Breakfast Club Session II with Todd

It's only Week #3 and Laura and Kirk have already suckered some other ankle bender to do this blog. If Breakfast club wasn't hard enough, now I'm doing homework, and as a teacher, now I understand what all of the whining is about.

This morning you could tell the weather had taken a change for the worse by the lack of bodies. Instead of the regular full house that includes local police force, engineers and physical therapists, there was just the inmates from the group home. With the small numbers, Geoff and Scott decided to treat us to a full breakfast at the local coney island. Wait, wait, the medication just kicked in, and now I can remember what happen. They actually put us through some shooting drills and stick handling.

During the shooting drill, Geoff reminded us to keep our feet moving through the shot to keep the goalie off balance. We worked on moving from different angles and shooting forehand and backhand. Scott, on the other hand, set up some cones to stick handle through. Those cones at Breakfast Club are unlike any cones I have ever seen. They actually move like defensemen and are constantly poke-checking the puck off my stick. It's amazing.

During the second part of the morning we worked on one-on-one moves from the corner. Defensively we looked pretty good. I think we went two times through the entire line before someone finally got off a shot on net and scored. Fortunately, the goalies had left to get coffee after nodding off in the crease from the lack of activity.

On the other end, we worked on stopping with the outside edge of the inside skate (I think that's what we were doing). I'm still trying to catch my breath from all of those stops and starts.

Overall it was a great morning and an awesome way to start the day. It's just fun to see guys at different levels working hard. We are all motivated to get up at 5 a.m. for different reasons. Some are there to get a good workout. Others are there to keep up with their own kids. Some are trying to take what they learn and pass it on to their youth teams. But, none of us would be there if this wasn't the best game on Earth.

I NEVER WANT HOMEWORK AGAIN!

Breakfast Club Session II with Laura

Is it Week #2 already? Boy, I whine about missing my early morning hockey fix, and then doggone if two weeks have passed and I just now realized that I forgot to share last week's experience with the loyal readership. Oops.

So let's see if I can remember last week... hmmm... I seem to vaguely recall that we did some of that skating stuff and some of that shooting stuff. As best as I can recall. It's a bit foggy.

Wait! Wait! Ah, yes, NOW I remember at least one thing. We worked on edges and balance. Put your stick on the ice, C-cuts around on one foot, then the other foot, then step over and make a power turn without doing any strides along the straight away. And don't forget the pure power turns, again launching yourself all the way around through merely the power you get from your turn and not from any strides along the way. Yes, this chick was certifiably dizzy after all those loops around my stick... Ooh, I almost forgot to mention the best part, that being the jump overs. Two footed, and then one footed. Man, oh man, those jump overs sure make the quads feel like they belong to some 40-something who sits at a desk all day.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I also remember another thing we worked on, that being the beloved three-puck one-on-ones. Take turns, one time you're defense for the three pucks, next time through you're offense. Line up three pucks along the blue, skate the first one in and try to get a shot off before your defender gets you. You get just one try. Whether or not it worked, take your one trip toward the goalie and then move on. Skate back up to the top (now you should be skating with some speed), and grab that next puck. Skate, try to score, do it again. Rinse-lather-repeat.

We did some pure puck handling moves, too. Dribble in the front, on the side to the left, on the side to the right, then behind, all without moving your feet from that ready position. Work it around the circle, back back left left front front right right back back, in a big circle from owl-head turned right to owl-head turned left, then back around again like a big ol' windshield wiper. Now pull the puck down to the side with the toe of your stick and draw it back up. Now do it again, but pull and draw both up and over. Yes, it was as hard as it sounds.

Then there was the always fun bit of cross-ice one-of-one chase-the-rabbit. Toss a puck in. Whoever gets there first is on offense, unless of course you get the puck taken away from you in which case you are now defending. Either way, try to defend your goalie while simultaneously trying to score on the other goalie. It's amazing how stupid tired you can get doing this. Always good for some Weekend at Bernie's sports highlights moments.

So now for this week.

Warm up the goalies.

I didn't get a chance to ask them, but I think we certainly got them warm. Alrighty, yessiree Bob, yup, plenty warm. To be precise, about 15 minutes of stream after stream of shots. Carry the puck one-handed, carry the puck while dribbling normally, carry the puck while dribbling wide, carry it while deking left, then again while deaking right, then while drawing the puck back with the toe of your stick and kicking it back up with the side of your skate ... for about three or four times through for each player for each move. Yup, yup, yup, I'd say those goalies were plenty warm after about 3,000 shots.

Then some skating finesse tactics. Break down your stride into its elements, fix the flaws in the elements and put the molecule back together again. Isolate the parts of your body that don't need to be moving, and move the parts that are supposed to be moving but move them the right way and not the wrong way. It all sounds so much easier on paper...

And don't forget the length-wise one-on-ones. Gap control, gap control. No, I'm not talking about making sure your belt keeps your pants from giving you that oh-so-attractive refrigerator repair man tush. I'm talking about the defender resisting the urge to want to cheat back too early, so that the puck carrier ends up having free reign to decide which lane to skate. Keep him close enough but not too close, and drive him wide to the boards instead of letting him choose the inside.

Ending it all with some passing technique. Pass it at the boards, and if done right it should bounce right back directly to you. Any angle means that you're ... well, you're doing it wrong, Einstein. Same goes for wobblies, saucers, and anything other than a hard, crisp snap along the ice straight at where you were aiming. Now grab a partner. Pass on your forehand all drill-long. Pass from the front. Pass from the side. Pass from behind, even. Always on your forehand. Get used to using your wrists and turning your torso.

All in all, a good two weeks of early morning hockey fix, and I'm looking forward to the remaining eight.

Next week, dear readers, you should hopefully hear a new voice on this page. I won't tip the secret yet; you'll have to wait and read for yourself. In the meantime, keep your head up and your eyes on the goal.

Breakfast Club Session II - Preseason with Laura

T minus seven and counting...

The second session of Breakfast Club starts next week, and I can't wait. Well, I can wait because I must wait, but I don't have to like it. So I should have been more precise -- second session starts next week, and I don't like the fact that I have to wait. I am getting grumpy, and you loyal blog readers know that a grumpy Laura is not much fun.

Did you recruit a friend? Kirk did. He's good at that. How many of you are clubbers because a friend recruited you? Heck, how many of you are hockey players because a friend recruited you? Let's take a moment to talk about the state of hockey. Your sport is in crisis, fellow clubbers. We need to grow the sport, meaning keep new faces joining, or it will wither away. If you love playing hockey, then you owe it to hockey to share that with others and to recruit new players so we can keep the sport growing and vital. So, I'll ask again, who have you talked into joining the Breakfast Club?