Tennis, anyone?

Goalie Husband and I were getting pretty antsy last night, not having played any hockey since Monday. No doubt inspired by a conversation we'd had with Senator a few nights prior, Goalie Husband got the idea to root out his old rackets from whichever dark corner of the basement they were hiding and head up to the tennis courts at the park near our house. We had a can of tennis balls, which I'd bought with the intent of perfecting my hand-eye coordination by throwing them against a wall and catching them. I did that a few times, and I did see how it would be beneficial, but I never kept up with it, much to my virtual goalie coach's chagrin.

It was getting close to dusk, but we walked up to the park anyway, and I started to get that nervous feeling I always get when I try something new. "I hope no one else is there," I said. "Oh no, there's houses right across from the courts! They can all see us!", I fretted. Goalie Husband told me to knock it off, and showed me how to hold the racket. It felt totally foreign in my hand, despite having played tennis for a few weeks in summer school when I was about 12 years old. And I was dreadful. At least I could actually make contact with the ball (most of the time), but the finer points of where and how to hit it obviously take some practice and the ball went wildly all over the place. I was very frustrated and embarrassed, sure that the people across the street were pointing out their windows (from behind the curtains) and laughing. But I eventually loosened up, and we even managed to volley the ball back and forth a few times before it went out of bounds and into the neighboring court.... or over the fence.

By then however, it was getting pretty dark, and the half-light was playing tricks with our depth perception. It wasn't much of a workout, because we weren't really trying particularly hard, but it was a good experience and I think we'll probably keep at it. It's something a little different that will keep us active and help with hockey. I certainly won't be abandoning my goalie gear for a cute little white skirt, but it will be something we can do on a moment's notice, since we live so close to the courts.

That said.... I'm dying for some ice time. Thankfully there's open hockey tonight. We're going to a different rink than the one we usually go to, and by all accounts, it'll be a very fast game. I hope I can keep my head above water and manage to do all right and keep on racking up experience and practice.