They're here! They're here!

My new glove and blocker got dropped off at my front gate this evening. They're even lovelier than I expected. And also stiffer and tighter. :)


I'll be wearing them around the house, trying to get them broken in a bit. The glove on the blocker is really tight. I'll be dropping my stick all night if I don't get it broken in a bit.

I've been noodling my too-tall-pads issue, too.

I tried on Scott TFCG's kid's next set of pads. Some really nice Eagles, but the knee stack is even further from the ankle than it is on my RBKs, in spite of being a shorter pad overall. They're very stiff and very uncomfortable, so I think they'll just go right back to Scott on Sunday and I'll keep playing in mine.

They were kinda weird in that, when I butterflied in them, I was getting a bunch of torque on my knees because the knee stack was lower than the padding at my ankles... or something like that. Anyway, super uncomfy. I have a new appreciation for my big, soft, pillowy RBKs. :)

Also, one thing I realized is that about half the shots that don't go in on me 5-hole are stopped because of my knee stacks being so far forward on the pad vs. where my knees actually are. I've never really had to learn good knee-closing habits (ahem) because of this, so when I do eventually get pads that fit right, I'm gonna be screwed 5-hole (where else?) for a while until I learn to close that up instinctively.

In the meanwhile, I've pretty much decided that now's just not the time to be buying new gear. I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on the used market and try to make a little "gear money" selling my inline skates and some of my player gear, but otherwise, I'm gonna stick with what I've got. But I did pick up some slim-profile volleyball knee pads to throw on and see if that helps protect my knees a bit better until I'm ready for new pads. I'll try those out Sunday and see how much they're in the way vs. helpful.

I also got a new water bottle with a long drinking nozzle on it. The bottle is huge, too. Very nice. Wish I'd ordered two, now. And I picked up a couple of new sweat bands for my mask off Ebay. I wash mine after every game and that seems to wear it out pretty quickly, yet I can't imagine NOT washing it. So I guess I'll just have to put a new one in every 6 months or so. At about $6 a pop, I can deal with that.

But for now, I'm just trying to get well. Got a cold that's eating me alive and making me miserable. I'd like to be feeling great on Sunday since we have another 2.5 hour ice time. It's all game this time, and I want to win.