Mars and Venus

Clinic Thursday night was just what I needed, just balls-out work from start to finish. One of the drills they did was a 3-on-0. I protested as soon as the coach said that's what we were going to do, but to no avail. It turned out that I actually did quite well. I estimate that I stopped over half of the shots, which I think is pretty darn good for a 3-on-0 drill. I was good and tired the next day, which is just awesome, I totally missed that feeling. And I'm looking forward to more ice time tonight. THAT should be a blast. I'll be seeing a buddy I haven't seen in a while, and not only that he'll be in the other net. The trash talking has already begun.

But what's really got me thinking is something that comes up once in a while and each time I gripe about it a little and move on. I'm talking about the locker room issue. As I mentioned after Sunday's clinic, the rink now has a policy for clinics and Instructional League games, that one of the two assigned locker rooms is designated as the womens' locker room. From what I understand, most of the time there are far too many women to physically fit in the Closet, so this makes sense. (And complies with legal requirements of having to provide equal facilities for both sexes... but we won't go there right now). The designation for this locker room is displayed on the screen in the lobby with all the assignments- it clearly says that it is the womens' locker room for the session.

Now... I have a hard time with this issue because I can really see both sides of the fence here. On one hand, I change with my guys, always have, and probably always will, and really don't think it's that big of a deal. However, these are my teammates. I've known these guys for years, we respect each other, and the new guys who invariably come in and are surprised at first take it in stride and deal with it. But that's just me. That's not every woman's experience.

But there is a big difference between a league situation and something like clinic or open hockey. There's a bit of a different vibe when you don't know the people. Having separate but equal accommodations (i.e. sink, toilet and shower) available makes sense and seems appropriate.

So, on Thursday night when we got off the ice, and the other two women and I headed for locker room 3, we were pretty surprised to find five 18-20 yr old guys in there, in the midst of getting geared up. I walked in and sat by my bag and started taking my gear off, but did inform them that it was the womens' locker room and I'd like to be able to take a shower. One kid whispered "I told you!" to another but other than that not much was said. They were about halfway dressed and packed up the rest of their stuff and took their bags to another room.

I was pretty pissed off about it at the time, and I've been trying to analyze that for the last few days. Aren't I the champion of the "so what, change with each other, who cares" cause? For sure, but as I pointed out before, that's with your team, not with a bunch of random people. It just really frustrates me that this continues to be an issue. There should be a REAL locker room designated for women. They could even convert the Closet into one; on the other side of the wall is the coaches/ref's locker room, so all the plumbing is already there. Would I use it when I'm there with my teams? Nope. But I'd definitely be in there when there for other things. Call me crazy but I don't feel safe in a room full of young guys I don't know.

I considered bringing this up with rink management, and asking that they designate the room with a sign on the actual door rather than just the listing in the lobby, but decided not to because I guess it never would have happened if we'd locked the room and taken the key with us to the bench. I'm not going to turn this into a crusade, as others have. But it still really bothers me from time to time. One of the QCats has a magnetic sign that says "women only" that she puts on the door of whatever locker room we're in, if we're in an unfamiliar rink. I used to think that was kind of going overboard but now I don't know. Maybe it was the age of the guys. If I'd walked in and a bunch of 40-year-olds were in there I don't think I'd have been as unsettled. Besides, they smelled. When I told GoalieHusband there were "a bunch of smelly boys" in the locker room, he thought I was just being funny. Oh no, my dear. They reeked. There is no smell like teenage boy hockey player. Gross.

Still pinching myself

It's been ages since I've been to an adult skills clinic- even before I got hurt. But it's just the thing I need to get me back into the groove, so GoalieHusband and I were up early this morning and heading to the rink. (I still can't tell you how good it feels to be going through those doors dragging my bag behind me.)

When we got there I found that they've instituted a new rule; one locker room for men, one locker room for women. Hallelujah! Damn good thing too, because there were five of us female types, and there's no way we'd have all fit in the closet. One of the women was a QCat teammate, but two of them I'd never met before. They were both just starting out, and very friendly and full of questions, and when they found out we were QCats, they got all excited and asked about joining. I let Pirate handle the schmoozing- we'd gotten there a little late and I was scrambled getting dressed. At the end of the clinic they were talking to GoalieHusband though, and it sounds like they'll be at practice on Wednesday. Cool. Two more potential demented hockey freaks. Yay!

Clinic itself went great. I ran into several people I hadn't seen in a while, including my old coach, so that was pretty cool. I also went up to the coach running the clinic and mentioned I was coming back from a knee injury, and that I wasn't sure how it would go, so if I left a drill that was why. I needn't have worried. I really am extremely lucky that I "only" missed two months. Yes, it seemed like an eternity, but in the scheme of things, it's really not that long, and I think that's why I am doing so well coming back. My stamina is kind of shot, but my reactions are good and my movements still quick. At one point I even made a really good across the grain save and blockered the puck neatly into the corner, and the coach skated by, tapped my pads and said "What knee injury?" I was tempted to tell him my blocker was just fine, but stopped myself, not wanting to look like an ass and miss the next blocker save.

The funniest part of the morning was care of GoalieHusband though. The coach was kneeling on the ice, drawing up a drill with his Sharpie, and indicated an area along the boards where he wanted the D to gather. "This is the defensive corral," he said. GoalieHusband let out a loud, realistic "MOOOOOOOOOOOO". The coach snickered, started to talk again, and just hung his head and laughed. It got a good laugh from the rest of the players too. Leave it to GoalieHusband to crack a joke and throw a coach off his train of thought. Muahaha.

I've been a completely exhausted waste product all day, have a sore right gleut, and a slightly stiff knee but I don't give a damn. I missed this SO MUCH.

Wussing out... sort of

I wanted nothing more than to go back to clinic this morning and show that coach he hadn't gotten the best of me last week. I really wanted to show up and be like "ok here I am, back for more." But I chickened out.

Here's my list of excuses:
#1- I couldn't breathe all day Saturday due to allergies and figured it would be the same on Sunday and didn't want to embarrass myself again by not being able to complete a drill without stopping in the middle. Ugh.
#2- I've had to get up early every day including Saturday and really just wanted to sleep in, dammit.
#3- Uhhh... that's pretty much all I've got. (Ok maybe I was a little scared to get my ass kicked again).

So as not to feel like a complete useless lump of laziness, I did do about 40 minutes of yoga when I got up. Note to self: You are much more flexible at the end of the day than you are when you just get out of bed. Yikes. Still, there are several poses that really open the hips and stretch out all those muscles so I'd like to do them on a more regular basis than once a week. Honestly, I'm surprised Tim Thomas is the only goalie doing yoga. It's such a perfect combination: flexibility, focus, mental discipline. What could be a better match for goaltending?

Hello? Is this thing on?

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick, has it really been almost 8 months since I've posted here? I believe I let fear of people randomly happening across this blog and figuring out where I play paralyze me for a while there. Its not completely unfounded. But honestly.... its a really big world wide web. So back to public status the blog goes. (Do I hear much rejoicing? Yeah I didn't think so).

Since I've been off the ice for a month, the only thing I really have of any import to relate is my experience at clinic yesterday. I figured going to clinic would be a better way to skate the rust off than jumping right into open hockey with the super fast guys. I thought "oh I'll take some shots and get back into the game and be all set". Yeah. Not so much. I haven't had my ass kicked that hard since I was paying for it. (LESSONS, you perverts!!!)

I was standing around at the boards, watching the skaters do their skater thing, when one of the coaches beckoned to me. "Goalie!" he said, and waved me to center ice, where he set up a string of about 8 cones. Oh boy, I thought. This can't be good. He instructed me to do suicides.... and then asked if I knew what they were. Oh yes, I do. This GoalieBrain doesn't forget a thing like that. So I did them. And when I got to the final cone and thought I was done he said "Ok, do 3 up-and-downs". I think I really wished for his death at that point. But I did it. Barely. And then he made me do it again. And then he peppered me with shots. By the time the skaters were ready to do their drills that incorporated shots, I could barely stand up, much less make a save that looked like anything other than what it was- me just getting my body in the way however I could. But one thing kept me going. The coach told me I had good form. And after I talked to a friend who used to be a coach in the area, I felt even better. He said I should take that as high praise, because that particular guy doesn't say stuff like that often. So go me.

I might just go back next week for more abuse.

Summer Season Game 7 - Leaping the Plateau

Something changed this weekend. Much like when I first set out on this journey and skated around the park at dawn in the freezing cold until I found my center of gravity, something intangible clicked and I feel I've kicked into the next gear. I can't quite put my finger on exactly what has changed, but I know it has something to do with two "a-ha!" moments late last week.

On Thursday night, I went to the skills clinic at our rink, and that night it happened to be run by one of the guys who is really helpful and attentive, and creative with the drills he runs us through. The first part of the clinic is always skating drills, which I hate. And precisely because I hate them, I know that means I need them. I've gotten over the mildly embarrassing feeling of being the last one (by the length of half a rink at least) trundling through the drill; I'm a goalie, and everyone knows goalies can't skate. But that's why I'm there, right? "Coach" had us working on tight turns, and changing direction quickly. Until that night I'd been guilty of the former-roller-hockey-playing style of turning; wide loopy turns. But for some reason the whole concept of inside and outside edges, and keeping yourself low finally clicked for me, and I was doing a pretty decent job. Do I need to be able to make tight turns? Probably not. But anything that improves my skating will improve my game overall.

Then on Friday night, Goalie Husband and I went to the "other" rink for open hockey. This group of guys is highly skilled, but unlike the open sessions at "our" rink, the attitude is 100% better. There are actually a lot of college-aged guys there, which at first gave me pause, but they're laid back and not hot-dogging all over the place. By no means are they lazy, and their stickhandling and shooting are light years beyond my skill level, but they don't play with the "I'm going to totally school you" attitude you sometimes get from people that age.... and older. I think playing with those guys has really improved my game, but what I noticed this time out was one of the other goalies. I'd been watching him the last few times we played there, since I get 10 minutes on the bench at a time, due to the at least 3 goalies per session. But this time something just fell into place in my brain. I'd been admiring how fluid he was, how economical he was with his movements; i.e., everything he did had a purpose. I can't even tell you what it was, but I guess I picked up on something subconsciously, because on my next shift I kept that image in my head and I played much better. And when I played on Sunday morning, I was still in that zone.

So it was that my confidence yesterday was very high, and I was really looking forward to our game last night. We were playing against a team that we were very well matched with, and when we'd played them in the playoffs last season it was a close and exciting game. We weren't disappointed last night; they were a great opponent, but we jumped out with a 3-0 lead by the beginning of the 2nd period. I was firmly entrenched in my zone and came up with some really good saves. After one especially good one, and another good one on the shot that came off the pass from the rebound, I heard someone off to my right mutter "wow". I got a beaming grin from one of my teammates as we were setting up for the faceoff and a word of congrats from the ref. So I was really doing well.

But it wasn't just me- as a team, we played one of our best games, especially defensively. The D was on last night; everyone's game is improving, and I think people are benefitting from staying with the same partner for the last few games. Unfortunately, I blew my shutout bid halfway into the 3rd period on a disgustingly easy shot that I should have stopped. It was disappointing, but the team was doing so well, and so was I, that I managed to stay focused. But in the last two or so minutes, they scored twice more, which really frustrated me, because I didn't feel the final score of 4-3 reflected the game we played at all. One was a bounce off the crossbar, and the last one was a real killer; with their goalie pulled they had an extra attacker, and the puck literally crossed the line a few tenths of a second before the buzzer sounded. I don't even remember how that one developed. I had worked so hard throughout the whole game, that that one really upset me. I'm sure at some point later it will come back to me how it happened, but it doesn't really matter now.

What I'm really excited about is that we got our 4th (I think?) win, are doing great in the standings, and all of us have improved quite a bit over the last few weeks. And I am getting closer to figuring out what it is that is all of a sudden working for me... so I can keep doing it. I think it has to do with skating and focus on how I move in the crease. I won't bore you with the details, but it's starting to get clearer. I won't play again until Friday night (I'll probably do clinic again on Thursday, but that doesn't really count) and it seems so far away. I can't wait to get back out there.