Hockey's Our Game

Chapter 9

“Charlie let’s go you’re slacking again” Coach Rob yelled and it made me laugh a little, but he heard me “I don’t need to hear that Tori” he scolded me.

“Sorry Coach” I smiled and picked up my pace and continued to do our drills, this one is my favorite. We had to jump up onto a block of wood a foot off the ground three times, on the third time we jump to the other side, and then do the ladder, crisscross back down it. Jump onto the half exercise ball in the middle and then to each side twice and then jump back onto the block twice and jump over and that was one set. We normally do 5 sets and then take a minute break and then another 3 sets and then move onto something else. After I was done with that drill I was sent to bikes to get my endurance up, Mia, Jack, Ben, Charlie, John and Sonia were all sent to bikes with me.

After bikes we had a little arm work out to do, which consists of holding a push up position for 30 seconds, 10 push-ups, 50 shoulder taps and then another 5 push-ups and we would repeat this a good 8 times. It killed your arms and abs but it was worth it because it helps you a lot on the ice, the whole point of off-ice training. We did some simple things like push-ups, sit ups, kayaks, twisters, burpees, and to finish we did suicides.

“Dismissed” Brent said, our personal athletic trainer.

“Mia and Tori, front and center” Coach Rob yelled and we reported “you guys are really sweaty” he looked at us and then I realized we were pretty gross, I had sweat dripping down my face and if I were wearing a shirt it would be soaked and my spandex are nasty too.

“That’s what happened when you actually do the work out” Mia yelled the last part in hoping Charlie would hear.

“Oh fuck off Mia” Charlie heard her and I laughed “you to Tori.”

I flipped her off “I didn’t say shit, so you can suck my ass you whore” I yelled and then Brent laughed because he knew she was a bit of a puck bunny.

“Charlie out” Coach Rob said firmly and she left “I can’t wait until she leaves” he said under his breath, I almost didn’t catch it. “When is the hawks practice for you two?”

“December 15th” Mia said.

“6 days” I said as well.

He smiled “my girls are growing up” he was like another father to us because we are always with him and he has trained us for a long time and we respect him like a dad. “I can’t believe my players have a chance to become players in the NHL and I’ve coached girls mainly my whole coaching life. You have no idea how proud I am of you two, it’s unreal. I assume you’re going to the game tomorrow night then.”

I smiled at him “it’s been an honor to have been with the same coach for so long who knows us on a personal level and our strengths and weaknesses to use to make us a better player.”

“It really has been, we couldn’t ask for a better coach, and we probably won’t be in the NHL because we are girls, the girls would either go easy on us making it an advantage or they would take us out and end our professional careers” Mia said and I agreed with her because it was true.

“No matter what happened to you two, don’t let it go to your heads and never take advantage of it and remember where you come from, Coach Q and I had a decent conversation about you two, he believes in you two fully heartedly because you share the same passion for the game as much as the actual professionals do. Most kids do sports so they don’t have wasted time or they get bored easily, you two have stuck with this sport since you were 2. That now makes it 16 years of the same thing for you two” he said.

“It isn’t the same thing, each game is different, each practice is different, and each year is different. I have been playing hockey for 16 years and each time I step out on to the ice it is a totally different experience, you can train and practice as much as you want to try to prepare yourself but you never know what is happening until is it happening to you. I live for the waking up at ungodly hours to get in a car or airplane and go to a rink and work my ass off. All the last nights up and in the rink or in the off-ice room training to try to prepare yourself for what you think might happen but no one knows and that is what gives me my muse to play” I said honestly.