3 on 3 - Franklin Park

My one and only goal for the night was to have fun. I didn’t care if I scored a goal, played well, skated well, won, etc. If I had fun, the night would be successful for me. I had a great group that wanted to play, so I was fairly confident it’d work out.

I stepped on to the ice, which was soaked, and made sure that the things I focused on toward the end of the season were being done. Things such as bending my knees, staying low, and keeping my balance are were key to my improvement.

Surprisingly, I felt good when playing. I expected to be gassed, unstable, and slow. In reality, I felt as if I didn’t take any time off. This is strange because I have rust if I don’t play for a week, and not playing for a month I figured it would be exponential.

I think that my passing could have been better, and so could have my timing. Multiple times, I was told that I had more time than I realized. Thinking there’s pressure on you when there isn’t will cause you to make bad decisions. I find myself in those situations often. I believe it is a confidence issue.

Where I did well was putting pressure on others – especially if they had the puck. I was strong along the wall as I usually am, and I made sure no one got anything easy.

Anyway, everyone had a blast at the skate, including me. It was a success. I would like to set up another in the very near future.

Puck Pros Session with Christian - 2013-10-15

It had been four months since I was at Puck Pros. When I saw that, I was disappointed in myself. I wanted to get there more. I wanted to be there regularly this summer, but the summer had me on the ice a lot more. Anyway, the past few visits, some of the messages were the same - get stronger legs. I decided to do just that. I started going to the gym and working on it. I have felt a difference.

Today I worked with Christan. It was a lot more different than my past sessions. Not surprisingly, we worked mostly on skating. But we worked on the core parts of skating that are used when you handle the puck, when you shoot, when you turn, and so on. To me these are the foundation of the game, and if you can't do it, you're not going to progress.

The weight transfer is something that I'm still not doing right, that I need to get down right. I need to take a wider stance, bend my knees and get low, and when I push off I need to straighten my leg that I push off with.

Perhaps the biggest thing Christan did for me was all mental. He called me a very "mono" player. I do one thing right at a time, and when I focus on something different, I lose the first thing. Bending my knees? Not going to do the toe snap. Doing a Full extension - not going to be in the forward push. I need to focus on pulling it all together.

The other thing that really helped me was seeing the state Christian was in. He wasn't his normal energetic self. He was in a calm mellow state, but when he'd talk about the game, when he'd see me improve, he'd show an incredible amount of passion. Later he explained he too just started going to the gym. And it made me glad, because I'm in a similar state as him. He's a little fatigued, but when that love for the game kicks in, he was ready. And the longer I've been going to the gym, the less tired I feel, but the passion only increases.

Three things to take away:

• Weight transfer - Straighten my leg when pushing off, get low, wide stance, bend my knees.
• When turning, with my inside skate, be on the outside edge - and align my feet versus putting them next to each other. 
• Keep my head level when transferring my weight. It should go side to side. Not up and down.

Coyote Practice with Goats

This rink was extremely hot. I cannot remember the last time I felt so warm on the ice. I know I was not the only one. As a result, the ice was incredibly soft. Amazes me how big of a difference this rink is compared to the places I typically play at.

I felt uncomfortable from the time I stepped on the ice until the time I got off. Nothing I did could get me feeling good. The warm up drills this coach had us do were different from what I've done in the past. I liked them. He would have us skate 5 full strides, glide, then do a tight turn towards one direction and go back. It really makes you focus on your strides and turns. He then had us do the same, only he would blow the whistle quickly, stop, and go in the opposite direction. There were some really good skaters there for this type of coach. It made me a little nervous because I was afraid that if I did something wrong, I'd get trampled.  I skated so hard during one of these drills that I lost an edge, fell and rolled  quite a bit. Luckily I didn't trip, but man I was tired.

The one coach then took us and we did cycle drills. I messed up a few times, but to me, it ultimately lead to keep possession of the puck, and keep yourself as an option. This is something I've always tried to do. The coach was trying to enforce the idea of going to specific areas where you'll go to score goals.  It was interesting in the idea that if you have the puck, then swing around to the other side, you need to make yourself an option. It is something I could work on.

We went to the other side and focused a lot on one on ones. This is something I was thrilled about. In one of my recent Coyote games, I got burned on the same one on one multiple times. So as much as I wanted to play defense on these one on one situations, I only got one defensive opportunity against the caliber of player that I really needed to work against. I did a good job against him, but he really didn't make a good move.

The scrimmage was short, but I did very well during it. I didn't get too aggressive as I knew the opponents were much better than us. At the same time, I did help correct one of the wingers in his positioning in the break out. Once he was in the correct position, I hit him with a great pass.

Stick and Puck at Bensenville

I wasn't really prepared for a skate. I stayed up late the night before, didn't get a lot of rest, was hungry, but it was just a stick and puck. As I was getting dressed I thought about what I wanted to work on for me, and I wanted to work on my slap shot. I took probably 20 of them, and they were disappointing. I left huge holes in the ice, the puck went slow, and didn't lift off the ice. I know you're supposed to be hitting behind the puck, but I don't see the benefit in my shot. I understand the theory, but it doesn't translate well for me. My crappy snap shot is way harder, more accurate, and a faster release than my slap shot. Perhaps it is why I never take a slap shot. I then worked on just basic skating with the puck and stick handling for a few minutes. I focused on keeping the puck closer to the shaft of my stick rather than the toe, which is what I used to do.

My goalie came out, and I worked on aiming for specific  points from about 40 feet out. I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but I just didn't have the energy I should have. Shame on me. I did one quick lap at full speed without the puck, focusing on bending my knees, and called it a day, then went home.

Coyotes vs. Bulldogs

So much happened this game that I don't even know where to start. The entire team had energy from the minute they stepped into the locker room, until the time they left the parking lot. Again it was a full bench, as I suspect it will be every game for the Coyotes this year. I will be plying defense. 

Right from my first shift, I focused on the things I worked on this off season, and it immediately paid off. The rink was still incredibly wet and trying to carry the puck or make a pass would not have predictable results. As a result, as soon as I got that puck, I put it on the glass and out the zone. I didn't even care that I didn't hit the winger with the pass. I iced it once, but again, we cleared the zone. Once the water was gone and frozen, I didn't have to do it any more.

After that, I had another shift or two where I was just kind of playing conservative. I didn't try anything, and I just kept it simple. There was one point where I was standing at their blue line, and had the chance to pick up the puck 10 feet in front of me, but saw that a Bulldog was close to it, so I let it go. I was then kicking myself. I knew that the team would work hard to fix the mistake if I made it. I knew my defensive partner would have covered for me. From then on, it was a different game. I carried the puck incredibly well, I got a few good shots off, joined the rush on more than one occasion, and I felt like I was never putting the team at risk for an odd man rush going in the other direction. The entire team built confidence in each other and it just snowballed. At the end of the first, it was tied at 2, but I felt like we were much better than them.

Once I got more confidence with the team, my goalie, my partner and looked at the situation, I wasn't afraid to fail. If I failed, it isn't a big deal. I took chances. I tried moves that I did in practice, and it paid off. Scoring chances, stuff attempts. Good quick shots all helped generate something for the Coyotes. I was thoroughly impressed with how the team moved the puck. I had at least three good shots on net, no assists, no goals, a decent hit, and I feel that I played as well as I could have asked. I did make some bad passes though, and I'm not worried about them. 

Confidence is so huge. Being able to take the skills I worked on this summer, and use them in the game means so much to me. So many little things happened this game that worked for me, and I can't write about them all. I don't think there was one shift that I would consider "bad". The next Coyote game is Monday. I'm excited.  The Coyotes would win this one 7-2.

Chris Imes Practice - Skating Review - 2011-10-17

It is no secret that I've not been thrilled the past six weeks with my performance with the Goaldiggers. I suspect that it is because I haven't been on the ice more than once a week lately.

As a result, I decided to head to Center Ice, and attend a class with a few other Coyote players. The class was run by Chris Imes. I've heard about his classes, but don't know much about them or him.

I loved that he had a mic on, and I could actually hear him. Usually I can't hear anything but loud noises, making it hard to do the drill. His drills were great as well. They were unique, and enforced what he wanted us to work on.

The session I attended was working on skating, something I could always use help on. I was exhausted after a few minutes, but that's expected. I still have a long way to go to get used to stopping and turning.

Tight turns was something I'm not strong with, and one area we worked on. I sometimes just don't feel comfortable putting weight all on one skate, but this is practice.

At the end, they had us scrimmage. I played defense for most of it because I wanted to get used to the blue line. I made one pass where I got lucky. I threw it across the ice to the opposite board way up high. As I was releasing, I saw the forechecker jump up and try to intercept. It is one of those things where you know it is a disaster about to happen but can't do anything about it. Luckily he missed the interception.

I got hammered from behind, and I was not a happy camper about it. It was the definition of from behind. Luckily I was away from the boards, and I didn't get hurt.

The entire time, neither side scored. The buzzer rang, and he gave everyone one more shift. I didn't skate hard on the blue line so I decided to skate as a forward. We took the puck out, and I darted over to the left wing as the puck went behind me. The winger gained the zone, fired low and I was able to hammer the rebound home from the crease. It was just positioning on my part. The winger deserved the goal.

I felt I did well. I got some good experience on the blue line, got burned a couple of times, and know better now.

Goaldiggers vs. Chiefs 2011-10-08

Tonight made me appreciate matching jerseys. Typically the Goaldiggers wear blue, but tonight, our opponents had blue, and we switched to nearly every color of the rainbow. Very frustrating to me, but no big deal.

The team we were playing against were a little bit lower than Piranha level, meaning they really had no chance. The problem is, the Goaldiggers saw that they were by far more talented, and played down to their level. We got lazy, made bad passes and bad choices. As the game went on, we did get smarter, but still made stupid mistakes.

The team decided to use this team as a way to get in shape and practice smart decisions after the first period. The team never practices together, or has really strategy talk, so this was a good practice for us.

I tried to get back to skating like I used to, where I would fore check as hard as I could. It had mixed results. One play I broke up their pass, another resulted in a great stretch pass, but one resulted in some contact. I had gotten off balance some how, and ended up just kind of tripping over the defensemen after he made a pass. I didn't fall but I stretched my neck out pretty good on his body, and it is still sore 36 hours later. I also focused on staying on the point better and not going down so low in my own zone.

At one point in the second period, I was a part of a good cycle. Five or six times we were able to pass the puck along the boards, into the slot and generate some type of chance. I was set up in the corner. We tried to get that going again, just as a practice, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen.

The game reminded me of what it is like to play against less experienced players. I have to play more cautiously for my own safety. Players having less experience make strange choices, and can ultimately lead to injury. A prime example happened in the third. I had picked up the puck at the top of the circle. I went in slowly to try and look for a spot to pass to. I heard the defensemen say that someone was coming, and made my choice right then. As I was releasing the shot, my stick wasn't lifted, I wasn't bumped, or anything I was expecting. No, instead I was tripped from behind as the skater slid on the ice and took out my legs. I assume he was back checking hard, tried to stop and tripped. Not a dirty play, but something you have to be alert for. Playing on the Coyotes, this is something I will have to keep in mind.

I had one assist on a goal off of a face off, and a few shots. The Goaldiggers one 10-3 or 11-3, something like that. We could have easily run up the score, but we were more or less playing keep away at specific times in the game.

Coyotes Practice - 2008-08-28

The last few Piranha games, we've been short on players. I decided I better start getting used to playing on the Blue line for the good of the team. The Coyotes are a team who struggle offensively, so playing defense in their practice would be ideal. We worked on breakouts, and I acted as a fore checker. I'm already fine with this, but it was nice to get some practice on skating back hard, turning, and playing defense one on one. The bigger drill for me was a triangle passing drill. It really helped me with my positioning and anticipation of a pass. Racing down into the corners, and then trying to get the puck out is more exhausting than I remember from previous times on the blue line.

Skating backwards and stopping are two weaknesses of mine. When going forward stop decently on my right foot, and I'm very hit or miss on the left. I think I found part of my problem today. When I skate, my left foot is always on an angle, where as my right foot is always strait. When I go to stop, my foot isn't square, and as a result, I can't push off on it. Without visuals, I cannot explain it correctly, but as I fiddled with the position of my left foot, it helped.

Rat Hockey at Seven Bridges - 2011-08-21

After my disgusting play with the Piranhas on Wednesday, which I suspected it to be from lack of playing regularly, I knew I needed to get a good skate in. For the first time in a while, I decided to lace up my skates at Seven Bridges.

The rink has holes in the roof. This makes the ice the best in the winter, and awful in the summer. Today was no exception to the rule. There were a lot of players from the college a few miles away, and they're always really good players, and recognize the struggling players and work with them. It is nice that they don't go their hardest at players like me.

At one point, one of the more talented players was coming down against me. he made some ridiculous move that when I tried to lift his stick, I just fell over and embarrassed myself while he went and scored. I rarely ever play D, so I'm learning what to watch with the player and looking at his stick to determine where the puck will be.

I had a few chances that were from long passes and speed, which helped me, but they gave me those opportunities.

Most of the time we did 4 on 4 with no subs, so it was a good skate and it wore me out. I used to be able to do that without stopping. Now that I haven't been playing as much, I can't. Either way, it surely will help my endurance.

Coyotes Practice 2011-08-13

It had been over a week and half since I had laced up my skates. I was excited as hell to get on the ice. I knew I'd be late, so missing my normal warm up routine would have to do. I joined in the drills early, trying to focus on my skating stride, and doing things correctly, rather than quickly. I was more focused on my technique than actually beating the goalie, or anything.

It caused a lot of trouble. I focused on my skating stride, getting accurate shots, and it isn't what I'm used to. Bending at the knees, griping the stick lower down is what I'm supposed to do. It just takes getting used to. It did help me lift the puck better. It did help me increase my speed. What it did not do is help with my turning. It'll just take getting used to.

The scrimmage did not go well. It felt like everyone was standing still to me. No one was moving their feet - including me. When I'm a guest at a team's practice, I like to make sure that the team gets their practice and chances, but I couldn't help out anyone. It felt I was invisible because everything was moving so slow.

So I felt I didn't work really hard, it was more about technique and looking. I need a lot of work there, so I think it was a decent practice for me.

Goaldiggers Game - 2011-07-31

I took a nap after my afternoon skate, and woke up a couple of hours before puck drop to eat and get ready for the game. I went to verify what time the game started, and realized that I was looking at the end time. The game started in less than an hour. I quickly took the dog out, threw my stuff in my bag and got to the rink. The team was just taking the ice as I got there, and we were really short with me being the 7th guy there. I got ready, went to put on my helmet and... it wasn't there. As I was scurrying around, another player came, and I had to run to my car to get my wallet, and buy a new helmet.

My first shift was the start of the 2nd period, and we were down by 4. I knew the team would need a boost as they had to be exhausted, and already down by so many is tough. I set out to just disrupt chances on my first shift. I did fairly well too, directly to contributing to a scoring chance, and a goal. I felt like we were able to start a comeback with two fresh players.

Then I started to slow down. I just didn't have the energy to go full out against their two top players that were obviously ringers. I knew if I did go full out, they'd just go around me without problems, and I'd be extremely tired later in the game.

Other than that, There honestly wasn't a lot worth mentioning.

This was a good experiment for me though. I've often considered doing morning stick and puck sessions on game days when I'm not working. I know if I were to do those, I'd skate hard and work up a good sweat. This was a perfect example of a morning skate, then game. I think that I felt warmed up, but without a full bench, I didn't have the rest I needed while playing.

The being unprepared for games is becoming a problem though. I need to be more focused and prepared for games. No more showing up to games so that I don't get the full warm up experience. I need a few minutes before taking the ice to mentally prepare.

Goalie Training - 2011-07-31

A goalie friend of mine needed a couple of shooters for his training session he had planned. I've always been curious what his training session was like, so I accepted his invitation. While I didn't work very hard (the focus being on him), I did pick up a lot from the coach, and had a lot of good practice with my turns, and shots. I'm glad it was a light skate for me as I had a big game that night.

It was interesting to see how the training went. It was neat to see him improve dramatically over the 30 minutes that I worked with him. I would skate down, take a shot, and we'd stop for a minute while the coach told him what he did well, or didn't do so well.

My backhand is weak. any time I went to it, it was just a pathetic attempt at a shot. I used to work on it by playing with a left handed stick, but lately I haven't worked on it at all. I would miss shots, whiff, and it made me feel bad as they don't help the goalie practice.

3 on 3 Scrimmage - 2011-06-24

Another 3 on 3 scrimmage. I was foolish and stayed up really late after playing the night before. I didn't drink a lot of water, but I did eat well. I showed up, ready to go, and just felt tired and fatigued. Not having a regular sub really made me feel it.

I often forget how quickly players improve, and I've played with all of them before. Sure enough, they all seemed better than I last remembered them. Three other Piranhas were there, but two of them were playing goalie. Still, it is better than nothing. I'm getting concerned about their conditioning because as a team, we haven't played since March. I know many only play on one team.

While I jumped from side to side to keep everyone fresh, it was interesting to see how players work together. Two players were from the Mastodon, and worked incredibly well together. Well spaced out, good passes, patient. The other Piranha and I moved with each other well, but still struggled to make each other better. One player who I played with at this year's ironman tournament seemed to work well with me more than anyone else. I wonder if it is because were both inline hockey players before ice. Even though this was our second time playing together, we cycled well, we knew where to go for the pass, and in general read each other very well.

At the end of the night, I was tired. I still felt that I needed to get in better shape, so I skated around the rink hard for a few minutes. I focused on my crossovers and just bringing my legs back under my body so I could make longer strides.

Force / Mastodons Practice 2011-06-23

It had been a week and half since I last been on ice. The break was nice, but it goes against my recent ideals of play frequently and play well. Tonight followed the pattern. I practiced with the Force and Mastodons in HNA.

Watching the ice be resurfaced, I was quickly reminded that it was June and ice sucks from June to September. Bensinville is the worst of the worst. During warm ups, the puck was sliding like it was on smooth concrete. Even then still bumpy. You really had to work to move the puck. As the night went on that got better but holes developed in the ice. Good skaters would just fall for what just seemed no good reason.

The Force did a drill for about 15 minutes that I found confusing at first because it was a 3 on 2, with everyone wearing the same colored jersey, and I didn't know anyone, or the drill very well. After my third attempt, I did better but I dropped the puck a lot.

The scrimmage was interesting. It was clear the Mastodons were intense, which makes me wonder how they play in games. They played hard the whole night, and I liked that because they were the less experienced team. The force had a few players that could move, but I was able to keep up. I played center, which was nice because I had planned on perhaps switching there sometime down the road. I was so tired though that I couldn't keep up. The ice just seemed bad, and the Mastodon's physicality was just too much for me after not playing for a while. Several times I would try and stop but the ice was just so jagged that I couldn't get the blade over. There were multiple times that my laziness and poor ice just caused me to trip in addition to me not picking my skate up cleanly.

I wasn't going to play physical. Not when I'm tired, in something meaningless on bad ice. I was chasing down a puck and a Mastodon was going after it as well. I let up and let him pick it up. But when he went to stop, he went flying and dropped the puck. I took my time, picked it up and passed it to the winger who bounced it off the post.

It was a good workout because of my positioning, and how difficult it was to skate. It was a great reminder of what the Piranha's summer league will be like. I enjoyed playing against the Mastodons, and with the force.

Practice and Drills 2011-06-02

I hadn't played in over a week because of the holiday weekend and I was under the weather. It was really unfortunate as I was playing really well. Playing multiple times a week seems to be a good way for me to keep playing well. When I was invited to a beginner team practice, I took it.

These practices usually feature a lot of drills, and those help me out a lot. I look at them as a way to focus on the basics and improve on specific aspects of my game that may only get used once or twice per game, making it difficult to get better. The first drill was a crossover and stopping drill. I felt crossovers I was fairly strong at, but stopping needs work. These crossovers are the ones though with just your feet, and I'm not any good at those. I really struggled with getting my foot over the other foot. It is strange because I feel my crossovers are fairly strong when I skate. This drill tore up the ice, so by the end of it, it was really difficult. We focused on tight turns, and using the boards to make practices. I'm not sure if I was just tired or something else, but I feel I didn't perform up to par on this task either. The puck would get away from me when I'd turn, my passes along the boards were soft, and my breakaway attempts were average.

The scrimmage I played ok in. I didn't go full out always as some skaters were still struggling, and I want their practice to help them get better. There was one skater who was smaller than me on nearly every aspect who did bounce off me, but he was arguably one of their best players.

It was a good practice for me after a week long layoff. Served as a reminder to keep playing

Chicago Bruins Adult Hockey Class 2010-12-08

I was very excited about this practice to be on the ice with an old friend. He and I hit the ice, I did my stretching and skating drills. I feel my skating in a strait line has gotten significantly better. Occasionally I'll catch a rut and get off balance, but it is time for me to now resharpen my skates.

The bag of pucks was once again dumped in the neutral zone, and I did the stick handling of each of them as fast as I could. They'd get away, and I didn't have to chase them. A good feeling. I tried a couple of toe drags, and wasn't able to connect on them even at a medium speed. What this does is it helps you get used to just gliding the puck across the ice. I try to go as far apart as I can, at a reasonable speed.

During drills, it was reinforced that the weakest part of my game is the skating. Edgework and balance was our focus. I am not able to skate balanced. I'm not able to fall balanced, or get up in a balanced way. I need to work on my strength and balance. I'm going to get out my balance board again.

The scrimmage, I played D for the first 70% of the night. It was clear that I need to work on my patience and positioning. I don't play D often, so it is no wonder why I don't do as well as I'd like. In my defense though, the forwards just kept skating backwards on top of me. We basically let them take it into our zone no problem. Once I moved up, I made sure we fore checked, and it caused a lot of problems for the other team. All three forwards had some experience and worked well together for a good 3 minutes of zone time. I would dig in corners, a bigger guy had no problem shooting the puck, and the other winger would constantly be picking up rebounds.

I think the intensity annoyed the opponents because we weren't letting them bring up the puck. The problem is those guys were on a team together. If we just let them skate it up, how does that help them? It doesn't. And that is the problem with a scrimmage in general. The areas that are not practiced will never be improved on. And it shows in my game. As a result, I try and fore check. I try to move players out of the crease and I don't mind some contact.

Anyway, an okay night for me. Not my strongest performance, but definitely helpful. The drills showed me what I need to work on.

Chicago Bruins - Adult Beginner Hockey Class - 2010-12-01

I missed the Monday practice because of a cold. I'm not ready to push myself into playing when sick, and the rest did me well. Wednesday I was ready hit the ice, or at least I thought I was.

I've had nothing but good experiences the past two weeks on ice. I had no reason to not expect it to continue. But I felt I just didn't do well at practice. My skating was a little bit off, and my stick handling was atrocious.

Part of it was I believe mental. A goalie made a comment, and I took it the wrong way. I make similar comments all the time, and I do it in jest. I don't know why it bothered me so much. It eventually ended up me being angry instead of challenged after that. I was more focused on impressing than improving. A bad approach in that situation.

The scrimmage went poorly as well. I felt completely out of shape. I know I hadn't skated in a week, and that is my own fault. Stupid Thanksgiving. I played on the blue line, and I just felt out of place. Any time a winger would come down the ice, I'd let him come down, instead of keeping him to the outside. I'm also not very comfortable going backwards.

After the first shift or two, I noticed I was having a bad night and was determined to work to turn it around. Bad move. I ended up tripping a guy (but he deserved it - let us take it out of our zone when you're playing scrimmages like we were). I also used my body in a good way along the boards to prevent the puck from coming any deeper into our own zone. It was too rough of a play though for the situation.

My skating has improved. I've been reading a little bit about power skating, and I can feel a difference. I won two key battles to loose pucks because I was the faster guy. But I couldn't control the puck at that speed to get it off the boards, or to stop and take control. Big issue.

I did make improvements on stopping though. In the skate around I focused on that for a little while, and I could feel myself do it right. Stumbled a lot, but it is part of practice.

HNA Practice - 2010-02-16

A few weeks ago I joined the HNA beginner's class. Based on what I had been told about it from friends and people who ran the league, it sounded like a solid step for me. I made the first two weeks, but I then missed two weeks (one for a Goaldiggers game, and then another for my lung).

When I look at the other 40 something players out there, I know they're all at about the same level as me and that really makes me feel better. I am more likely to talk to someone, or just be more outgoing.

Anyway, this week was a practice. It was probably what I should have done before I went into a full game like last night. It was very light paced to my tastes, but enough to really improve. It is clear that I need to improve on my skating. Crossovers are just not coming easy to me. Stopping is still a problem. I'd like to be a faster skater too. We also ran some drills passing to each other and taking shots on the goalie. My favorites were the 2 on 1s where I played defense. But I noticed I knew what to do, but I didn't do it. I think that's a common problem for me, doing what I know I should be doing.

We made three teams, and I volunteered to captain one of them, but someone else had already taken some of the responsibilities. Instead, I became an alternate. I'm looking forward to it. I think forcing myself to be a leader will not only help me be more vocal in games, but to build some confidence and social skills away from the ice which I admit aren't that strong.