Here Comes the Orange

The drive home from Atlanta seemed to go much faster than the ride down. This may be because I was really looking forward to going home. I wanted to make it home in time to get some sleep before try outs on Sunday, which is today. The players who tried out look like they have a lot of potential. Some of the returning players who have been skating through the off season with me set the tone for the skating. A few players who played for me last year, but did not skate through the off season also looked pretty strong on their skates. We did a lot of skating to see just what we had for different levels and abilities. I was happy to see that the returning veterans performed well, and I was also happy to see some new talent. I think we have the base for a fast team, and potential for a smart team. This we shall gauge over the next few sessions. I am hoping to see the makings for a team that works well together. This will be critical if we are to be competitive this season. Last year we set the bar quite high. We developed a very strong team, and it was reflected in the way we competed throughout the season. This year we will be starting all over, and at this point anything is possible. We had our regular clinic later tonight, and some of the players who tried out were also on the ice at the second skate. That’s a lot of skating for one day. We had a rather long warm up and didn’t have as long an ice slot as usual. We did get to work a little on 3v3 low, but I found myself stepping back to go over triangulation with the offense players, when I was hoping to work on our down low defense. It will come, one step at a time. Because we never got a chance for a short scrimmage, I decided that next week we would work a little on the “Umbrella” after a quick warm up then I would let them have their scrimmage time. We have focused a lot on skills, but I would like to introduce a little of what the season will hold as far as practices are concerned. Most of the players are very familiar with what I expect to cover, and where I want the team to progress to throughout the season. Some of the players who will go on to other teams should be familiar with some basic zone play. One thousand miles to practice, and I would still be in Atlanta if I didn’t head north one mile at a time. That’s how this season will unfold, one skate at a time. Today was the first stride, there will be more to follow. One thing I noticed on the way home, was that the leaves were turning orange as I headed north, just in time for the first day of Fall and Hockey season. It's such a nice color this time of year.