A thing of beauty

I've had a love-hate relationship with my goalie lessons since they started; I dread the grueling physical strain but at the same time I welcome it and I love putting the pieces together and learning new things. Unfortunately I'm taking a hiatus until after the holidays- money wise and schedule wise it's just not a good time right now. I expected to feel a sense of relief on Sunday night when I didn't have to prepare my gear, lay out the clothes I'd jump into at 4:45 a.m., pack clothes for work and provisions for a shower at the rink, and a sense of freedom on Monday morning when I was waking up at 6:30 instead of toiling on the ice. But I didn't. Instead I felt mildly disappointed and let down. That's probably a good sign.

But what's even better is what happened in last night's game. The final result was a 4-4 tie, not exactly what you'd expect to hear anyone call a "great game", least of all a goalie who let in 4 shots. However I think I played extremely well. I faced a lot of shots, and in analyzing the saves I made, I think I had pretty good control of most of my rebounds and was quick to cover loose pucks; both areas I'd been struggling with. I did make mistakes, and I was out of position on the 3rd goal but overall I did well. The jewel in my goaltending crown last night though was one save in particular, a kick-save that I wish I could email my coach about. Not so much because it was a great save (which if you'll pardon my horn-blowing, it was), but because I knew exactly what I was doing, and I felt all the gears fall into place and turn the right cogs to get my body exactly where it needed to be in exactly the right way.

If I could, without feeling giddy and silly, I would tell my coach that I was focused and tracked the play, and saw the open man to my left even though I was squared up after a save at the top of my crease to the right. I would tell him that without thinking, my brain told my torso to turn to the left, and my left leg to tuck slightly behind me, which my instinct had been fighting in all my lessons. I'd tell him that I picked up and put my weight on my right leg (not only the "right" leg but the "correct" leg) and pushed to the left while extending my left pad, to get there in time to kick the puck into the corner. I didn't think "ok, I have to do this now". I just let the training take over and the fact that it did, that is the thing of beauty.