After taking over two weeks off due to my bruised tailbone I'm back on the ice. And its tournament time. Times two. My women's league end of the season tournament, where the games finally matter, and the Fur Rondy coed outdoor hockey tournament. The only bummer is they are both this weekend.
The good news is my games don't conflict but this means I play four games on Saturday. And I'm already a little sore from my first women's league game tonight.
We lost 3-1 to the number one team but we played well, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the first period with a goal in the third. Our young superstar Laura did all the work, skating the puck around everyone and getting off a hard shot; the goalie saved it but left a perfect rebound for me to backhand into the net as I fell and slid across the ice.
A typical Everett goal. I think I've celebrated more goals sprawled across the ice than I have standing on my blades. I'm not a pretty skater. But I hustle to the brink of my ability.
My favorite part of hockey is back-checking, or chasing the other team as they carry the puck towards your goal. You don't have to think like you do when you have the puck: Should I shoot now? Should I try to beat the defenseman to the outside? Do I deak the goalie to the right or the left? When you backcheck your only goal is to catch up to the skater and poke the puck away.
I love the purity of the pursuit, where effort matters more than skill.
A lot of hotshot skaters don't backcheck but only skate hard when they have the puck, forgetting that half the game is defense. Its not all about the glory of racking up points, but about protecting your net.
And sure, I love to score, but stopping the other team from scoring feels pretty darn good too. Even if the ref doesn't write your name on the score sheet or the handful of fans don't applaud your effort. You know.
And sometimes that's what really matters.
You know you just skated as hard as you could and caught up to your opponent and stole the puck. You interrupted their chance to score. And yes, now you have to think again, but for those previous strides it was all motion and drive.
And I think I skate especially hard because I can. Because my brain and my muscles communicate with ease. Because I know this isn't true for everyone.
Because I carry Elias with me even when I skate to forget, for awhile.
".....but I hustle to the brink of my ability" wonderful words anda grat way to get after life!
Posted by: Jill | 03/01/2012 at 05:20 AM
*great*
Posted by: Jill | 03/01/2012 at 05:21 AM
love, love this!
Posted by: elizabeth | 03/01/2012 at 12:30 PM
skate to forget...and to remember. love this.
Posted by: Kate | 03/02/2012 at 06:32 PM
Oh I so do both Kate, I skate for Elias and I skate to be separate from him. And Jill, yes, it is a good motto for life. Ebeth, I miss skating with you my friend.
Posted by: Christy | 03/02/2012 at 09:40 PM
Sounds a bit like your soccer style, if I may say so.... ;-)
Posted by: Brooke | 03/06/2012 at 11:30 AM
Exactly like how I play soccer Brooke. A whole lot of heart without all the finesse.
And as to our tournaments. My Fur Rondy team didn't win a game but had a lot of fun and drank some mid-day beers. My Women's team missed making it to the championship game by a 4-2 loss to a team that showed up with more ringers than they had all season.
And my body is still recovering...
Posted by: Christy | 03/06/2012 at 08:38 PM