouldn't laugh too hard, because I would not have played any better. I hope that they DO let you play again,... if nothing else, you'll be entertaining! (hee hee,...sorry.) ;) How's life in sunny SC? Tell Sarah hello!
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