Getting a hockey life

"Are you playing hockey tonight?" Amy asked on her way out the door this morning.

"No. Tomorrow night," I said. "The new league is starting up in Kettering."

"That means your going to be home late on Friday nights..." she said.

"Very late."

"You need to get a life."

"I already have," I said. "I decided to be a hockey player in my new life."

Summer hasn't been kind to my hockey conditioning. Getting enough ice time to maintain the shape I had achieved only after about a year-and-a-half of skating four to five times-a-week just wasn't possible. On Tuesday morning, a small group of us were doing hockey drills at the rink in Springfield and I found I was admitting to myself that I was having trouble keeping up. I wasn't just having trouble keeping up, I was admitting it. That is significant. What happened to my positive attitude?

Am I having a late-life crisis? Not really. This is about searching for my identity in the context of my new life. You see, every time you get a new life, you have to get a new identity to go with it. I have experimented with being the old guy who kicks ass. And I thought that was really working, until Tuesday morning, that is. After which I came to the realization that I'm not kicking ass at all and should be seeking out a role commensurate with my abilities. I have actually been losing sleep over this.

So, what are my abilities? I have pretty good hockey sense. For instance, I know that if I don't keep my eyes on the action at all times, the puck will surely come in my direction. If I don't have my stick on the ice, someone will pass me the puck and I won't get it down in time. I know that if I pass the puck to a zone, rather than a player, no one will be there. And, if I pass the puck to someone who is open, it will be a guy who is actually worse than I am, and he will commit one of the above listed miscues. Just kidding, of course.

Hopefully, with age comes wisdom. I know enough to cover the point in my defensive zone. I know to go to the boards if we get the puck and be alert for an outlet pass. I know to skate up ice and stay onside, all the while keeping my stick on the ice. I know to rush the net, screen the goalie and move around to get in position for a tip in or a rebound. I know to forecheck if we lose the puck, and get back down to cover the point. Knowing how to play my position as a winger counts for a lot. Now, if I only had the conditioning to do it effectively...

Yours,

Harry