The Thanksgiving tournament also has served as the midway point in our season; a time to reflect on the past three months and look ahead.
I mention in the title of this article “good things that came from the Pandemic.” Let me be clear; there is NOTHING good about this pandemic.
However, as a program we needed to navigate a new path for our players; it would not be business as usual. With the leadership of Evan and Bobby, we took a different approach through the opening months of the season.
Gone were early-bird tournaments, September games, and a rush to be prepared for the opening of league seasons in late September. Instead there was a focus both within House League and Travel on skill development. For the opening six weeks of the season, we practiced more than any time in the history of the WHC. Our “model” if you will, resembled the Swedish and Finish hockey models with a high emphasis on skills and less on structure and game competition.
The result of this focus was evident in the results of our teams as we started playing “events” with other programs in mid-October. I cannot say I know every team’s record throughout this period, but I would estimate we are right around a 75% winning record. Several of our Squirt teams have either one or no losses through close to 10 events. Across the board, all our teams are performing well. That early season focus on development has paid dividends.
We also realized some of our best competition could be found right in our own backyard. We started doing intra-club scrimmages and the matchups produced some great hockey. Since most of my team from last year are on Pee Wee 1 or Bantam 2, I have watched them scrimmage multiple times with each time producing a one-goal or tied game; great to watch! And, while our little “Original Six” concept did not make it through, I really believe that it is a great idea for the club to implement in future years.
Playing in front of no fans was different; there would be no cheering from the stands, no yelling at the refs (AKA On-Ice Supervisors). Believe me, the refs have loved this. The atmosphere is far more relaxed and keeping the referee community making a few bucks is important if we want referees to be here when we return to normal. We have done our part.
Watching kids play in front of no fans reminded me of playing pond hockey as a kid. This was just the true joy of playing; not thinking about the score or winning or losing but just playing for the love of the game.
Lastly, I think we have all taken a step back and realized not to sweat some of the small things and take pleasure in letting these kids play and be with their friends. While hockey is on pause now, we will be back.
Have a safe and GREAT Thanksgiving!