Five More Days Of A Digestional Inferno

“At the moment you are no longer an observing, reflecting being; you have ceased to be aware of yourself; you exist only in that quiet, steady thrill that is so unlike any excitement that you have ever known.”~ May Sinclair

Ughh!!! Five days longer. And in those five days will come the beginning of the 2011-12 sled hockey season. My team will hit the ice running, or umm… sledding.

I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time. The summer was brutal and any kind of sessions WOULD have been great. But it didn’t happen. I’m also reminded that I missed out on the second half of the season because I got sick with pneumonia back last March, and never recovered strong enough to get back on the ice for the previous season. I believe that in 2011, I was only on the ice twice in the month of February, and I missed so much- including a surprise birthday gathering that my head coach at the time had planned because one hockey session landed on my birthday this year back in January.

But I’m healthy now and can get back on the ice. However strength and conditioning is another issue. With all the heat we had during the summer, being drained like that of energy didn’t exactly keep me in shape.

Nonetheless, I am so freakin’ fired up that I cannot stand it any longer. These next few days are going to drive me crazy!! Now I am understanding that this season, we will have new leadership on the ice. I do not know the people personally but others on the team do. So I think it will be interesting to see how things go.

And I am understanding that the team received a pretty large grant this year. Actually, all of the teams in the league did. So what does it mean for the team? We TRAVEL.

Ohhhh yeahhhhhh buddy!!

Throughout the season, we’ll be going to different cities in the state to play everyone in the league. Yes, we’ll get our asses kicked on the ice… but that’s not the important thing. The majority of the excitement within that is that the team has been wanting to travel and play for such a long time.

It is unfortunate that since I started playing, we’ve lost some players. It was all over their disgruntled attitude that the team “wasn’t going anywhere”. They too, wanted to travel and play. But because we were not doing that, they left the team. It is too bad that they didn’t stick it out and got the practice, because now we are going to do exactly what they were whining to do. And they are no longer participating on the team in any way.

We even have our own jerseys now. A nice logo on the front and everything. Something I personally slaved for over eight months to get done. The people that left, also wanted that too.

Oh well. I’m not going to focus on what was, and get down to business on what can be, and what will be. Our first travel date is the 19th of November. Not a lot of time to get prepared, but hey- we’re doing it!!

This season will be my fourth season playing for the team. I was named co-assistant captain of the team last season, and the season before that, I scored my first goal in an actual competition. Since then, I’ve scored well over 100 of them. The person that was counting them all from week to week lost count at that point. So it is more, but nobody knows how many. Scoring Powerhouse, anyone?!?

Last season, the team was looking up to me for a lot, both on and off the ice. And I suppose it was okay. I honestly have to admit that I love playing sledge hockey (or sled hockey as it is known in the USA. You know how we gotta do things differently all of the time!).

Sure, I’ve have had my minor injuries. Luckily, nothing too serious or major. It still IS hockey after all. The sadist within says that I am looking forward to more. Nothing more exciting then running into someone with the puck and knocking them over and coming in for the steal. Or slamming others into the wall. You think AB hockey is exciting? You should check out your local team in your area.

There are teams all over the country. From Sacramento and San Jose, California all the way across the other side of the country in Florida and of course up north through the Great Lakes and into New England.

Watch a game or two, then you tell me which became more exciting! I challenge you.

But hey, I’m just totally stoked that I’m going to get this chance to get back on the ice after being off of it for so long. Leading the team during scrimmages and practices, and finally getting that chance again to go up against someone with the scoreboard turned on.

Facebook Fan Page to the team that I am on, in the list of links on the left side.

 

 

P.S.A. #3 Football Season

As many of you know, this is the second weekend of the college football season for 2011-12.

Dear wives and/or girlfriends of men who cannot seem to live without college football:

Fear not! Your relationship is not in trouble!! It is only on “hold”, if you will.

Now I know, a lot of you complain about your man going crazy and losing his mind and all of that. But that doesn’t mean you are losing him. Listen to me: It only means that he is going to be distracted for a few hours every Saturday for a while.

And it won’t be permanent. Depending on what team your man is cheering for, it will only last until near Thanksgiving. Which still is in late November. So if your man is cheering for a team who sucks? Just hold on until Thanksgiving, and you’ll be fine.

But if your man is cheering for a team that wins? Well, if you can wait until Thanksgiving, then you’re almost done. There will be MAYBE a Saturday or two after that where your man suddenly for a few hours won’t know the difference from his hand to his ass. Be patient! He will be hoping that there will be one last game at the end of the year, or at the beginning of 2012. But you will definitely have him back for the holidays.

So then let’s review:

Every Saturday (either afternoon or evening) for about three and a half hours, then the other six days out of the week, he is all yours.

This will continue until the end of November, every Saturday for about three and a half hours. If his team sucks.

If his team wins, this will continue until the end of November. And probably into the first or second Saturday of December, with a few weeks break until the absolute final game that they will play, called a “bowl game”.

BUT: If you are the kind of woman who loves her pigskin? Then you have got it made in the shade. You are probably sitting right next to your man every single second, every Saturday. Congratulations!

So the key is to hang on for a few hours, one day out of the week, for the next few weeks. Unless your man is into the NFL as well. If so, that goes on longer, and I cannot help you as I am not a huge fan of the NFL. That takes up more than just one day out of your week!!

And to the men out there, forgetting that you got a good woman. Remember this:

I do have my favorite college football team that I love to cheer for, whether or not they have a winning season or not. Just like you.

BUT I DO NOT HAVE CABLE, and network channels commonly do not show my team. So then what does that mean??

So when you’re off in La-La Land because you wanna cheer for your team, and be with the guys, and totally forget that one person in your life, called a wife or girlfriend? “I am” most likely on the Internet, chatting with her.

Thank you. 

 

Season Finale

Today is the season ending performance for the Austin Blades. I think that is a bitter sweet ending to a season that was filled with promise for the team’s future.

This though for me, is the end of my third season of playing. I think that I have done well and I hope that the coaching staff believes that I have improved.

A lot has happened since the end of last year’s season. The Blades were able to step it up a notch when I had completed the task of getting a logo that would go on to our practice jerseys. A task that had started way back in June of last year. It finally became a reality six months later. The team was thrilled.

We’ve lost some team members throughout the year. Some from illnesses and surgery. But I believe that our core members stuck through it all season long. I call it, “The Awesome Foursome”.

I will however miss being on the ice. Unfortunately for me, my season came to an end when back in March, I ended up with pneumonia. I never recovered fully enough to return on to the ice. And when I was healthy enough to play, we had no ice time. I am hopeful that with the beginning of next season I will be able to keep in better health and be able to continue in my goals of one day being on the U.S. National Team and represent my country.

Unfortunately, the team was unable to secure any tournament play this year. And we as a team, were given the shaft when it came to having a performance during the intermissions of an AHL hockey game locally. Last year’s performance during an intermission, we played in front of over 6,000 people! Absolutely exciting!!

But the team members will take the summer off. Coaching staff as well. I am hoping that our core members will continue to do whatever they can to find some ice time on their own so that they are able to continue in their strength and endurance throughout so that come the time we begin next season, we are able to hit the ground (or ice in this matter) running at full force and never look back.

I’m going to miss it, for sure. I’m sad that I was not able to get back on to the ice and do what I love to do the most. But the ice won’t go away, I will some day make a return. My passion is too strong to let it just go.

In the mean time, I will do what I did last summer during the break. Strive for donations and help. My mind will focus on doing what I can to help make the team better from off the ice.

Our team though needs a van. One that will be able to carry players, sleds, and equipment so that we CAN participate in tournament play in other cities across the country.

My time on the ice with the team ends for now, but my dedication and work for the team continues.

GO BLADES!!!