Feb 06, 2014 | jrawn | 725 views
Find your game
It's funny how the events of today can trigger memories of days long past. Recently my neighbours and I constructed an outdoor rink in a nearby park.
And the other day I was standing outside watching a few of our Select kids as they played an old fashioned game of shinny... Two nets... one puck... no goalies... No rest.
Watching them took me back to my younger years. The years where we could count on long stretches of really cold weather. The type of weather that would freeze ponds and lakes for weeks on end. I remember it like it was yesterday. The long 20-30 minute walks in frigidly cold weather. As I'd arrive I'd quickly scour the area for the most likely game of shinny that I could join in on. Quickly the skates would go on... and if I heeded my mothers instructions, I'd be dressed in layers... with the final layer often being my trusted leaf jersey.
On the ice I would go, and within seconds I would find my game. You see when there are no boards... no referees... no coaches... no systems... well... you just played the game the way you always wanted to.
For me.. it was all about stick-handling. I remember the constant screams of my fellow teammates to come back near the main area of play. With no boards... you could carry the puck forever. I'm convinced that Bobby Orr became such a prolific skater and stickhandler because he most likely had the same or very similar experiences as I.
I'm sure it was on the lakes and rivers up in Parry Sound that the explosive skating style we came to know and admire was developed. You see outdoor ice isn't perfect.... it's got bumps, cracks and can be soft in some areas... and hard in others. Stick-handling takes more attention to detail.
Those ponds, those lakes, those small little frozen patches of water are where I found my game. It's also the place where I think I really fell in love with the game.
Over the last 10 years or so, our winters have not been conducive to finding outdoor patches of ice. That is until this year. Most of us are probably complaining about the cold weather... but the truth be told, it offers our boys an opportunity to do something they probably haven't been able to do as frequently as this year. The opportunity to just get out and find their game. Do things they often wouldn't during a game or practice.
As I stated above, a few of our Select boys recently took advantage of the rink on my street. The link below gives you a quick glimpse of their time in the great outdoors.
http://youtu.be/m_UzPgUPKVo
It's a community rink so any of the boys can drop by and use it whenever they want.
It's a rink that will allow them to Find their Game.
Coach Jim