Beginner's Hockey Mind

Got back to playing the game again this past Sunday! After 6 weeks off it was fantastic to get back onto the ice with the Sunday Night Xfinity crew. I even got a clean shot off in the run of play. Sure it hit the goalie square in the chest protector, but at least I followed up enough to cause a bounce back. one of my teammates stuffed it home for the goal. It was such a great respite from the busy-ness of being part of a family, working full time, playing parental taxi and to enjoy life for a few minutes.  As many of you know the events prompted me to write an article about how proud that I am to be a part of this amazing community. You all are amazing people. Really. You really come together to aid those need. To that end, it was truly moving to watch the Golden Knights honor those fallen and those left standing as heroes. After working for months to celebrate the teams opening night, they shifted gears on a dime to host a great tribute to the city and the heroes in Las Vegas.

This weekend one of our coaches put on the ice her project of the last 9-10 months. Making history in the process. She put on the ice the first female hockey league in the state. She worked tirelessly and positively to make a difference in the lives of our players, parents and coaches. It was truly a magnificent thing to watch. She and her husband are the primary on ice coaches for the Beginner's program and some of our 10U teams. They inspire us with their positivity, respect and evenhandedness, even when under pressure.  I spent many minutes in conversation with parents, grandparents and guardians cementing that thought. It was truly an amazing thing to see the efforts make such a difference. All of the players came off of the ice with smiles on their faces. The scores were even, every girl got a touch on the puck at some point.  This got the "little grey cells" as Hercule Poirot says, working on this tribe to which as hockey players and fans belong. I count