http://www.jmshockey.com/blogrss.xml JMS Hockey Blog en-us Copyright by JMS Hockey barbara@jmshockey.com RSS 2.0 generation class http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/slapshots The JMS rules--and common sense for all pickup games--dictate no slapshots through traffic.

I want people to improve their hockey skills and mastering the flashy slapshot--hallmark of the hockey player--is certainly one of those. For all that it's not incredibly effective (especially at our level!), it's a coveted skill and probably the one thing most beginners want to learn.

But it seems people first learn the logistics of a slapshot, and then--later--learn the more important lesson: when to deploy it. It's kind of like teens and sex; just because someone understands the mechanics of a thing doesn't mean they should be doing it.

Knowing when to deploy a slapshot takes wisdom. You can learn the steps to do it easily enough, with good instruction and repetition. But knowing to take a look before you fire your that mighty slapper is the harder skill, and the more important one.

In the split seconds you're deciding whether or not to throw a slapshot at the net, LOOK UP.
Are there people between you and the net?
If there are, don't shoot.

The different levels will respond to potential slapshots in different ways.
In level 2, where people are just learning them (and usually firing slappers when they shouldn't), some skaters don't yet know to clear out of the way. The slapshots are less powerful, but also less targeted.
In level 3, I think most skaters know to move, and the shots are a little more controlled.
And in level 4, the experienced players are accustomed to seeing slapshots--some near the line of fire won't clear, but instead go into defensive lockdown, with legs together, arms in and gloves protecting delicate bits.

And, okay: in level 4 and level 5, the shooters can usually be pretty targeted; if there are people in the vicinity (again, a nebulous and situational determination), these experienced shooters can aim to avoid them. And they're usually successful. Note usually; it still doesn't hurt to be safe and get out of the way. And, of course, for the shooter: it still means you should THINK FIRST if people are around, and SHOOT CAREFULLY!

If you find yourself facing a slapshot, the best decision is to get out of the way--while facing the shot (there's a reason you have more protection on your FRONT than your backside!). That huge black bruise on the back of your leg is a mark of shame that says I was looking the wrong way... And of course, moving out of the shot path lets your goalie--who IS used to getting pucks fired at her or him--handle it.

If you can't more--or you really, really trust your gear--then go into defensive lockdown: bring in all your appendages, protect the soft parts and tuck your chin. I've also seen fools dive in front of slappers. Jeepers, this isn't the NHL with great physical therapists standing on the bench, waiting to patch you up! This is pick-up; let the goalie have the shot.

And from what I've heard from my goalie pals, they LOVE slapshots. I remember one goalie smugly noting that few moves are telegraphed more than a slapshot. "It gives me plenty of time to get in position," he gloated. A fun shot for us skaters, but probably not the best one. How many slapshots have YOU seen end successfully in a goal? Better to be in position and watching for the right opportunity than take the time to set up the cannon.

So... should you do a slapshot? Well, it's fun. It feels powerful. It feels like a real hockey player. Will it score? Probably not. Maybe someone can get a rebound? More likely the goalie will see it coming and freeze it for the other team's control.

But can you do it safely? If there are people in the way, don't shoot. If you're in level 2 or level 3 and people are NEAR your line of fire, don't shoot. In level 4 and 5--be careful, of course, but targeted, controlled slapshots are part of the game for an experienced hockey player. For those still learning--be careful and as always, err on the side of safety. Think about it: you know you don't want to hurt anyone, even accidentally.

Like everything else, evaluate the situation and use your brain. Don't fire into a crowd, and if you see a slapper coming, get out of the way. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/slapshots JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/why-exercise-wont-make-you-thin Great article in TIME about how people eat more (and more "junk food") after exercising.

Have you noticed this effect? I know MANY a time after hockey, I've let myself have something I'd normally skip, rationalizing that I just burned about 875 calories for 90 minutes of hockey (chart here).

Selected snippets--

"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless," says Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher.

The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.

"I see this anecdotally amongst, like, my wife's friends," [another researcher] says. "They're like, 'Ah, I'm running an hour a day, and I'm not losing any weight.'" He asks them, "What are you doing after you run?" It turns out one group of friends was stopping at Starbucks for muffins afterward. "I don't think most people would appreciate that, wow, you only burned 200 or 300 calories, which you're going to neutralize with just half that muffin."

Doesn't exercise turn fat to muscle, and doesn't muscle process excess calories more efficiently than fat does?

Yes, although the muscle-fat relationship is often misunderstood. ... A pound of muscle burns approximately six calories a day in a resting body, compared with the two calories that a pound of fat burns. Which means that after you work out hard enough to convert, say, 10 lb. of fat to muscle--a major achievement--you would be able to eat only an extra 40 calories per day, about the amount in a teaspoon of butter, before beginning to gain weight. Good luck with that.

Humans are not a species that evolved to dispose of many extra calories beyond what we need to live. Rats, among other species, have a far greater capacity to cope with excess calories... (discussion of useful but complicated "brown fat" here)

After we exercise, we often crave sugary calories like those in muffins or in "sports" drinks like Gatorade. A standard 20-oz. bottle of Gatorade contains 130 calories. If you're hot and thirsty after a 20-minute run in summer heat, it's easy to guzzle that bottle in 20 seconds, in which case the caloric expenditure and the caloric intake are probably a wash. From a weight-loss perspective, you would have been better off sitting on the sofa knitting.

Many people assume that weight is mostly a matter of willpower--that we can learn both to exercise and to avoid muffins and Gatorade. A few of us can, but evolution did not build us to do this for very long. In 2000 the journal Psychological Bulletin published a paper by psychologists Mark Muraven and Roy Baumeister in which they observed that self-control is like a muscle: it weakens each day after you use it. If you force yourself to jog for an hour, your self-regulatory capacity is proportionately enfeebled. Rather than lunching on a salad, you'll be more likely to opt for pizza.

Doesn't exercise do anything? Sure. It does plenty. In addition to enhancing heart health and helping prevent disease, exercise improves your mental health and cognitive ability.

But there's some confusion about whether it is exercise--sweaty, exhausting, hunger-producing bursts of activity done exclusively to benefit our health--that leads to all these benefits or something far simpler: regularly moving during our waking hours.

In short, it's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain. I love how exercise makes me feel, but tomorrow I might skip the VersaClimber--and skip the blueberry bar that is my usual postexercise reward.



Full article here: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html

Do YOU eat more than you would, or "badly" after working out? Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/why-exercise-wont-make-you-thin JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/that-late-60s-hockey Guest blog by Keith Bloodworth

I became addicted to hockey at an early age... about the time the NHL expanded to 12 teams. That was around 1967.

My brother and friends started playing roller (not inline) hockey everywhere. Patio, driveway, street, (the cars drove around our goals) basement, and the school yard. You know you are addicted to hockey when you walk a few miles one way to the school yard carrying equipment. The kindergarten playground was half brick wall and half cyclone fence. The swing set and slide became extra D. We repaired our skates with milk jug plastic and duct tape and made goalie leg pads out of carpet remnants. No helmets.

My father was given season tickets to the Blues for their first two seasons. Each ticket was a thick piece of cardboard that had the dimensions of a government paycheck... a work of art. The Blues also gave out a calendar and a Christmas card with a team photo in it. I wish I would have kept more of the stuff.

There were only two tickets per game and it was always a fight with my brother to see who would go. After a while, we were old enough to go alone. We would trade seats with our buddies. Eat cracker jacks, drink soda, and be mesmerized by a game that is played on ice... it was always thrilling.

The fans use to sing their version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and give the team a standing ovation every game... and that was before the game even started. The noise was incredible when they scored. "Blues" was substituted for "Saints." The fans furthered the cause by changing some lyrics too.

Another thing I cherish from those games was a program. My father always bought me one. The only program I still own is a cover from a West Division playoff series with L.A. It has the Stanley Cup on it. It also contains the autograph of Jacques Plante.

The Blues use to stage exhibition games and skills competition midway through the season. They billed it as "Silver Skates" and I attended one with a baseball pal. This kid usually garnered a lot of attention, but I don't remember him at all that afternoon. I remember waiting in line at the arena's parking garage to meet "Jake the Snake.' I was not expecting an autograph. I didn't know what an autograph was. I don't remember why I had a game program with me. Jacques grabbed it and signed it.

My mother also got into the act. She received autographs from Al Arbour and George Morrison--on Blues stationary! I have a few more, but the ones I just mentioned are the oldest.

I learned how to skate on a pond with my aunt's figure skates. I learned how to play by watching the pros. The wave kept sweeping over me. Our local athletic association built an ice rink and I was off and playing hockey. The Blues helped there also. Noel Picard was seen driving a bulldozer during its early days. You remember Noel. He is the Blue that tripped Bobby Orr as he scored a goal.

Fast forward to the NHL's all star fantasy before the last lock out. I missed getting Cesar Maniago's autograph by 15 minutes. Damn!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_The_Saints_Go_Marching_In_in_sport
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_orr Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/that-late-60s-hockey JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/how-hockey-nearly-destroyed-my-life Guest blog by Jeremy Woods

Alrighty-- Not really... but hockey did ruin sports for me for a LONG time. Lets go back...

I was born in Minnesota; that necessitates my innate love for all things hockey. I was one of those youngsters who would walk to the rink. (Didn't we all have a rink in walking distance?) My mom or dad would drop off a lunch. I would HAVE to go home for dinner. And then head back to close the night out at the rink.

Heck, I remember I would see my dad walking to the rink as I walked home due to him flooding the rink for the city. This would take place every day possible. In between that, I would watch hockey when I could. On TV or in person.

I remember my dad going to late night skate sessions with his team, the Mantas, and once getting to play before or after a North Stars game. (I can't remember, sue me, time changes some details.) With all of that, would I have time to be on the local team? HECK YES! Tourneys, summer clinics, etc...

As of 91-92, I loved being between the pipes. I had taken to being a goalie through and through. And after a few years of playing hockey for the Forest Lake team, we got a new coach. This coach was friends with the father of one of the other kids. That other kid wanted to be goalie.

You can see where this is going. I was moved to D. From what my dad has said, I was not a good skater, nor a good defenseman. But I was a great goalie. (I take his lambasting my skating and skills at D as him being honest enough to also be sincere about my goalie skills.)

I do know that I rarely let goals in and the other goalie did all the time. So, I will be selfish with the fact that I wanted to be goalie. The fact that the other kid got to be goalie over me the whole season and was no good at it was a bit to much for my precious little selfish 12 year old mind to take... So, not having fun, I quit organized hockey...

Then, the season after, I learned an important lesson... Your favorite sports team can sometimes go away. The North Stars leaving was the proverbial hockey stick on the camel. I honestly did not understand. It was the Minnesota hockey team. How can they move to where? TEXAS? I had officially turned off of sports. Or at least watching sports. I lost all hope.

STUPID SPORTS!

Move ahead 13 years. I was once again, living within walking distance of an ice rink. Needing some exercise, I buy a cheap pair of skates.

My first time on the ice, I am hooked again. I think I was at the rink four nights a week. My girlfriend was not happy about it, BUT DANG! HOCKEY!!!!

What? Minnesota Wild who??? PLAYOFFS! HOLY CRAP! There is a Pond Hockey League? HOCKEY!!!!

What is JMS??? HOCKEY!!!


Stupid HOCKEY!!! ... now it just ruins my knees ... Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/how-hockey-nearly-destroyed-my-life JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/how-i-started-hockey Guest blog by Cam Kaszas

In 1967 we lived in a duplex on Snelling Avenue (it's now a Kinko's), with the other half rented by Mike McMahon who played for the North Stars. His wife and my mom became friends and we got tickets to lots of games and Mike sort of adopted my brother and me as my mom was divorced and our dad was not in our lives. We'd go down by the ice during pregame warm-ups and Mike would rap the glass and toss us a puck now and then. My mom froze a little rink outside and we'd play out there in our garage sale skates that didn't even begin to fit and Mike would pass the puck around with us. Mike soon got traded to the Blackhawks, but I was already living and breathing hockey by then.

The school passed out flyers for skating lessons at the Met Sports Center - WHERE THE NORTH STARS PLAYED! I begged mom for lessons. But I was awful! My mom asked the teacher if there was any hope and if it was even worth it to keep trying. The teacher thought that if I had some skates that actually fit it would make a huge difference. She also recommended figure skates. I wasn't so keen on that but if that is what it took I was willing. It was a big deal for my mom as she didn't have money and skates and lessons were expensive. But she bit the bullet, having no idea what she was in for.

Skates that fit made a huge difference. By the end of the second set of lessons I was one of the best. The teacher even recommended I join the skating club and take private lessons. I am grateful that my mom continued to get us in deeper. I still had a hockey passion but just as a fan. I wasn't really aware that KIDS played hockey. All I knew was the NHL. Never stopped to wonder how those guys learned in the first place.

Shortly into my figure skating "career," mom didn't have enough money for continued lessons, even though the teacher was already giving me a greatly reduced rate. Mom said I'd have to contribute the money I'd been saving for a bike. So I wrote a letter to the teacher thanking her for the cheap lessons and told her that I was using my bike money for them. This teacher also taught power skating for the North Stars. The story goes that she marched into the locker room between periods, read the boys my letter, and they passed around a helmet for donations. We got a letter back saying that my lessons would be paid for in total for as long as I showed improvement - the team had decided that I should be able to learn to skate AND get my bike as well! We still have that letter.

I competed in skating until 10th grade. I worked my way up the ranks and even qualified for Nationals. That fellow who won the silver medal in the '92 Olympics? Beat him! Yes, we were only 12, but it still counts. I burned out on skating for a number of reasons: injuries, hard being out of school so much, but mostly I just wanted a "normal" life - to go to a friend's house after school, for example. And this seems really dumb now but was a big factor in my decision: getting teased (especially by hockey players) about being a sissy figure skater. And they were always lined up to come on the ice as our sessions were ending. Kids can be really mean, you know? At the time it was a pretty easy decision for me to quit, but if I had it to do again, I would not have quit. There is no doubt in my mind I could have gone far.

My first job out of college took me to Dallas. Lo and behold down there they have skating rinks in shopping malls of all places. Another shocker is one day I am at the mall and look across the rink and see my former skating partner (and first crush) out there giving a lesson. As destiny would have it we got together and she talked me into starting skating again. We began practicing together, talking lessons, even passing high level pairs tests. We decided to audition for the Ice Capades.

The Ice Capades didn't want us--as a pair. But a few weeks later I got a call. They wanted me! Can I be in glamorous Columbus by the weekend?! Let's see - a new city every week, skating as a job, getting paid (finally), girls in skimpy costumes?! Or keep my engineering job? I never imagined quitting a job without even being able to give a 2-week notice. But it happens.

Ice Capades was quite the life. We toured the East Coast and Canada. Once pre-tour rehearsals ended and we hit the road, we didn't have to rehearse much. Just show up an hour before the show, perform, then go out on the town till all hours and sleep in the next day. Repeat Tuesday-Friday, 3 times on Saturday and twice on Sunday. Then on Monday go to the next town. Lots of friends, fun and travel are memories I will have forever.

But back to reality--you can't spend your whole life on the road, doing something you love, surrounded mostly by young, scantily-clad women competing for the attention of the 3 out of 16 guys in the cast who are even interested in women. Can you? Wow, what was I thinking? You can't, can you?

Anyway, back to Minnesota, grad school, a new job, wife, kids. I still enjoyed skating, but it got harder and harder to find the time. And as I got older my favorite part--jumping really high--got much harder. The coming down part did anyway that's for sure.

Then the Minnesota Wild made this incredible run in the playoffs in 2003. I watched the games with my son and we were both really into it. I asked him if he'd like to try hockey. No, basketball was and would continue as his passion.

But I turned to him and said "I want to play hockey." Around noon the next day I called the AHA Beginner School number I found on the internet--it was a few weeks into the program but they said come tonight if you want and we'll squeeze you in. So I skipped out of work, bought equipment and had it all put on as my wife got home and I announced "I'm starting hockey tonight!"

The transition to hockey skates was indeed a strange feeling - but only for about 2 hours. Actually it is not as hard as going between ice and roller blades. That always "trips" me up every summer.

As the whole family drove to my first game, my son says "you know Dad; I really thought you were just kidding about playing hockey!"

It is fun to now see my son starting hockey as an "adult" (he's 18). He has played Level 2 on Fridays since mid summer. I just hope I can keep ahead of him for a few more years! Last I checked I'm the only Level 5 that started hockey in his forties! Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/how-i-started-hockey JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/myths-about-jms Recent reports of gossip, combined with noting recurring questions, prompted me to answer and address these issues.

MYTH: Barbara determines who skates up or down.
FACT: The captains are the backbone of the level placement system and I am incredibly grateful to them for their intelligent and analytical help. If someone wants to skate up or down, I ask a captain familiar with that person--and usually, I get more than one opinion to make sure. This is why it takes a while for level changes to be processed.
The only times I make the decision personally is when someone is moving from level 1 to level 2 (and in those cases, I follow up with the Level 2 captain to make sure the skater did okay) or when someone is brand new to JMS.
Since the assessment tool is self-reported and not ice-based, new JMSers can place too high (Gretzky yearnings) or too low (Minnesota modesty). I juggle the answers and make sure the guy with 17 years hockey experience doesn't end up in Level 2, and the guy who started six months ago isn't in Level 3. And, of course, the captains know who the new skaters are and can further tweak assessment when we have skates on ice.

MYTH: Breezers are not required, but shoulder pads and face protection are.
FACT: Breezers or some kind of hip protection (like Cooperalls) are ABSOLUTELY required. Not just for your safety, but for the community skate; if you don't wear full gear, then the people who share the ice with you, go into the corner with you, will CONSISTENTLY have to dial back their play, which is not fair. People sign up to play hockey, not no-contact hockey. If you don't have breezers or Cooperalls, I can help you find some. They are not an optional piece of equipment.
Shoulders and face protection ARE optional, though I'll go on record (again) as saying I think anybody who doesn't wear them is inviting trouble. Hockey is a physical sport and while YOU may think you're 100 percent stable on your skates, what about the other 23 people on the ice? I broke the collarbone of a 6'7" guy at one of my first pick-ups, oops. He told me later he thought he was too big to get hurt, before I flailingly crashed into him and crunched his shoulder into the goal post.
As for face protection, it's your mug. Think about all the waving sticks and sharp skates. Think about those sticks and skates resting on the floor of the bench. Have you LOOKED at the floor of the bench lately? Yeccch. Do you want something that comes in contact with that, slicing into your face?

MYTH: People can be banned from JMS for asking to play another level.
FACT: Of course not, that is silly. "Everyone" is "talking about" a recent case with some level 2 skaters. When someone asks to move up and they aren't ready (as noted above, based on extensive captain feedback), I don't just say no--I tell them the specific things they need to work on to move up, which I feel is positive and constructive.
Unfortunately, sometimes there is a gap in people's minds between "actual ability" and "perceived ability" (don't we all know someone like this?). Some of these folks choose to say, "Fine, if you don't let me dictate where I should play, then I won't play anymore!" That is their choice and a rather poor attitude, but it absolutely is not banning anyone. It's rather ironic that someone else's overreaction could be viewed as MY wrongdoing. I know the juicy story is the exciting one, but it's not true in this case.
People are rarely banned from JMS, and all cases but two were for safety reasons. Showing up drunk, being extremely rough (way, way beyond chippiness), fighting, etc., THESE are the reasons people get banned--and justifiably so. I'm not going to risk having known dangerous people on JMS ice, period.

MYTH: JMS is Barbara's job.
FACT: hahahahahahahahahahaha (deep breath) hahahahahahaha. I love running JMS, but there is no way it could support me. I work as an editor for small law enforcement magazines. Last December, I took a 25 percent pay cut, down to 30 hours per week, so I'd have more time to spend on JMS stuff. My current rough estimate is about 25-30 hours per week on JMS stuff.
On the excellent advice of a self-employed JMSer, I started paying myself for JMS labor a while ago (though it's less than minimum wage). Photographer Brian Scott Holman was listening to me grouse once after someone had sent me a particularly nasty message. He said that if I continued to go without pay, JMS would always be a hobby and eventually some loser would piss me off enough to make me quit doing it. But, he said, if I paid myself, then those grumpy notes would just be part of doing business. And while I would still grit my teeth, I could think of my "salary," however small. Good advice.

MYTH: Most JMSers have perms for more than one level.
FACT: Most JMSers skate at only one level. We're trying to fine-tune the parity so each level is distinct, and people won't be skipping between. Sometimes a person is coming back to the ice after a long period away (for an injury, or after taking a summer off). I'll open the level below for a set number of sessions or a set time--always with the lecture that the person playing down should be AWARE of the other skaters' ability level, and to PLAY to that level.
When a skater is moving up a level, it's best to have perms for both for a while. These "tweeners" can work on stickhandling in the lower level, when they have TIME to work with the puck, and then on skating speed in the upper level, where they're not going to get as much puck time amidst superior players.

MYTH: Barbara adjusts levels based on where she needs skaters.
FACT: No way. As noted above, the captains are the driving force behind leveling. These decisions are ALWAYS made on an individual level and completely separate from which sessions need skaters. That said, I try to make sensible decisions. On a night when a level 3 doesn't have many skaters signed up, if a guy who just got moved up to 4 asks to play and promises to be nice, I'll allow it for that session.

MYTH: JMS doesn't include a warm-up period.
FACT: The first five or so minutes of any session are for warm-up. This is a no-brainer... physiologically, this is absolutely imperative. Even if we get on the ice early, I want the extra time to be part of warm-up, instead of starting the skate early. Because starting early deprives people who were ON TIME, of the necessary and healthful warmup, which isn't fair. So use any extra time for warmup--who here doesn't need an extra five minutes to work on their shot or power turns?

MYTH: Barbara chooses icetimes.
FACT: No way.
Summer ice and winter ice are very different. For summer, the rinks practically crawl through the phone--they're so excited to have customers. I have to push back a bit since most want their users to be continuous during the day. This means saying, "No thanks, always starting at 6.30 p.m. does NOT work for us...."
And then it's like a giant switch flips, and suddenly it's a SELLER's market, for winter ice. They give me start times of 10.30 p.m. and I am so grateful to have any ice at all. The competition for winter icetimes is very, very, VERY steep. I get the best times I can, always. It's just that what's available is very, very VERY limited.
This is for the more popular rinks. I could book in Stillwater, or Chaska, or Rodgers, and MAYBE get some 9p starts... but then I just wouldn't have enough people turn up. I'm always trying to branch out, but responsibly. It's a balancing act between location and start time, and I try to find the best intersection of the two.
Some folks have asked for early ice (7, 7.30) so they can go out afterwards, or hit it on the way home from work. And some folks ask for late ice (9.30, 10p starts) so they can go home, have dinner, put the kids to bed and then play. I know everybody has different needs and I try to balance as best I can, I truly do. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/myths-about-jms JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/my-22-helmets But wait, I can explain.

Just finished unpacking the Hockey Room and was shocked to discover I had so many. But... three are MINE. Five will be sold to newbies. Five for loaner use (three in main rotation, two backup oddballs); two getting rid of (trash and donate); seven old boys I hang on to because... well, you never know.

Follow the picture, from left.

1 -- my current (Cascade CHX, love ya, baby!)
2 -- my old Mission Carbsters (black and white, screws stripped out, alas, but too comfy to part with)
3 -- NEW Cascade CHXs, bought on super sale, to sell to needy newbies with L heads
1 -- Itech HC85 POS destined for trash (plastic broken on nearly all connectors/joints)
7 -- too old to loan out in good conscience, foam degrading or otherwise gross (Bauer HH 5000L; Cooper HH 3000L; Bauer HH400L; Cooper SK2000; Bauer HH1000L; Bauer HH4000M; CCM unknown model, size small)
1 -- CCM unknown model, size small; going to donate (must be YOUTH small; too tiny for even my head)
1 -- Nike NQH, size unknown (not familiar with this helmet so it stays at the bottom of the rotation; some kind of air pump at back of neck?)
1 -- Jofa 395 jr (not familiar with this helmet so it stays at the bottom of the rotation; bulbously cute, though)
2 -- new with tags (CCM HT1 small; Jofa 390 sr; not sure what to do with these, probably also sell to newbies, nominal fee...)
3 -- official JMS loaner helmets! safe! with cages! (CCM 692 large; CCM model unknown, small [my old helmet]; CCM HT1 large with combo mask nobody likes)





Thanks to everyone who has made donations! I have given away more "gently used" (but still safe!) helmets than I can remember, to grateful newbies excited to get started in an expensive sport. Thank YOU for your castoff gear.

Some other time I will write about why a nice girl like me has seven hockey jocks (two are for goalies!). Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/my-22-helmets JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/what-was-i-thinking Guest blog by Lee Kimsey

"What on earth was I thinking?"
This was the thought echoing in my mind as I left the Hat Trick Arena this past Monday night. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

It all started earlier in the afternoon when I was looking at the JMS website and noticed that the Level 1 session was pretty low on skaters and I decided to sign up for it. I'm not sure whether it was poor judgment, an adventurous spirit or just plain stupidity that compelled me to offer to play as a goalie. I guess I thought, "Heck, half the time they're just standing there. How hard could it be? This is Level 1 after all."

Let me pause here and express my profound, heartfelt apology to any goalie who might be reading this, but rest assured you have already exacted your revenge because I actually did it.

So I find myself waiting in the locker room and Barbara comes bounding in, being all energetic in that way that she is (in hindsight I now find this oddly annoying although it wasn't at the time . . . she knew!), she plops a Gear bag in front of me full of goalie gear.

Does everyone remember a while back she was trying to unload some goalie gear she described as "really smelly?" OH MY GOSH! This was the stuff that DIDN'T smell bad?!?!

So I get past the odor and I find myself confronted with straps. I've never actually watched a goalie dress . . . I mean really, it's not nice to stare in a locker room right? But the straps! Straps upon straps--the last time I saw this many buckles, straps and connections I was 17 years old, on a date in the back seat of a 1967 Chevy. It was no easier then either. But I manage and I only had a couple of straps left over that I didn't know what to do with (you should see my TV stand).

I head for the ice and quickly discover that I am considerably wider than usual and no longer fit through doorways. I have to walk like I have poopy drawers and I still smell.

In spite of the challenges I made it to the ice without falling down. Once there it took me about 30 seconds to understand the logic behind goalie skates--they are flat for a reason! But I'm doing it. I'm playing goalie (sort of).

Once the game started, you will be gratified to know that my first attempt at shut out was thwarted the very first time somebody actually shot the puck at me. Incidentally, it was Jen Togstad who plays on my AHA team. She will pay later.

; )

It didn't take me long to discover that playing goalie on my knees saved me a lot of time and energy. Plus my feet hurt less. But I was determined to have the "goalie experience" and got up quite a bit and even managed to make a few saves.

I actually caught one in my glove only to have it pop right back out onto the stick of the shooter who promptly scored on me. Every time I look at Barbara she is on the bench laughing, which is okay, because so am I. t one point I take my gloves off and steam is coming out of them . . . STEAM!

Sweat is dripping off the end of my nose, it runs into my eyes and burns. Let's not even get started on my feet, my back and the place on my shoulder where the puck hit me. I think they scored a little over 30 goals. But I'm not sure and I lost count actually.

This is probably too long already but here are my conclusions: hot-hot showers were invented by a goalie. Ibuprofen was invented by a goalie. Ben-Gay was invented by a goalie (yes Tim, I owe you an apology). No goalie should ever have to pay to play. If your goalie is a guy buy him beer. If your goalie is a gal buy her beer and pretty things too.

And lastly I promise to never, never, never, never screen my goalie if I can possibly avoid it.

Oh yeah . . . WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING!?!?! Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/what-was-i-thinking JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/team-usa-vs-wcha-all-stars Guest blog by Terri Lee Paulsen

The U.S. Women's National Hockey Team dominated Friday night in their win over the WCHA All-Stars.

No surprise, as the national team has been practicing together for the past month, gearing up for their warm-up to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The Xcel Energy Center was their first stop on the 10-game Qwest Tour.

Team USA beat the All-Stars 6-1, scoring four goals in the first period, the first less than two minutes after the puck dropped. I was rooting for the underdog, but it quickly became apparent that they couldn't pull it off. The tape-to-tape passes, effortless give-and-goes and relentless back-checking proved just too much for the All-Stars. But boy was it fun to watch, regardless of who you were cheering for.

The national team is a lot more experienced. Six of its 23 players have Olympic experience, with two having been in two Olympics and two more having played in the three previous Olympic Games. As senior copy editor of Ice, a national hockey magazine for women, I've had the pleasure of meeting a number of the Team USA players. I've even seen Jenny Potter's bronze medal from Torino up close.

The U.S. Women's National Team will be returning to the Xcel Energy Center on December 30 to face its archrival Canada in what is likely to be a preview of a matchup that will take place in Vancouver (likely for a medal).

Team USA beat Canada to win the Hockey Canada Cup earlier this month in Vancouver. Expect Canada to come out fired up to beat Team U.S.A. on its soil.



A lifelong hockey fan, Terri Lee Paulsen started playing JMS at age 41, a few months after starting to play the sport. Now with nearly two years under her belt, she's coaching an Ice Mite team and sits on the board of the Waconia Hockey Association. She only wishes she could do backward crossovers as well as her 7-year-old daughter. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/team-usa-vs-wcha-all-stars JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/what-boyd-says I work with a sports geek, and it is so handy. Boyd is my "hockey Cliffs Notes;" whenever I want the shorthand on a game, I ask Boyd, who is somehow able to hold all the statistics, player and team histories in his head, and then distill them into a cogent analysis at the drop of a hat. Hooray for Boyd!

So I asked him about the game tonight. Here's the words straight from the Sports Sensei, though he made sure to note that, with nothing televised, he's relying on the radio and box scores (Boyd has his reputation to uphold!).

"The Blues are where Chicago was last year," he says. "They're an up and coming team, scrappy with young talent." Erik Johnson, our local boy from Bloomington (who has the uncommon distinction of being one of the few Americans chosen first in the NHL entry draft), plays with the Blues. "They're a nice young team," Boyd says. "They're a better team than people give them credit for."

The Blues made the playoffs last year -- third in the division and sixth in Western Conference. Besides our boy Erik and other youngsters, they have seasoned veterans Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk.

The Wild have won at home and lost on the road (though as we've noted before, the road teams have been mostly Aeros). Boyd thinks Martin Havlat is looking good, "but I'd like to see more [Petr] Sykora, see what kind of a role he's playing and how he's fitting in since we got him from Pittsburgh."

Wild head coach Todd Richards' new offensive strategy seems successful, Boyd notes. "I think [Benoit] Pouliot is really going to blossom under the new system," he says. Why wasn't Pouliot used more under former head coach Jacques Lemaire? "Scuttlebutt is that Lemaire didn't like Pouliot's work ethic and attitude," Boyd says, noting that his more aggressive style will benefit the team's new system. "We need a strong center."

"I think the Wild players will respond to Richards' more aggressive play," Boyd thinks, "Lemaire was kind of reining them in, but you could see at the end of last season when he just relaxed and said, 'Go ahead.' Everybody thought the Wild were done, but then suddenly they started scoring all these goals and we had a good end to the season. So I think the team can do it, and I think they're ready to do it."

But the more offensive strategy -- and no longer having defense camped out on the blue line a la Lemaire-- means we'll have more breakaways. "And we need solid goaltending to handle that," Boyd says. "It's a really good thing we didn't trade Harding -- when you're more offensive, you need a top flight goalie back there, somebody you know has a really good chance of stopping the breakaways." Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/what-boyd-says JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/the-wilds-new-system From the Blackhawks preseason game on Sunday (Sept. 20): new coach Richards with new strategy. The D were going in more--not glued to the blue like we have played in our more defensive system under Lemaire. And the forecheck led up the center pretty consistently.

We were forechecking a LOT more, really aggressive right from the get-go. While I like the defensive strategy, it was fun to watch the team be more assertive. In previous years, it has been frustrating to watch the Wild struggle against the really aggressive teams. Under Richards' new paradigm, I think we're going to see a very high-scoring season (though doubtless a high number of goals against, as well).

So... last night's game was up the center. Up the center. Up the center. The Blackhawks caught on and started applying some more pressure in the second; the Wild looked a little rattled and started passing the puck to where someone should have been. But of course they rallied and hooray for another shutout at home!

It will be interesting to see the Blues game this Thursday and compare to what we saw last night.

Also, is it just me or does the mascot have a mullet?? Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/the-wilds-new-system JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/tournament-thoughts I'm pondering the different gradients of the hockey experience, and where the tournament fits in all this.

What is the value of a preseason tournament? Obviously, it's a chance to get the legs back in shape, suss out the winter competition.

For some people who have never played a "real" game before, with refs and clocks and all the trimmings, it's a lifetime dream come true, in one moment.

I know lots of hockey parents speak of their kids' tournaments, which seem pretty constant throughout the season. Carting them around to play all over the Cities and beyond.

What's the point? Not being sarcastic, just looking for the intrinsic value. Why do people like tournaments so much? A chance to play teams you don't normally play? A very, very mini-season?

I used to do the fall preseason invitational, until the AHA started doing it (you have NO idea how much work a tourney is... or if you do, I'm very, very sorry for you). And there's that Walleye Chop-Your-Head-Off in the spring.

Maybe there's room and desire (?) for another tournament? Thoughts? Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/tournament-thoughts JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/your-teams-first-year The first year out of beginner school (or C3 in WHAM) is tough.

Every team has a different character, and usually you won't know what that will be--what the individual components will be--until you've actually played a season together.

In the AHA beginner school, you go into a locker room and take a jersey out of the big box. Everyone who wandered into Locker Room 1 is now a team... and everyone who wandered into Locker Room 2 is another team.

Not exactly scientific, or based on ability or geographic location. I've heard that the league will move players during beginner school, to make the teams more balanced. This didn't happen in 2002 when I did the school.

And so your teammates aren't people you've CHOSEN, they're an accidental connection. Teams fall on a gradient between "fun" and "serious;" most people don't want to be on one too far on either end of the spectrum (and we all know a team that is either too hardcore or too lackadaisical to cut it).

But in that locker room--or when you're talking to people about your WHAM C3 team--you have no idea what people are like on the ice. How they'll be on the bench, in the locker room.

That first year is tough. I was on the Bruins for the 02-03 season. We went 0-17. I think we actually scored 5 goals the entire SEASON, and that was because the league gave us some C1 level guy. I shudder to think what his season must have been like.

Our beginner school had only two teams, and the OTHER team (the "Ice Hounds," run by Rick G______) sneakily asked all our better players to jump up to D1 with them. Great. We faced an entire season in D2 with the dregs of beginner school. It was a nightmare.

Whatever your first season is, it won't be worse than ours. But it's still tough. Even though the AHA has made great strides in making D2 a good place for teams straight out of beginner, it's still tough because the learning curve is so steep.

And so you have to work against the cycle: your team loses, so people get discouraged and don't show up. Which means you play shorthanded and tired, which means you lose, which means people get discouraged and don't show up...

Focus on the small victories. Try to stay positive. The first year is still exhilarating: you're playing hockey!
(and next year, when you know more about the game, and organization, and personalities, and all that stuff that makes a team, next year will be better)

How was YOUR team's first year as wet-behind-the-ears newbies? We want the gruesome details. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/your-teams-first-year JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/team-jerseys While some lucky players don't need to buy new jerseys this season, some folks are joining teams, some teams are new and some are replacing old styles.

Are you getting a new jersey? What style--is it the expensive kind with lace-up neck or practice weight with just a screen on the front?

What kinds of prices? Home and away with socks--what are people paying for their uniforms this season?

Do you have them yet, or just ordered? Seems like every year somebody gets stuck waiting and waiting, and has to attend the first game wearing plain practice jerseys.

What does your jersey look like???
You know you're thrilled with it. Post here so we all can see and comment. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/team-jerseys JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/a-drama-free-zone The comments on the last blog about captaining a league team and the forum thread about referees really got me thinking.

We've all--unfortunately--had experience with someone who has lost perspective and turned a situation into their personal drama, ignoring the team and the common goal.

Whether it's league play or JMS or pond hockey in the park, we play to have FUN.
The drama is pitiful, but we all know some unbelievable but true stories.

I just don't understand how adults can forget themselves so completely and act so shamefully. I can't decide which is worse: people who get so carried away that their actions are out of control, or the ones whose over the top responses are a deliberate CHOICE.

Either way, nobody wants to be on a team with these players. How do you know when they'll blow up? How can you predict their devolution into irrationality? Are you always walking on eggshells, avoiding the drama trigger? And why on earth keep dealing with it over and over? If you've seen the behavior once, you will again. Period.

This is a GAME, fer cryin out loud. This is not life and death. For all that I love hockey, this is not the most important thing in your life, or it shouldn't be.

Having passion about a sport is fantastic--necessary, even--but knowing where to draw the line isn't just important, it's crucial. I am astonished when otherwise reasonable people let themselves go over something as small as adult rec hockey.

Hockey is the coolest game, but it IS just a game. When I hear about people whose self-worth is so wrapped up in their hockey identity that it makes them act irrationally... it's just embarrassing. The point is the game; nobody will thank a teammate for creating drama. Ever.

When it's time to choose teams, people remember. Players who continually change situations into their own personal drama will indeed find themselves screaming on stage--alone.

Intensity is good. Irrationality is not. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/a-drama-free-zone JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/team-leadership-types I've been thinking about this one for a while. Used my social anthropology skills to "unpack" the situation and came up with some observations.

Every team has two kinds of leaders.

I'm not talking about the C and the As, I'm talking about the leadership roles.

There's the captain-coach, who directs the team on the ice. Drills at practice, setting lines, deciding when to pull the goalie. The captain-coach can be more captain than coach (the internal leader: "All right people, I know we can DO THIS! Let's go!") or more coach than captain (the external leader: "I want you to GET IN THERE and kick some ass!").

But the point is, the captain-coach is the on-ice team leadership. This is who people look to, who they emulate. The captain-coach is who to watch to become a better hockey player.

The other team leadership role is the captain-manager. This poor soul (oh, how I sympathize) makes sure the team has ice, that everyone is registered with the league and has a jersey... that there are enough, but not too many, skaters for each game. All the behind-the-scenes stuff.

The captain-manager makes it possible for the captain-coach to HAVE ice to do her or his leadership "thing." Because I've noticed that usually these two skill sets don't intersect. The captain-coach person is usually CLUELESS about organization, and the captain-manager is usually the person with a lot of drive but not a lot of hockey experience. (And all that excitement has to get channeled somewhere, right? I give you Exhibit A: JMS Hockey.)

It doesn't matter which one has the C or the A on the jersey; these roles don't go with a particular letter (though I was on a team once that joked about giving our treasurer neither C nor A but a $ on his jersey.). The captain-coach and the captain-manager work together--sometimes without even realizing it--to provide the team with all the background work necessary to make the hockey venue happen, and then educates and leads the team effectively once they take that ice.

Any other observations about roles in hockey team leadership?
I deliberately didn't include "enforcer" because I don't think that's a leadership position (and neither is "cherry picker"). Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/team-leadership-types JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/six-weeks-out What are you doing to get ready for hockey season?

Any special preseason prep or rituals? The ceremonial yearly hosing down, airing out of your hockey gear?

If you need a team, check out the team recruit forums for players seeking a team, or teams seeking players.

Need some equipment? Check out the marketplace.

And for getting your bod back in shape, see the many options on the coaching and training page.

Speaking of shape, I'm NOT in it. A terrible spring followed by a strung-out summer means I've not eaten, or chosen to tempt palate with high-calorie stuff, too many times. Argh--my own stupid choices and I should have known I'd pay for them in the end. Well, hindsight is 20/20, and I won't make that mistake again. Begone things which are not good for me!!! I wrested back on the right track and now I'm in my lovely house--with lovely wholesomeness again, and fresh vegetables!

The biggest thing I'll be doing before hockey season--besides eating crudites--is jogging. Which both trims down my weight (easier to skate fast without those extra pounds, yes?) and gets me back into something resembling cardio fitness.

Anybody else doing preseason stuff? Any preseason rituals, besides the "late August team scramble"? Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/six-weeks-out JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/best-hockey-music 80s hair bands.

No question about it.
Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Poison, Bon Jovi, Guns 'n Roses, Van Halen, THIS is music for the locker room before your hockey game.

Seriously, just listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVxiHC9AJQw

Who cares what they're singing? Of course it's silly. Of course it doesn't make sense. It doesn't have to! This is ULTIMATE HOCKEY MUSIC.

Ahh, Def Leppard. I have spent more minutes than I'd like to count trying to figure out these lyrics... "Pour some sugar on me, c'mon fry me up" -- okay, who does their frying in sugar??
And I swear that one line says, "Desi let a woman in a one-man show." Please don't spoil my mystified ignorance by posting the real lyrics.

Other excellent 80s hair band hockey songs:

Guns n' Roses: Paradise City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf0rIV6j2H4

Bon Jovi: You Give Love a Bad Name
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GccfzxHIXaY

THIS is music for the locker room. THIS is music that belongs with hockey.

One thing to ponder about these 80s hair bands: for all their hard-rockin' style, why is it that their biggest successes are the ballads? Poison's Every Rose Has Its Thorn or Guns n' Roses Patience or Bon Jovi's I'll Be There for You.

As a personal alternate to 80s hair bands, I will do Beethoven's chorale from An die Freude, but probably not many would agree with my classical predilection. Hear it here, bad pics but best part of the music. Yes, this was in Die Hard. Another good one is Carl Orff's O Fortuna from Carmina Burana.
Both An die Freude ("Ode to Joy") and Orff's hymn to changing nature of fortune are certainly applicable to how I feel before a hockey game.

Okay, so as a child of the 80s, I feel hair bands are PERFECT for pregame rockin out. But what about people the generation before and after? What do guys in their 40s, 50s, like for "best hockey music"? What about folks in their 20s? I'm interested to hear. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/best-hockey-music JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/discount-tix-for-elite-games The Xcel Energy Center is hosting two games for the women of Team USA as they prep for Vancouver 2010 Olympics. And apparently they're in Blaine, until Monday!

Why should you watch elite women's hockey?

Because they play your game.

No checking, just fast, clean play--like we aspire to. The NHL is fun to watch, but we will never play that game. The elite no-check game is what we should be watching to emulate.

Right now, you can see Team USA play in Blaine as the coaches winnow down to the final roster. Details here.

On September 25, they will play at the Xcel Energy Center, versus the WCHA women's all stars, 7 p.m. And on December 30, they will face longtime, big-time rival, Team Canada, at 7 p.m.

This will be EXCELLENT hockey, and the Xcel Energy Center e-mailed me details about discount tickets for both games. The online offers will expire seven days before the game, so buy early and take the kids to see some GREAT hockey.

For discount tickets, see https://secure.xcelenergycenter.com/GT/default.asp?Group=JMSH93726. They will be mailed to you in two to three days, and feel free to share the link with others.

You should go! Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/discount-tix-for-elite-games JMS Hockey blog http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/scoop-nhl-preseason-scrimmages-at-local-rink-shhhh I have super cool news about ice all this week, local high-profile NHLers will be kicking the rust off their skates in a relatively hush-hush ultra-elite, invitation only pick-up right here in the Twin Cities.

Of course, this is all heresay culled from an overheard conversation.
Someone who has a day off this week should go check it out and report back to us VERY interested folks.

Click "read more" below to get details on who (Parrish, Boogaard, Veilleux, Backstrom etc.) and where and when.


So I was at St. Louis Park this Friday and I heard some guys talking about the event. Apparently this week, on SLP's west rink (the big one), Monday through Friday, the big names will be playing from 10.30 to noon.

There's a great viewing gallery so I bet you can see things up close and personal. I debated passing this along--PLEASE, if you go, PLEASE don't act like a twit. Or if you do, don't mention how you learned about this event. We don't want to disturb the doubtless easily-spooked NHLers in their habitat and force them to forage elsewhere for their ice.

Names I heard mentioned (furiously scribbling away): Mark Parrish, Derek Boogaard, Stephane Veilleux, Nicklas Backstrom, former Gopher Barry Tallackson, Matt Smaby, Stu Bickel, Jim Slater. And more--just didn't have time, or couldn't make out names (or can't read my notes).

When I asked the rink attendant for more information, he said, "No comment," which every good journalist knows means you're on to something.

If you go, post here about what it was like, who you saw, what the hockey looked like, if you drooled on the glass, etc. Barbara Garn http://www.jmshockey.com/blog/articles/scoop-nhl-preseason-scrimmages-at-local-rink-shhhh JMS Hockey blog