Coach Heldt's Notes

Monday, January 22, 2007

Catch a Game

How lucky we are to have so many opportunities to participate in some of the greatest sports on the planet, hockey, field lacrosse, box lacrosse, ice, sledge, and inline hockey. When you look around you see that there’s quite a lot offered. The problem sometimes is finding out what’s going on and how can you participate. The question now becomes: which sport is best for you. Sometimes they all are. I think you should try them all if you can. The idea is to give one of these a shot, and you might just like it. I grew up in a part of the country where hockey was a normal part of winter. It snowed, got cold, and you hit the local rink with a puck, stick, and skates. This summer I went to watch a friend play in an inline game in Syracuse NY. Not a lot of stopping going on out there, and the rink was hotter than an oven. This was not the normal 20 degrees I’m more acclimated to during hockey games, but it was great to see the two teams battle it out for control of the puck. It was hockey and, it was great. I have inline skates, but I only use them when I can’t get to the rink.
Lacrosse is also an incredible game with many dedicated fans and players. Hockey incorporated a lot from the game of Lacrosse. It’s easy to be fans of both sports. There are many excellent high school, club, and college programs for both sports. How do they match up? You decide. There is a lot going on for both sports as far as tournaments, and regular season games throughout the year. Both sports have become year round activities for many. For some, the end of hockey season becomes the beginning of Lacrosse season, for others, the season continues on with the same sport, but possibly a different team or level of competition. There’s a lot out there, take a look and see what’s going on. You’ll see hockey players and field lacrosse players playing indoor lacrosse in the NLL. Indoor lacrosse is one sport where you see how closely related hockey and box lacrosse are. From the Goaltending to the five runners in front of the goalie, this sport is something to see. The newest addition to the NLL is the NY Titans with local fan favorites Casey Powell and Jarrett Park. If you are a college field lacrosse fan you might want to check out the Syracuse Orange at the carrier dome this season. Young players will get a lot out of seeing a game, even if it’s watching your local club or high school varsity teams.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice job Coach! Keep up the good work. Wish we had this when the girls were playing! :)