creasecollector

You must have missed the cerimonial chants we yelled at him through our computer screens one night: "One of us! One of us! One of us! One of us!". It was creepy, but it needed to be done. After all, he's one of us now. It's a goalie thing.

Us beer league guys better watch out backs (literally). It's only a matter of time before these young guns coming up tries this and scores in a beer league game/shinny with his buddies watching. Has anyone ever been scored on like this before? It's okay, we don't judge on here. Unless it's Coop. He may judge you

How did everyone's games go recently? After our team's play has dipped recently in these past few weeks, we were lucky enough to get some help from others teams, play a solid game like we know we can and clinched first place in the league (out of 8 teams) this past week with a big 7-3 victory. With just one game left to go now in the regular season this weekend, I am happy we could clinch and secure top spot instead of leaving it to the final game. We could have dropped as low as 4th if things had gone a little differently this past week or so.

Something we can all relate to! Marking this for later and I can add some thoughts.

If you have the financial means, go custom if you wish. But I think you can still get what you're looking for if you buy used and be just as satisfied. All depends on your personal budget to be honest.

Oh I know, haha. Your modern game looks great.

Gotta love those 10-9 wins. Love watching you play. Your footwork is really good.

Best of luck with the sale. I have the exact same unit and it's incredible.

I think aside from the technical defensive strategies for a moment, it would depend on how well you know your teammates on how I personally would move forward with this situation. The team I'm on right now I would never dare to tell my teammates how to play. It's my first year in the league and I don't know anyone, plus everyone in the league has been playing hockey all their life (AA, AAA, Juniors, Pro, etc) and this is a competitive league. For example, we have been playing terrible these last few weeks and I expect better of them when they play, which includes my own game. However, It's not my place to tell them what to do/not do. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that and would feel like a grinch. Plus, we're all human and make mistakes. I sure wouldn't want my teammates commenting on how I play my game. Chances are, they wouldn't like it either. However, on the flipside, If you've known these guys forever and maybe they are honestly willing to learn the position or get better at their defensive craft, then go for it. I would maybe approach it very lightly though. Maybe not a "team meeting" sort of way, more like a joking around, light-hearted conversation (like, "hey man, great play, but next time try and do this and this, etc"), followed up with positive reinforcment in the coming games ("love what you did there Jim, that's just what we talked about earlier. Thanks so much. Keep at it!") to get them more confident with one defensman at a time over the course of a few weeks. They don't need a serious group discussion or something like that. They just want to have fun and relax a little, so I get it. If they want to get better, great, find small opportunities to teach 'em. If not? Well, it's beer league. The goal is not about having x amount of skill or making sure to "bring your A game" every week, it's about having fun. Cheesy? Yes, but it's true. I need to remind myself of that all the time since I can get competitive and hard on myself at times. I love this topic though. Thanks for creating it. I think we've all been there man.

I like it! I could see teams having it as their "secret weapon" in a Game 7 OT moment. Nobody will see it coming...... except us of course who heard it here first

I currently wear the KOHO 589 Pro Swiss knee guards. They're massive and I love them. I got them used and have been using them 1-2 (sometimes 3) times a week for two years. Still going strong.

Interesting that you dropped pre-game stretching all together. Thanks for the inside look at your new routine.

love the all-black setup. I always found sets like that look super sharp.

I think this also begs the question that if just stretching is a proper warm-up or not. We've all been conditioned the stretch before we workout, play sports, etc, but is that doing more harm than good? A dynamic warm-up with stretching is ideal of course, but reading about the topic makes makes me rethink my routine sometimes. I suppose it depends on the person. I couldn't imagine not stretching before a game as I would be afraid of injury (with, in fairness, could happen at any time), yet some people pull it off with no issues. I knew a goalie who would never stretch or take any warmup shots or anything. He would just..... stand there for a minute until the game was about to start. I always found it odd, but to each their own I guess.

I think it defintely does still make a diffence. For Sunday morning hockey (just shinny), when I wake up super late, slam food down, jump in the car and then play, I feel it on the ice. I just feel more sluggish. But if I'm up earlier and just walk around a bit around the house, pack my stuff up neatly, eat, etc., I do feel even that little extra movement helps my body in the morning when I get out on the ice. So i'm sure an actual off-ice warmup does make a difference for sure, especially as we age or go through a winter season (I hate the cold weather). Hey, it can't make you any worse. I don't have a off-ice warmup routine right now, but I have a on ice warmup that I follow and I supplement my non-hockey hobbies with movement (yoga, going to the gym) to help keep my body in best shape that I can. It's not perfect, but I like where I'm at right now. It helps that I'm also playing in a competitive beer league right now which kind of "forces me" to be the best goalie that I can be and not slack off, otherwise I'm out.