The Game(s) I'll Never Forget - Part III - Rising Star
Joining the leagues was big time. The days of playing in city parks and basketball courts were over; now I would play in actual rinks with real boards, player benches, penalty boxes, face-off circles, etc. It began small when I played at the Davis League, which was an outdoor basketball court converted to tiny hockey rink. I joined a team, played a season there, and developed a reputation as a prolific scorer with my new run-and-gun style of hockey.
It didn't start out like that, though. I was undoubtedly the smallest skater on the team; I played with a bunch of brutes. Every game would end up being 10-1 or so and I would only have 1 or 2 goals, but 5 assists or so. As my comfort level adjusted with my new teammates, so did my production. I was consistent, getting at least 3-5 points/game regardless if the score was 15-0, or 5 to 4. I really didn't think about developing my game at that time; all I could think about was winning each game. The win was more important than my individual achievements, that much I KNEW. And no one would really care about a great player on a losing team, anyway; everyone knows a good player on a winning team.
After crushing the Davis league, our newly formed team joined the Woodland team. This league was much nicer: it was indoors, large rink, they used a puck (which I always preferred), they had NHL regulation size nets, etc. It was definitely a step up, and so was the competition. Instead of beating teams 20-1, the best teams would only suffer 8-1 losses.
With the increase in competition and skill also came increased ferocity. It was during our first and only season at the Woodland league when I was seriously injured. I was going on a break with the defense practically riding my back. With the puck in front of me the goalie dove at my feet. That caused me to do a face-plant right in to the concrete surface, and with the lame Jofa Gretzky helmet with visor, needless to say my helmet popped off my head and I was hurt badly. In fact, I remember hitting my head so hard that I was screaming almost uncontrollably in pain and another one of the players had to come over to calm me down. All I could see looking up from the floor were 9 players all standing around looking over me with one kneeling over me calling for towels, ice, wiping my head off, and applying pressure to my forehead with a towel before throwing it away and getting another one because it was soaked with blood. BLOOD??? Hey, wait a minute! Needless to say, I had to go to Urgent care to get stitches for that.
I missed the next few games while my injury healed up and I think I may have finished out the season. Needless to say we won champion standing for that league as well. I did pretty well, also. At this time I was changing as a player from play-maker to scorer. Unfortunately, the team was breaking up afterwards and we were all heading our separate ways.
Mark, our best forward and I went to join another team and another league in Sacramento. This league was another step up from the Woodland league, as it had an NHL size rink indoors with blue lines, red lines, face-off circles, penalty boxes, etc. This was getting in to the big time.
It didn't start out like that, though. I was undoubtedly the smallest skater on the team; I played with a bunch of brutes. Every game would end up being 10-1 or so and I would only have 1 or 2 goals, but 5 assists or so. As my comfort level adjusted with my new teammates, so did my production. I was consistent, getting at least 3-5 points/game regardless if the score was 15-0, or 5 to 4. I really didn't think about developing my game at that time; all I could think about was winning each game. The win was more important than my individual achievements, that much I KNEW. And no one would really care about a great player on a losing team, anyway; everyone knows a good player on a winning team.
After crushing the Davis league, our newly formed team joined the Woodland team. This league was much nicer: it was indoors, large rink, they used a puck (which I always preferred), they had NHL regulation size nets, etc. It was definitely a step up, and so was the competition. Instead of beating teams 20-1, the best teams would only suffer 8-1 losses.
With the increase in competition and skill also came increased ferocity. It was during our first and only season at the Woodland league when I was seriously injured. I was going on a break with the defense practically riding my back. With the puck in front of me the goalie dove at my feet. That caused me to do a face-plant right in to the concrete surface, and with the lame Jofa Gretzky helmet with visor, needless to say my helmet popped off my head and I was hurt badly. In fact, I remember hitting my head so hard that I was screaming almost uncontrollably in pain and another one of the players had to come over to calm me down. All I could see looking up from the floor were 9 players all standing around looking over me with one kneeling over me calling for towels, ice, wiping my head off, and applying pressure to my forehead with a towel before throwing it away and getting another one because it was soaked with blood. BLOOD??? Hey, wait a minute! Needless to say, I had to go to Urgent care to get stitches for that.
I missed the next few games while my injury healed up and I think I may have finished out the season. Needless to say we won champion standing for that league as well. I did pretty well, also. At this time I was changing as a player from play-maker to scorer. Unfortunately, the team was breaking up afterwards and we were all heading our separate ways.
Mark, our best forward and I went to join another team and another league in Sacramento. This league was another step up from the Woodland league, as it had an NHL size rink indoors with blue lines, red lines, face-off circles, penalty boxes, etc. This was getting in to the big time.
posted by V-Hume at 10:32 AM
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