przed | Entries tagged with hockey

The last few years, I've somehow become the person who plays hockey several times a week. I play in a league and do a couple of lessons. I can't quite believe I've become someone who loves hockey as much as I do, but there you are.

This week was our league finals. Since my team had managed to finish second, we were in the championship game. And we won! It was a tight game, everyone played well, and I made a few moves I'm proud of.

Here's me with the cup (made mostly out of kitchen equipment from the dollar store). And yes, it is nearly as big as me. Not, as I told a teammate, that that's a high bar to clear.😆

And here's my team!

It may be spring, but this is Canada so the hockey continues. My spring league starts tomorrow. I start a new set of lessons on Wednesday. Also, the World's Women Championships is being held just outside of Toronto this year, and we've got tickets to a game next Sunday. (U.S.A vs. Czechia, because tickets to all the Canada games were gone like a shot.)

I've got my fingers crossed that this is the year I finally manage a few backwards crossovers. Fingers crossed! Oh, and that I don't get another concussion. (I may have fallen and gotten a minor concussion, but it wasn't too bad and I took a month off playing and did physio and I'm fine now, honest.)

Apparently, I haven't posted anything here since February! So here's my official notice that I'm not dead.

I've been working on a Stucky story for the Captain America Reverse Big Bang, for which I miraculously got my first choice of art. The minimum word count is 5K. So, of course, my brain came up with a plot-heavy story that's come in just over 23K. I finished the first draft earlier this week, and made a second pass through today, so I'm in good shape for my posting date, July 26.

Then I've got two stories to write for the FTH auction, one Tony/Bucky, and one Nat/Clint/Bucky. The Tony/Bucky one should be especially fun because I was bid on by an artist whose auction I also won, so we're going to collaborate on an illustrated story.

In non-fannish news, I've apparently become a person who plays hockey three times a week in the summer. I signed up for Thursday night lessons before finding out a woman in my regular winter league was putting together a summer Sunday league for women over 45. Then my winter league decided to offer lessons on Mondays. The Sunday league finished in June, and my last Monday lesson was this week. That just leaves the Thursday lessons. Which are...challenging.

First of all, they're two hours long: an hour of drills followed by an hour of scrimmage. That is exhausting. Second, it's co-ed, which was a little terrifying at the start because the guys are way bigger than me and way faster. And I am objectively the worst player on the ice. But fortunately, the coaches and other students have all been helpful and encouraging, and it's all definitely helped me up my game.

So, I haven’t managed to post since the pandemic lockdown started, mostly because after being on my computer all not only to write tech docs but also teach, the last thing I’ve wanted to do is get on my personal computer. Which has meant still no writing and no DW. Hasn’t stopped me doomscrolling on Twitter, though. 🤨 (I really need to stop that.)

But things maybe looking up. Because I have finally gone back to hockey! Yes, even after a broken wrist and a concussion. I’ve made a deal with my husband that I’m no longer going to be on bench staff for Ros’ team, since both injuries happened when I was coaching, not playing. And if I have one more major injury, I’m out.

My league, unfortunately canceled this year’s season. But a friend from the league hooked me up with someone who arranged for private lessons at the nearby rink during the day. From now till December I’ll be doing lessons every Monday morning!

Yesterday was the first class, and it was so much fun! And also a heck of a lot of work. Hockey works just about every muscle in your body, and I was drenched in sweat by the time it was over.

They’re being careful about COVID. There are only 10 of us in the class, 5 per change room, masks are required in the dressing room and we stay spread out on the ice. Alas, there will be no scrimmages since that puts us too close together.

But it’s hockey! Yay!

I had thoroughly intended after the holidays to do some catch up posts here. Yuletide gifts and reveal. Pics of our lovely and complete kitchen reno. Fannish rambling.

But when my physiotherapist said my wrist had healed enough and cleared me for going on the ice, carefully, I thought I’d start out slow and help out at Ros’ team practice. I’d just be helping out the coach and dumping pucks back to the girls, I thought. What could happen?

What happened was one of the girls from the team we were practising with skated into me at full speed, knocked me into the air, and I cracked my head into the ice on the way down. Even with my helmet on, I’ve ended up with a mild concussion.

So, I’m on restricted screen access and half days at work, and am spending a lot of time in dark rooms and sleeping a lot more than normal. (I attended a two hour meeting at work on Monday and then slept for a good part of the next 24 hours. 😬)

I think I’m on the upswing. I woke up at 9:30 today, not noon, and the dizziness and fogginess is starting to fade. But on doctor’s order, I just need to resist the urge to do too much too soon and set my recovery back.

And I think I’m probably going to pull out of the winter session hockey lessons I’d signed up for, and carefully think about my future with the game. (The Sweetie and my mom would be very happy if I never played again. ☹️)

Crossposts: https://przed.livejournal.com/377174.html

With footie season done, it's time to gear up for hockey season. So, this Saturday I skipped one of my TIFF films to attend the women only coaching seminar. It was an on-ice lesson and I was looking forward to getting on the ice again.

Remember last week I said I was diagnosed with osteoporosis? (You can see where this is going, right?)

I'm on the ice for five minutes, I'm standing there listening to the instructor to explain the next drill, and I absentmindedly lean back on my skates.

The thing with hockey skates is that the blades are rounded. Lean backwards and you keep going. So. I start to fall, I flail around, and I fall. Right on my left hand.

Crunch.

Yep, I broke my left wrist. And yep, I'm left-handed.

I'm going to be in a cast for 4 to 6 weeks. I'm being optimistic and hoping I can play with my team soon after that.

All-in-all, I'm going to be quite happy to see the end of 2019.

P.S. Typing one-handed sucks.

Crossposts: https://przed.livejournal.com/376556.html

It's been the final week of hockey for both me and Ros.

I played my final game on Tuesday, and went out on a high. My teammates and our volunteer coaches all said I played my best game of the season, and it certainly felt like I was getting first to the puck and shooting it where I meant to most of the time.

Today was Ros' last game, and she and the rest of our D played a really solid game. (They lost, but not by much, and it was to a stronger team.)

That's the good news.

The bad news, which I got on my phone just as Ros was coming off the ice, is that the Canadian Women's Hockey League, the one professional women's league in this country, has just been disbanded because they couldn't make it financially. I am doubly sad about this because I was just at the final playoff game for the league last week, and we were going to get family season's tickets for next season.

And I'm angry that the massively talented women in the league, who for my money play far more exciting hockey than the men's professional leagues, minor or NHL, and without the nonsense of fights every period, don't even have the option of playing for even the rather low pay they were getting in the CWHL.

Because I've been looking at it all season, I ordered myself a jersey of the Toronto CWHL team, the Furies, to wear when I'm doing lessons, and got Ros a Furies fleece.

Crossposts: https://przed.livejournal.com/374264.html

I have somehow, in the last three years, become a hockey player.

Well, it's not a total mystery. I started taking lessons so I could help out with my daughter's team, and then discovered that it was fun. And this year I figured I was good enough after two years of lessons that I'd join our clubs senior women's league.

And being in the league, meant that this year I got my very own hockey picture!

( Look at this! )

Crossposts: https://przed.livejournal.com/372540.html

Since Ros is doing her black belt next year (OMG!) she won't be playing hockey.

I, however, have signed up again for the women's learn to play lessons. I don't even know how this happened, but it turns out I kinda enjoy hockey. Or at least learning hockey skills. I may sign up for league play the year after.

In fannish news, I've got my Cap RBB story finished, formatted and ready to go, and my artist and I have a game plan for posting. My posting date is May 28th, so I'll be able to share the story and the fabulous art that inspired it then.

I've also just crossed the 10,000 word mark for my Stucky BB story, and have finally outlined where this sucker is going. And I've got a decent summary put together ready for the artist claims. There are, apparently, way more writers than artists, but I'm not going to stress about the claims too much. This is a story I want to write whether or not there's art for it. Not that it wouldn't be cool to get claimed.

Crossposts: http://przed.livejournal.com/362610.html

As my first official DW post, I thought I'd put up the pic I was going to post on LJ before the TOS thing happened.

It's a pic from the final day of the Learn to Play hockey class I took, along with a bunch of other lovely women. (I'm the short one in a teal and black jersey in the back row.)

Apart from the whole Stucky obsession, the other thing keeping me busy these days is sports! And it's March madness, so time to bring out the icon for that other Bucky. (Though how awesome would a Winter Soldier Bucky Badger icon be? I wish I could still draw.)

The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Virginia Tech Hokies (and seriously, Virginia Tech, the Hokies?) on Thursday night, so they'll be playing Villanova this afternoon. Considering Villanova is a #1 seed, this could so south quickly. Or not.

I won't be watching the game live because I'll be taking Ros to her second last hockey practice of the season. Yay for the imminent end of the hockey season! Although also boo, because that means I've only got two of my hockey lessons left. I'm enjoying it rather more than I thought I would, though I still kinda suck. My goals were 1)stopping, 2) crossovers and 3) changing direction without stopping. I've got the stopping down, the right foot crossovers are coming but the left ones are still terrifying, and I can kinda go from backwards to forwards without stopping but not forwards to backwards.

I don't know that I ever want to play in a league (though scrimmages are actually fun now that my skating's a bit better and I finally splurged and got a properly fitted pair of skates), but I may sign up for lessons again next year.

My final sports news is that we finally got the pictures from our Taekwondo Black Belt Spectacular. My favourite is actually from the technical rehearsal of the self defence part of the ceremony, me kicking my partner, one of the fourth degree candidates:

( A couple more pics below the cut )

I have unfortunately become one of those people who gets their black belt and then drastically cuts back on their training. Mostly because I tore my piriformis muscle (which is a little muscle behind your glute, so I officially have a pain in the butt) at a class in September and the stupid thing is taking forever to heal.

March Madness has snuck up on me this year, so it's time to break out the Bucky icon.

On Thursday, Wisconsin took out their first round opponent, American University, 75 to 35. (I only remembered to check the schedule after the game was over, so I didn't get to see it. Not that a rout like that is usually much fun to watch.)

Their next game is tonight, and CBS is actually broadcasting it, yay! But unfortunately, it's going up against what has become my Saturday night ritual with Ros, watching Hockey Night in Canada. (How I've raised a hockey-loving kid, I'll never know. It's one sport I'm not terribly keen on, but I've become a Montreal Canadiens fan in defence because a) it pisses off Toronto Maple Leafs fans, b) I really like their defenceman, P.K. Subban, who is from Toronto and one of the first visible minorities to play in the NHL, and c) they're Viggo Mortensen's team. ) So it looks like I'll be PVR-ing the Wisconsin game so the little girl can watch her hockey.

To complete our sports day viewing, I turned on the Premier League broadcast this morning, and Ros decided she wanted to watch the game with me. We watched Chelsea trounce Arsenal, 6 - 0, so not an awesome game to watch, but I'm heartened that Ros enjoyed it. I'm hoping she'll want to go to a Toronto F.C. game this year. (I really have to pick a new English team to follow, since I'm sure Sheffield U. will get back to the Premier League about the time hell freezes over.)