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Sweet relief!
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Sweet relief! I can honestly tell you that since my sledge hockey season ended three weeks ago I have been absolutely itching to get on the ice. Mind you though I did turn down a invite from another team to play in a tournament 2wks after the end of our season because I needed a break. You see, between the end of our season last year (March) I have only taken a total of two weeks off to rest. I went straight from last April right on through the summer to three weeks ago. The grind of staying in shape for the season FINALLY caught up with me. At the end of the year I had never been so happy to take a break and recharge the batteries (so to speak). I had been off the ice and was enjoying my rest until my coach sent a email to everyone on the team last weekend. Uh oh .. The email said that arena we play out of wanted us to try the new sledge hockey boards that were installed for the major International sledge hockey tournament that was being played here just last week. You see, once the tournament was over my hockey team would be using the boards for our games and practices and they wanted us to see how we liked them. So much for taking some time off! Naturally I had responded with a "YES! I will be there" and repacked my hockey bag the next day in preparation for my return to the ice. Thursday came quite quickly. I had never been so happy to hit the ice and scrimmage with my team like we have many other times throughout the year during practice. Once I put my gear on I took my sledge to the main pad, the Olympic sized pad where the new boards were installed and where our Canadian national team heroes were playing in this tournament. To be out on the same ice they've played on was a pretty cool feeling. I mean, we've played on this pad before during our own tournament through the years but this time around it felt special. As you skate around the ice you see the major corporate ads on the boards and on the glass and the banners hanging from the rafters. But more importantly you see the Hockey Canada and tournament logo at center ice while sitting ON the ice is something pretty neat. It really does feel like for the 90 minutes that I am out there it feels like I've "hit the big time". The ice was magificent. Sublime in fact. It felt like glass when I skated on it. I would go as far to say that this was the best ice I had ever skated or played on. It was professional grade, the Hockey Canada standard. So what do sledge hockey boards and benches look like? The boards are the same height as you would use for stand up hockey. The only difference is that the boards have plexi glass windows in them so that we can see when it's time to make a line change (keep in mind we sit on the ice). The benches too are different. Since we sit at ice level in our sledges we don't sit on a bench. As a matter of fact we sit on plastic and we push ourselves with our sticks along the plastic and out the bench door (also same height as in stand up and has plexi glass windows as well). The great thing about the benches in relation to the ice is that it's all level so it's a seamless transition from bench to ice. You don't miss a beat! To some folks they may think "what's the big deal about it?". To us it's a big deal since it's something that the organization has been wanting for years and now thanks to this tournament we now have the proper equipment to play the game as it's intended. You see, before this we used to just line up against the boards and the puck would always bounce into the "bench" and the play would be stopped. Now we no longer have to worry! Anyhow, it was awesome to be back out on the ice. I felt a little rusty and it's amazing how quickly the conditioning from a season's + of play and skating can go away. Thankfully though after about three shifts I felt "up to speed" and my conditioning came back (phew!). The skills though ... a tad, tad rusty though! (so was everyone else's) But once the horn blew and the Zamboni doors opened it was time to get off. It's amazing how quickly the 90minutes went. It was like "I just got here! what do you mean we're done?!?!". It is true that time flies when you are having fun. At the same time though I also knew that I was going to take a bit more of a break once I got off the ice. The upside though is that it won't be for long (about two weeks) before I am back on the ice skating and prepping for this year. Even though it was 90 minutes it sure felt good to be back out there! Exciting times ahead. Attached is a picture of me in action from last season (I'm the player in blue ... obviously!). I'll be keeping the picture posted up for a short time though. Anyways, I hope everyone's doing awesome! Until next time, NJS. <-------- What's on my mind? What am I up to? Drop by my blog!  |
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I've never heard of sledge hockey before reading your posts. We don't have much ice OR much hockey in Florida (not this area anyway). It's an ingenious sport. It's ingenious for sure. Invented in Sweden back in the 1960's as a form of therapy for people with lower disabilities. Who knew it'd catch on as it has! I'd always wanted to play hockey as a kid but couldn't because my disability. Thankfully for this sport it's allowed and afforded me the opportunity to play. I absolutely love it. <-------- What's on my mind? What am I up to? Drop by my blog!
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I've never heard of sledge hockey before reading your posts. We don't have much ice OR much hockey in Florida (not this area anyway). It's an ingenious sport.
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