Sunday night's alright for fightin'
Okay, just kidding. Not really any fights at novice league tonight, though I did abuse the crossbar with my stick on the third unanswered goal I let in. Pissed at myself and rightly so. I need to find a way to get into games faster. My warm-up was actually really good, such that Fred asked me if I'd been practicing. I was feeling pretty comfortable when the game started, but then my Suck found me and latched on hard.
The only save I was pretty happy about was one on the post right after Coach Stalin had given me a little lecture on hugging the post. Well, I was hugging that post and the puck wedged right in there by my skate and got the whistle. Of course, near the end of the third (might have been on a PK) I didn't hug the other post and Red (the blog name for all the red team players because I don't know half their names) shot one in the gap. Dammit!
As usual, my D... hell, my whole team, played their asses off in front of me. Blocking shots, hustling, playing like rock stars. But the red team has more offense this season, so they had their hands full keeping that at bay and did an excellent job. The other goalie saw LOTS of shots as they were pinned in their zone quite a bit. I think the play evened up about halfway through the second and I was seeing more action in my end.
In spite of letting in 3 softies early, the green team turned on the Bad Ass and staged a terrific comeback for which I was immensely grateful. The score ended up 7-7 and my team was nice and encouraging after (and told tales of another novice goalie who wasn't much better when he started... ;) )
Though Coach Dan is rightly puzzled about why I'm so hesitant to go down now, as I was dropping plenty in my first game. I think I'm just thinking too much. In that first game, in addition to the shots being more straight forward (less passing right in front of the net) I was just reacting and now I'm questioning and second guessing myself and parsing through all the information. Which I kind of expected to happen. I'm pretty susceptible to information overload and sometimes have to chew on something for a while for it to sink in and really understand the value. I'm NOT a monkey see, monkey do person like Coach Stalin. Lots of processing has to happen in my head for my body to get on board.
The upside is that I'm feeling more comfortable in the role. Wearing the 40 lbs of gear, being in the crease, just being "The Goalie." And little by little, I feel small improvements in my movement in the crease. Tiny ones that probably nobody else would notice, but it's important to me that I'm noticing them.
Oh and bonus for the night! I left the crease to play the puck once! Didn't stray too far as it had come off the wall and was headed for my net, so I whacked it up to the nearest green person so they could get it out of the zone. Apart from the pass being incredibly weak, I felt very Turcoesque with that move.
Sha-shaaaa, bitches!Anyway, it was fun, in spite of being frustrating at times. I've got so much work to do to get anywhere close to passable, but I'm ready for it.
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4 comments:
Hmm...I remember that I also had trouble getting into the game right away. Really, there are just too many things to think about so it's easy not to be focused on what's going on in front of you.
Here's a thought: do your whole warm up the same as you're doing it now. You'll be thinking about stuff and going over things in your head. But, use that opening face off as a visual cue to shut off your brain. Starting at that moment, you only think about one thing: the first shot you'll face.
Just watch the play, read the play, and then, when it comes down your way, get ready to react to the play.
By the looks of it your recall about the whole game is pretty good. There will be time for reflection aplenty, afterwards. So, at least until you get that first save under your belt, dial in on where it will come from.
When the play's at the other end, just enjoy the game. You're a big fan of the game of hockey; take a moment and watch. But don't sit there going over the checklist of the twelve things you need to do to execute a b'fly slide.
I used to count shots whenever I'd realize that I was thinking too much. I'd count for the rest of the period or something.
You are obviously still learning a lot, both about the position in general and your specific approach to it. I seriously doubt you're going to find yourself lacking for analysis between the opening face off of one game and the opening face off of the next.
"Anyway, it was fun, in spite of being frustrating at times."
At least I sense hope in those words.
I once let a puck slip through my feet that was shot from the far blue line. Thing was barely moving. All I had to do was put my stick on the ice... nope, right through.
We won the game 9-1. I stopped two 3-0 breaks and even a 4-0 break (yeah... where was everyone) later in the game.
Sometimes, it takes a bit to get into it. Especially when it still extremely new.
Keep your head up. For every person who is worried about how they playeed in net, there are a thousand who are too scared to even try.
Yeah, no problem on just enjoying the game when it's away from me. Honestly, apart from the odd save, it's my favorite part of playing goal. Best seat in the game. But I also love when the rush starts coming the other way. It's kinda like, "Showtime!" you know? Love it, even if it doesn't always work out like I want. :)
I do just have a lot of noise in my head at the beginning of the game. I'll ponder your suggestion re: the opening face-off. I like the idea of a trigger to shut it off. I think my trigger last night was "Oh shit, look at the hole we're in!"
Oh yeah, Buddha, I'm full of hope. People kept telling me not to get discouraged, but I never was. Just frustrated with myself because I know what I should be doing and I'm not doing it. My body is a beat or two behind my head. Like, I wish I could get do-overs so I can think, "Okay, here's what I should have done. Now, let me try it and see if I was right." Hopefully on practice days, we can do some stuff like that.
And thanks for the puck-between-the-feet story. :) That shot that Toskala let in last season that just bounced ALLL the way down the ice and right past him into the net is the cautionary goal that has stuck in my head. That's, like, worst case scenario in my mind. :)
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