Covid-19 – The Steps Back to the Ice

[MTH]

Welcome back to the good old days, boys. 

[SaveByRichter35]

Welcome back indeed.  

[Lucky Pucker]

On 6/4/2021 at 11:36 AM, Lucky Pucker said:

Here in Ottawa, I heard from my 35+ league player/manager that he was contacted by the league organizers, and we are a tentative go to start in September. Are you in the GTA? Are they not even planning speculatively…? 

As someone who goes to great lengths to fake the “responsible adult” thing, I had planned it all out for my return this September: varied and regular exercise, was going to get some lessons, and maybe have a few skates with the group I started out with. Well today, that same player/manager emailed me today to say a summer group he plays with needs a goalie Tuesdays at 9:00 - starting on the 20th.

I deliberately briefly, but as my wife pointed out “the only concern is injury… but then if you skip this, and have a freak accident before you get a chance to play in September, that would really suck…”

I Love that girl.

So almost 500 days after my last ice time (March 13th, 2020) I’ll finally be heading to the crease!

I welcome any tips and/or comments, but from what I’ve gleaned form others’ comments on this return to the ice topic, it’s sorta like becoming a parent: you can never be fully prepared, other than to know it will, to a lesser or greater degree, hurt. Bad. But it’s somehow worth it. Right…?

[coopaloop1234]

23 minutes ago, Lucky Pucker said:

So almost 500 days after my last ice time (March 13th, 2020) I’ll finally be heading to the crease!

I welcome any tips and/or comments, but from what I’ve gleaned form others’ comments on this return to the ice topic, it’s sorta like becoming a parent: you can never be fully prepared, other than to know it will, to a lesser or greater degree, hurt. Bad. But it’s somehow worth it. Right…?

Fuck that's a long time.

Ultimately, the first few skates are going to be rough but don't be discouraged. Regardless of the exercise you do off the ice, skating and strapping on the pads is always going to be a different animal and it'll take a while to get your sea legs back.

You can see it even here on some threads from other users where the first week or so heading back to the rink was seen as more of a hassle than something they looked forward to. With the lack of routine, coupled with the loss of conditioning and skill set, it can be a tough hurdle to overcome knowing where you were at before the break and where you have ended up.

But then you'll also see that a few weeks later and that fanaticism that we all share comes roaring back.

Have some fun with it, It's about time you got some puck marks on your Brians set.

 

[Chenner29]

2 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

So almost 500 days after my last ice time (March 13th, 2020) I’ll finally be heading to the crease!

I welcome any tips and/or comments, but from what I’ve gleaned form others’ comments on this return to the ice topic, it’s sorta like becoming a parent: you can never be fully prepared, other than to know it will, to a lesser or greater degree, hurt. Bad. But it’s somehow worth it. Right…?

This is fking crazy to me, not just because it's been almost a year and a half since your last skate, but we've also been in various states of Covid-related lockdown for over 500 days (that's not even counting the first cases in December/January in some areas).

After we had our first kid (daughter), I took 2 years off and played nothing but video games and My Little Ponies.  I got a call one day out of the blue to sub, and an hour later I was at the rink sitting in my gear with 10 mins left before my game like a fucking mite/atom getting ready for his first skate ever lol.  I think it took me an hour to change out of my gear that day because I was so gassed.

If you do anything to prep, look up some FRC stuff (Hip Controlled Articulated Rotations/CARS) and PAILS/RAILS to get some mobility back in the hips.  If you're not familiar, it's kind of like yoga but with some intentional muscle activation/engagement mixed in to build strength and trick your body into accepting the new range limits.  (hopefully that last bit made sense, I rewrote it like a dozen times).

Do some resistance band work (monster walks, lateral strides, etc) to simulate the edgework mechanics you'll need under load.  Most of our work is short, hard pushes and stops so IMO cardio isn't really necessary.

Get a lacrosse ball or foam roller to help with any angry muscles/fascia

[CJ Boiss]

2 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

As someone who goes to great lengths to fake the “responsible adult” thing, I had planned it all out for my return this September: varied and regular exercise, was going to get some lessons, and maybe have a few skates with the group I started out with. Well today, that same player/manager emailed me today to say a summer group he plays with needs a goalie Tuesdays at 9:00 - starting on the 20th.

I deliberately briefly, but as my wife pointed out “the only concern is injury… but then if you skip this, and have a freak accident before you get a chance to play in September, that would really suck…”

I Love that girl.

So almost 500 days after my last ice time (March 13th, 2020) I’ll finally be heading to the crease!

I welcome any tips and/or comments, but from what I’ve gleaned form others’ comments on this return to the ice topic, it’s sorta like becoming a parent: you can never be fully prepared, other than to know it will, to a lesser or greater degree, hurt. Bad. But it’s somehow worth it. Right…?

Make sure you're drinking lots of water before you hit the ice. Start the day before. Very good chance you struggle with the heat and water loss.

[Lucky Pucker]

5 minutes ago, Chenner29 said:

This is fking crazy to me, not just because it's been almost a year and a half since your last skate, but we've also been in various states of Covid-related lockdown for over 500 days (that's not even counting the first cases in December/January in some areas).

After we had our first kid (daughter), I took 2 years off and played nothing but video games and My Little Ponies.  I got a call one day out of the blue to sub, and an hour later I was at the rink sitting in my gear with 10 mins left before my game like a fucking mite/atom getting ready for his first skate ever lol.  I think it took me an hour to change out of my gear that day because I was so gassed.

If you do anything to prep, look up some FRC stuff (Hip Controlled Articulated Rotations/CARS) and PAILS/RAILS to get some mobility back in the hips.  If you're not familiar, it's kind of like yoga but with some intentional muscle activation/engagement mixed in to build strength and trick your body into accepting the new range limits.  (hopefully that last bit made sense, I rewrote it like a dozen times).

Do some resistance band work (monster walks, lateral strides, etc) to simulate the edgework mechanics you'll need under load.  Most of our work is short, hard pushes and stops so IMO cardio isn't really necessary.

Get a lacrosse ball or foam roller to help with any angry muscles/fascia

Ah - a few new initialisms and acronyms in there… would this one from Maria cover what you’re suggesting?

https://www.goalietrainingpro.com/goalies/the-4-minute-no-excuse-workout-for-goalies/
 

As for the my little pony with the daughter, I was on the floor with my 7 year old who is equine-obsessed just last week; she has 87 and named them all. Have to admit, it’s kind of the best!

[Lucky Pucker]

8 minutes ago, CJ Boiss said:

Make sure you're drinking lots of water before you hit the ice. Start the day before. Very good chance you struggle with the heat and water loss.

I’m typically a 2-3 litres of water a day guy, but good call! I’ll make sure to be hydrated.

[Chenner29]

14 minutes ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Ah - a few new initialisms and acronyms in there… would this one from Maria cover what you’re suggesting?

https://www.goalietrainingpro.com/goalies/the-4-minute-no-excuse-workout-for-goalies/
 

As for the my little pony with the daughter, I was on the floor with my 7 year old who is equine-obsessed just last week; she has 87 and named them all. Have to admit, it’s kind of the best!

The show is streaming on Netflix in the US, and it's pretty good.  I got into it for a little bit.

My routine is to take a lax ball and roll out a bit to loosen up any tense muscle or.  Then I'll do a set of quadruped hip circles and finish off with a 90/90 stretch

Make sure your entire body is flexed and loaded as if someone were trying to push you over, this helps trick your mind into adapting to the range faster.

You can escalate the exercise from simple circles to doing a 5 second hold in certain positions where it is most difficult to attain range to try to grab a little more.  Kind of hard to explain, but if you feel particularly jammed in one position of the hip circle, hold it there and count to 5 (while still under tension).

CARS - Controlled Articular Rotations
PAILs/RAILs - Progessive Angular Isometric Loading/Regressive Angular Isometric Loading (two sides of the same coin)

 

[Lucky Pucker]

1 minute ago, Chenner29 said:

The show is streaming on Netflix in the US, and it's pretty good.  I got into it for a little bit.

My routine is to take a lax ball and roll out a bit to loosen up any tense muscle or.  Then I'll do a set of quadruped hip circles and finish off with a 90/90 stretch

Make sure your entire body is flexed and loaded as if someone were trying to push you over, this helps trick your mind into adapting to the range faster.

You can escalate the exercise from simple circles to doing a 5 second hold in certain positions where it is most difficult to attain range to try to grab a little more.  Kind of hard to explain, but if you feel particularly jammed in one position of the hip circle, hold it there and count to 5 (while still under tension).

CARS - Controlled Articular Rotations
PAILs/RAILs - Progessive Angular Isometric Loading/Regressive Angular Isometric Loading (two sides of the same coin)

 

Awesome! thank you so much for this - and for another post you made in the “Father Time/Dead Closet” thread (I’m paraphrasing… but only just…)

[Lucky Pucker]

3 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

 

Have some fun with it, It's about time you got some puck marks on your Brians set.

 

You may have missed it, but I’ve stated elsewhere that I’ve trained myself to play a “resale-value-focused” style of goaltending, so this is a non-starter. It’s good for me, and the players on the other teams are most obliging.

Edited July 16, 2021 by Lucky Pucker

[creasecollector]

3 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

As someone who goes to great lengths to fake the “responsible adult” thing, I had planned it all out for my return this September: varied and regular exercise, was going to get some lessons, and maybe have a few skates with the group I started out with. Well today, that same player/manager emailed me today to say a summer group he plays with needs a goalie Tuesdays at 9:00 - starting on the 20th.

I deliberately briefly, but as my wife pointed out “the only concern is injury… but then if you skip this, and have a freak accident before you get a chance to play in September, that would really suck…”

I Love that girl.

So almost 500 days after my last ice time (March 13th, 2020) I’ll finally be heading to the crease!

I welcome any tips and/or comments, but from what I’ve gleaned form others’ comments on this return to the ice topic, it’s sorta like becoming a parent: you can never be fully prepared, other than to know it will, to a lesser or greater degree, hurt. Bad. But it’s somehow worth it. Right…?

I'll be facing roughly same amount of time off when I return (hopefully soon) to the ice. Best of luck man!

[Lucky Pucker]

Just now, creasecollector said:

I'll be facing roughly same amount of time off when I return (hopefully soon) to the ice. Best of luck man!

Thanks @creasecollector! We’ve got this. Well, I’m at least pretty sure that YOU’VE got his - lol!

[Lucky Pucker]

3 minutes ago, creasecollector said:

I'll be facing roughly same amount of time off when I return (hopefully soon) to the ice. Best of luck man!

Wanted to give you a “like” reaction, but the house has decided I’m out of chips for the day . I’ll get you this weekend!

[insertnamehere]

The rinks are open again today in my area! Might get to skate tonight, might not, but Monday is scheduled! 

[Chenner29]

20 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Awesome! thank you so much for this - and for another post you made in the “Father Time/Dead Closet” thread (I’m paraphrasing… but only just…)

Glad I could contribute.  Hopefully it helps!  Let me know how it goes

[Lucky Pucker]

4 hours ago, Chenner29 said:

Glad I could contribute.  Hopefully it helps!  Let me know how it goes

Well, I can faithfully report today, that I am doing absolutely nothing to help myself Tuesday… but being spoiled with beer, food, and wine at my in-laws is pretty sweet!

[coopaloop1234]

15 hours ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Well, I can faithfully report today, that I am doing absolutely nothing to help myself Tuesday… but being spoiled with beer, food, and wine at my in-laws is pretty sweet!

This has the Coop seal of approval fro proper beer league preparation. 

[Lucky Pucker]

On 7/18/2021 at 12:03 PM, coopaloop1234 said:

This has the Coop seal of approval fro proper beer league preparation. 

Totally what I was going for. So do you mail me my diploma, or do you send me a soft copy to print out myself…?

[coopaloop1234]

6 minutes ago, Lucky Pucker said:

Totally what I was going for. So do you mail me my diploma, or do you send me a soft copy to print out myself…?

lol Diploma?

[creasecollector]

Joined a short summer league. Starts this Sunday. Let's see how this thing goes...

Lower skill level than I'd like, but honestly, it'll probably be for the better since I haven't touched ice since March 2020... I can't be picky.

Edited July 22, 2021 by creasecollector

[Wonder35]

Our Team Reps got the call from the City of West Kelowna. Beginning Sept. 13 we are getting all of our ice times back, 6 sessions, 75 minutes each, Mon-Wed-Fri at 8am (55+ Group) and the same days at 11am (70+) players. Our season finishes at the end of April.

No COVID related restrictions as of yet. Price has risen to $5 per session, Goalies are FREE.

 

[creasecollector]

Just had my first skate since march 2020. 

It went abosolutely brutal. 

I hope it gets better.

Man, I was terrible. Thank goodness it's only a shortened 8-game summer season.

Edited July 26, 2021 by creasecollector

[MTH]

Sounds like you played like a dead closet.

[insertnamehere]

Skated twice last night, 7:30 and 10:00 with a one slot break in between. Didn't die! Spending an entire evening at the rink made me feel like a kid again. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by insertnamehere