OCTOBER TUESDAY TIMEOUTS FROM NCYH HOCKEY DIRECTORS ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲ U8 SKATERS by Rhett Gordon *************************************** Its U8 Season again and its an exciting time to see those young faces walk into rink. Some are thrilled to be coming back this year and some will be trying hockey for the first time ever. Hockey is truly a game of hard work, dedication, and sportsmanship. All three of these things will help your child on and off the ice but also in all aspects of their life, so we hope they develop a great base in the U8 program this season. I look forward to seeing your children develop as hockey players and people. PALMS UP PLAYER by Aaron Grosul *************************************** Only as strong as your weakest link Pull in the same direction Like the links in a chain These are just a few of the clichés in sports when describing teams. I believe in all of them as a coach and as a former player. Just a fee weeks ago a heard a new one from former Broncos standout Brandon Marshall. When Marshall was questioned about not being the target of many of Jay Cutlers passes he said his coach kept telling him to not be a “palms up player.” When I heard this comment I immediately had many images pop into my head. Just think about what palms up players looks like... arms outstretched at their sides, their palms facing up to the sky, and a look of disgust on their face. This reaction does not help anyone one on your team and only makes the teammate that made the mistake feel angry with you, or even worse cause him or her to lose confidence. As teammates you are there to support one another through the rough times and celebrate with during the good times. Good teammates do not turn on one another, but rather they pick each other up. Instead let your coaches coach and correct mistakes made by all of your teammates including the ones you make yourself. As a great teammate I ask you to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. Work hard, have fun, and see you around the rinks. HOCKEY SEASON by Tim Knox *************************************** Here it is the middle of October. The temperature is dropping and the colors are changing on the trees. You can feel the the change of seasons in the air. It is finally fall and for this coach that means one thing... we are into the start of Hockey Season. The ice rinks are busy every day, the hot chocolate is warm, and the big smiles from the players every day is enough for me to be excited about this season. Each day we show up at the rink and see all these players gearing up to step on the ice and give it their all is a great thing. I just want to say, It is a Great Day for Hockey and I am proud to be a Junior Eagle. SOBER COLLEGE MEMORIES by Scott Swanson ********************************************* Now that the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) as I knew it is dead, thanks to the greed that is realignment and the formation of the Big 10 Conference, I wanted to share my favorite (sober) memories about my days on the road in the WCHA. Although my body fat percentage has likely tripled since those days most of these memories are crystal clear. University of Alaska Anchorage -- Every time UAA would score, they would throw a salmon on the ice. It was the same salmon for four years - they would put it back in the rinks freezer once the game was over. It stunk like my dogs breath. I used to love shutting them out in their building, because I knew some poor sap was sitting in the stands with a thawed salmon. I hope he mixed in a shower after the game. Denver University -- I celebrated my 21st birthday on a Saturday night in the old barn (pre-Magness Arena). The shot was going 18 inches wide and the goaltender tried to steer it into the corner... it hit the heel of his stick and went in. That could have been the worst goal I ever scored, and I couldnt even celebrate with a post-game cocktail because we played them again the following day. Another two-game sweep against the Pioneers... its been a while since CC could say that. I also remember jumping a little when they popped the balloons during the national anthem... I wasnt prepared for that. Michigan Tech University -- The only redeeming things about traveling to Houghton, MI were you knew you were going to come home with 4 points in the standings and youd eat the best rolls youve ever tasted. I was introduced to dipping rolls in ranch dressing at a Houghton hotel... one of many reasons why the waste size increased during college. Also, they had a great band that wore the UGLIEST pants with suspenders. Most of them were on the rolls and ranch diet, too. University of Minnesota -- We used to kick their butts in Minnesota. Part of it was because half of our team was from Minnesota (and had girlfriends who still lived in Minnesota) and the other part was because of the meal we would be fed by Toby Petersens mom the night before our series... sense a theme? Pasta, chicken, cheese cake... just drooled on my keyboard. And watching Kerri Strug nail her final vault on one good leg at Tobys house - talk about inspiration! University of Minnesota Duluth -- Thats a cold like Ive never felt before. We only played there twice in four years, so my favorite memory is also my only memory - the two mile walk from our hotel to the rink... in the sky walk! University of North Dakota -- If you have young children dont bring them to a game in Grand Forks. I thought I was at a truckers convention my first trip there. They yelled swear words at me that I had to look up. I remember we actually had to help shovel a path for our bus after a game because the hotel didnt clear its parking lot and the bus got stuck. Snowdrifts like Ive never seen. I hated going there, mainly because we knew we were in for a whooping! St. Cloud State University -- I owe so much to SCSU! Every time we played there I knew I had a good chance at WCHA Player of the Week honors. It was my favorite place to play. I scored a goal once and stopped in the corner to celebrate. There was a hole cut out in the glass for photographers to put their camera lenses through. A student came to the hole and yelled to me how much I stunk - those students were almost as bad as North Dakotas. I responded to him with class, of course - I think I thanked him for paying the $10 to watch me embarrass his team, and then one of my teammates put the knob of his stick through the hole and hit him in the head. I had a good laugh. University of Wisconsin -- We had a Thursday night/Saturday morning series there my senior year. Of course we put a beating on the Badgers both games and when youre in Madison (and your game ends a little after noon), the engine gets started. I had some pretty good friends on that Wisconsin team, so they took us to all of the hot spots in Madison that day. I remember (although it was somewhat foggy) we ended up in an apartment near campus, and I may or may not have helped drop a small grill off a second floor balcony. I admit to nothing, but I was certainly there. Im not perfect, just a recovering perfectionist. College hockey will never be the same because of the changing landscape of the leagues. It was the best time of my life and the older I get, the more I forget. So naturally, the better I think I actually was!
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:44:30 +0000
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