Take The Number 69: It’s a Jersey Thing

Welcome to Take the Number 69, a blog by Eric Brook charting his ice hockey journey from being introduced to the sport, volunteering with the Australian men and women’s ice hockey leagues, learning to skate and now playing in the “beer leagues”. This week, written on the eve of his first game, Eric reveals whether he has in fact taken the number 69, and what team he is on.

 

NERVOUS? FIRST TIME?

The final countdown is on as the opening night of Beerginners rapidly approaches. I gave a subtle hint about what team I would be on at the initial Beerginners social night at Wayward Brewing Company a couple
of weeks ago.

I spent my second consecutive Friday night at a Beerginners-related event. Traveling to Ice Zoo, players from Friday Night Hockey were having a scrimmage before their season starts. I was able to meet some more team mates and future opponents. I was also able to collect my jersey.

I can finally reveal that the number 69 on the Mascot Jets is indeed taken – BY ME!

There is another number 69 on another team – we have promised to catch up for a hilarious photo.

I was sharing the story about the 30 minutes it took me to take a previous photo in an earlier blog post. Sadly it can be difficult to capture certain moments as they happen, especially in a training or game environment.

Such an example happened when I was being towed across the ice during a training session and ended up over the boards and stuck in the netting. So with some help, I re-created the position that I ended up in after the session.

The pretend “assistance” that I received to go over the boards in that re-creation was funny in or out of context.

With an appropriate background in mind, I asked Nick Air to take a couple of jersey photos for me. Without Nick’s help, these photos would have taken FOREVER.

I am so pleased that I am a Jet and also pleased that I am on the same team as three friends that I met during my hockey journey. Two of them have been there since day one of this journey with many more new friends to be made across Beerginners. Maybe we’ll be the E line – Emma, Evan and Erk!

While I was in the Ice Zoo shop, I also picked up another stick, some new laces, some more stick tape and a knee hockey set. There’s a certain 5 year old boy that will be pleased that we won’t have to use garbage bins as goals the next time we play ball hockey in my backyard.

Do you know how hard it is to play ball hockey against a 5 year old when you aren’t allowed to stick handle the ball around the yard or chase him when he has the ball? I would like to play some ball hockey however that would be a story for another time.

For the record, I was beaten 10-8 by the 5 year old which wasn’t bad considering all of the limitations he placed on me! I should see if some of the Beerginners want to play a bit of ball hockey on a weekend to increase their puck handling skills and have a social game. It also allows for more physical activity and off-ice training.

NO, I’VE BEEN NERVOUS LOTS OF TIMES!

It has been my aim to play hockey with friends for some time. I know that I am not going to be an AIHL or an NHL superstar. I just want to have fun and play the game for your enjoy. Playing the game for your enjoy is one thing that I have in common with higher level players. The basics are the same.

I have been impressed with the amount of support that the Beerginners competition and I have received in the local hockey community. I was proudly showing off my Jets jersey after at a Sydney Bears after game dinner and received encouraging words from players.

Notably, captain Michael Schlamp and alternate captain Brian Funes who noticed straight away that the Mascot Jets logo consists of several beer bottles. Non-beer drinker me did not even think of that fact until it was pointed out!

Funesy wants to help me work on my goal celebrations and he would like to do that by scoring more goals himself. I should ask Schlampy for advice about how to score and how to talk to the zebras. I daresay that the more experienced players will be asked a lot of questions about the rules in coming weeks, especially by those who casually watch hockey at best.

THE PENALTY BOX? WHAT IS IT?

Not to be outdone, the Beerginners have been told to expect some special guest coaches from the Sydney Ice Dogs when they aren’t training on a Tuesday night.

This level of support from AIHL players from across Sydney is most unexpected and most welcomed. There may be some Beerginners who are unaware of the AIHL who might go to a game and learn more from more experienced players.

There’s always something else to learn about the game and about yourself. I’ve learnt how good it is when people care about the things you do. I also learnt that hockey is a big part of me and that I love the person that I am around hockey. During the week, I was also stunned to be called a sporting hero. Thanks, K!

IT’S THE LITTLE BOX WHERE NAUGHTY HOCKEY PLAYERS GO TO FEEL SHAME BUT THAT’S NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.

I’ve always tried to be a good hockey citizen in whatever I have done in and around the sport on and off the ice. It doesn’t matter if I am skating in a general session, watching a game, broadcasting, promoting
or commenting online.

Being in Beerginners has allowed me to reinforce some of the things that I do in this sport and why I love it so much. Hockey has been a great release during difficult times off the ice and doing Beerginners has given me another goal to aim at.

During the final week before the first game, I have worked on getting the various players on the various teams together and talking via social media. I have also given advice in relation to gear and game play to various Beerginners as there is a wide range of skill, knowledge and experience levels amongst the players. There are some experienced players playing who will be expected to mentor the less experienced players on and off the ice.

The last Monday night development session before game one was very well attended with many Beerginners present, many for the first time. It was nice – albeit strange to see – many freshly minted players with freshly minted hockey gear including some people using the gear’s original boxes.

I made sure that I arrived super early to welcome the newer players and to help them with their gear. As they have since found out, skating with hockey gear on is an entirely different type of skating altogether.

While I’m no Michael Schlamp or Brian Funes on the ice, I have much more experience than I realise which I can share with the freshly minted Beerginners.

There are things that more experienced people can take for granted but are big things for a newer player. Yes, you should probably use a C-U-P. You may want to get suspenders to wear with your hockey pants. No, you shouldn’t ever skate in jeans. There are five skaters and one goalie on the ice per team at a time. You should
wear all your gear at hockey development. You’ll need a good hockey bag to put all your gear in. Working out if you need a right or a left handed stick is a good thing to do before you buy it. Don’t buy your skates on eBay if you’ve never bought skates before.

During the session, I stepped up and helped watch over and assisted the newer players with skating drills and puck work. I know what it is like to be in their shoes. But there are reasons why many hockey programs expect a certain standard before you can play.

Some of the players have accepted a very steep learning curve but they may be the ones who will show the most determination and improvement.

Any doubts that I had about my worth in this competition have gone. In the end, I ended up taking three months off work (mixture of personal, family and hockey reasons) to Take the Number 69, because it’s hilarious.

Even if this is the only season of Beerginners that I play, I know that some people are already looking forward to season two even before the start of season one. I also know that I would like to be more involved at a more grassroots level even if the higher levels also appeal to me.

GOOD LUCK. WE’RE ALL COUNTING ON YOU.

The time has come. On week one, Wayward Sons play Trash Pandas at 7pm. At 8pm, Mighty Drunks play Mascot Jets. Next week, find out what happens when the Beerginners hit the ice for their first games!

Part of this column’s aim is to chart my progress in various facets of the game. Before game one, here’s my baseline:

Skating forwards: Good. Can get faster.
Skating turns: Good.
Skating backwards: Improving. Not up to game standard.
Stopping: Needs improvement. Can stop on right foot when I try.
Passing the puck: Not bad, especially while stationary.
Shooting the puck: Haven’t done a lot on ice.
Stickhandling: Needs work.

GAME ON!