On the first day of this year's Club Puck season, back in December, right after the kids got off the ice, as I waited for the Zamboni to complete its first round so that I could move the nets to clean ice, I took this photo of center ice.
Maybe I should back up a little. Maybe there's somebody on the planet who reads these posts (or will read them in the future) but doesn't know me personally and therefore has never heard be blather on about Club Puck. Unlikely, but I'm a glass-half-full girl, so I'll go with that assumption.
At Hotchkiss, we have two rinks and a lot of hockey. The varsity teams here are both quite amazing -- fun to watch, fast, and skilled. They don't always win, but the kids go on to play in great programs and they're all terrific athletes. We've had a few NHL players (I got to teach the wonderful Luke Glendening and am a personal fan of Torrey Mitchell, who used to play with my then tiny children) and NWHL players (I got to teach the awesome human Kelsie Fralick and love that Jordan Brickner taught my younger daughter how to skate). You get the point, some of the kids who play hockey at Hotchkiss are truly extraordinary players and kind people.
Then, we have junior varsity teams. On those teams, the kids range from just-shy-of-varsity level to never-going-to-make-varsity level. They know the rules of hockey, skate hard, don't usually fall unless pushed, and win some games. They're also fun to watch.
Last, we have Club Puck, with me as the team's only coach. My skaters range from smooth-sailing-across-the-ice to butt-usually-on-the-ice level. They're also fun to watch, but more for their spirit than their skill.
And that brings me to why I love CP.
- never drills, only scrimmages;
- rules about sportsmanship rather than following traditional hockey rules (at the beginning of the season);
- fun music at every practice;
- nonstop smiles and laughs at what we do well and what we flub up;
- celebrations of every goal ridiculously out of proportion to our skill levels (We have great skills at the cele!); and
- steeper learning curves than most high-school teams get.
I'm sure there are more reasons, but aren't those enough? Do you have sports you enjoy even though you're not skilled at them? Talk about them in the comments.