She Shoots ...

I did actually score, but I'll come back to that.

Today was my very first day of sledge hockey. Feels like it's been a long time coming, probably because I've been talking about it quite a bit since even before signing up, so I was really excited to finally be going. Leading up to today I was also somewhat nervous. Not so much for learning how to play sledge hockey but for the commute getting to and from. I'd have to use public transportation, I don't have a car in the city (not to mention, I haven't decided if it's really all that safe for me to be driving yet anyway). It's probably good that I had to sign up for this program in advance. If it was a drop-in / sign-up the day of type program, there's a good chance I would have backed out. That is how much I was dreading the commute.

I'd love to report that the commute wasn't all that bad but it definitely wasn't my favourite part of the day. It was at least marginally better than I had expected. This is how it went. Starting out with what should have been a 7 minute walk to the subway, lucky for me I had great timing and hopped on the bus for 2 stops instead. Then 58 steps down to the subway platform. 21 stops on the subway. 2 elevators up to catch the bus. A 27 minute bus ride. Followed by a 10 minute walk. Now that I've made it to the arena, time for a 2 hour practice. Aaaannnddd repeat in reverse to get home. Personally, I'm a little tired just reading that back again. From the moment I locked my apartment door until I returned home again, 6.5 hours had passed. I did have to be there early today to fill out some paperwork and get fitted for equipment. I also gave myself a little extra time being the first time I was making the trip. Regardless, I believe 5.5 hours is the minimum amount of time I can expect to spend devoted in some way to sledge hockey every Sunday. At least for the next 9 weeks anyway.

The commute aside, I had a really good time. I've mentioned before that I love trying new sports and this was like nothing I've ever tried. The basics were fairly easy to pick up, at least I found they were. Moving forward and turning came pretty naturally, although there is still tons of room for improvement. Stopping seemed a little awkward at first and potentially unsafe but it's not and it works well. We got a quick lesson on how to right ourselves if we fell over and I was one of the few who was able to get back up unassisted. Thankfully, I only needed to apply this lesson once outside of the drill.

There were approximately a dozen participants, of which only 4 were first time players like me. I'm pretty competitive and, although new to the sport, I was determined to keep up with even those who had played before. I'd say I did a pretty good job of it. We played a game/drill where you gather and steal as many pucks as you can (one at a time) and bring them back to your "home". My partner and I won the first round and then three-way tied for first the next round.

Most of the practice consisted of drills and games to develop our basic skills. We did, however, have a scrimmage at the end of practice. Believe it or not, I scored a goal. That being said, don't be too impressed. I was playing against others who are just as "advanced" at the sport as I am. It did feel pretty good though.

If I had to choose just one thing from today that stood out as my favourite, it would have to be being able to pass to yourself. Every player has two sticks and your sledge has just enough room between it and the ice that a puck can pass underneath. This means you can pass the puck with your one stick, under your own sledge, to your other stick. You can use this for keeping the puck away from an opposing player or simply to transfer the puck to the hand you're more comfortable shooting or passing with. It had a way of making me feel like I actually knew what I was doing. Seemed almost fancy or tricky, even though it wasn't really.

Now to wait and see how sore I am tomorrow.