Although I'm thrilled to be on a team that has coached practices, I'm finding those practices a little frustrating. It's not Billy's fault or the team's fault; it's mine, in that I can't seem to relax and go with the flow. If a drill doesn't work out the way it's supposed to, I tend to get angry with myself and just stop... and I end up with the feeling that I totally suck. Thank god for games, which so far have proven that I *don't* suck (not totally, anyway).
I think it's mostly the strict patterns of the drills and the overthinking they inspire in me that causes the problem; that, and drilling on skills that I'm not particularly strong at over and over again. I do know how much it helps—it's why I wanted to be on a team that practices in the first place, to improve my skills—but that same personality trait that makes me hate homework also seems to make me listless and half-hearted at drills. The drills that feel like a real game I can get into—smooth breakouts, forechecking, etc.—but if I lose track of my passing target or can't tell who's D and who's O because we're all wearing different jersey colors, I attempt to pass with one hand on my stick, check half-heartedly, or just pull up altogether.
I'm going to have to get it together soon if I want to improve (and more importantly, if I want to have a good time), especially since we don't have a game to cheer me this weekend. The good news is that Sionan, who's new to hockey this season, reminded me at our last practice, after I'd screamed "I HATE THIS!" to the rafters, why we were there: "Don't worry about doing it right every time," she said. "It's about practicing a pattern. That way, in a game, you might recognize the pattern and do the right thing without thinking." Sionan, how you get so smart?
Posted by Lori in Freeze ~ Fall/Winter 2006 | November 3, 2006·12:04 PM