Month: May 2014

I have always wanted to come up with a great method of video taping myself while goaltending.  With my new GoPro Hero 3, I intend to make a net camera out of it.  The toughest part is coming up with a mechanism so it doesn’t get destroyed in there.  I have read a few different articles and I have a plan.  Now I just need to put it all together.

I found a great video on YouTube that shows how people put them together.  This GoPro Net Camera may indeed be just what the doctor ordered.

Can’t wait to give this a go next week.

After a great break from ice hockey and roller hockey, I got back into the swing of things.  The two week break from roller hockey was always a great time to rest and recouperate.  Ironically, this break mostly coincided with ice hockey as well which was really nice to boot.  I really wish I could say that I didn’t think of that finals loss in ice hockey, but I did.  I stewed about it a bit more than I would like to admit.  Still, that break allowed me to put it into perspective and get myself re-energized.

My roller team won their first two games, and one of them against a team we have never beat.  That really did help our confidence going into the second week which was a major key.  We experienced a slight letdown in the second game but we still found a way to come through with a victory.  A 2-0 start is definitely the start we were looking for.

As for ice hockey, we start on Wednesday and it may very well be the best roster that we have ever played with outside the charity events I have put on.  The big question is, will we gel and play well as a team.  The best roster doesn’t win championships.  Chemistry win championships.  It is championship or bust this summer in my eyes.

I was never really a competitive person in my younger years.  Main reason why is that I really didn’t have much athletic ability.   So while I ran cross country, wrestled, and ran track in high school, I never really was a great athlete.  When I started playing hockey back in 1997 for the first time, little did I realize just how competitive I was.  I went from not being able to skate or play to where I am today.  Even now, I am not the best goalie, but I have made huge strides.  I understand that I will never be the best in the leagues I play in, but I am ok with it.  This is why I called this post, “Understanding what it’s all about” because playing hockey is about having fun.

In the past, I remember losing out in playoffs or losing a big game and being so upset with myself.  On the flip side, if we won a big game I was all pumped up.  These swings came every game, which really wasn’t healthy for me in the long term.  Back about 2 years ago, after I won my first ice hockey championship, I decided to not live on the edge like that anymore.  Today, it is harder to keep that promise to myself.  That competitive fire still has not left me.  I still have the desire to win.  If I don’t win my last game of the season, its a failure, or so I tell myself.  Why I keep going back to the watering hole (so to speak) is tough to answer.  Maybe I will never be rid of the competitive bug entirely.

So while I understand the meaning of rec league sports, and I enjoy playing, its tough to separate the two.  Today, a full week after our finals loss, I am still a little disappointed in the end result.  I still think that I could have played better which would have resulted in a win.  I still think that it was an opportunity lost.

I still have 2-3 weeks before the start of the new season.  Longest break ever.