Qualities that players can only possess by making up their mind that it's important to them:
Interest in learning the game
Desire to improve
Desire to win
Qualities that players can gain through playing in drop-ins and game situations:
experience
situational awareness
confidence
Qualities that players can gain through attending clinics and formal practices:
skills
techniques
understanding
Qualities that players can develop if they work hard:
speed
strength
agility
deeper understanding of the game
Qualities that players are born with:
size
innate talent
Make sure that you're not confusing experience with talent or skills.
The teams that win in this league have situational awareness, confidence, and experience. Not size or talent.
So the question is, grasshoppa, which of these qualities do you feel you can possess yourself? If you're frustrated with being a "Hockey Have-Not" and resent the "Hockey Haves", maybe you should ask yourself if you're doing everything you can do to improve, both as an individual and AS A TEAM?
If the answer is no, then put a cork in it, or quietly live with that choice. If the answer is yes, then you probably aren't voicing frustration, you're sitting quitely and taking note of how winning teams handle themselves. You don't have to agree with the way particular individuals behave during games. Just pay attention and know that if you want to, you can be in their skates someday, and know that you will handle yourself appropriately.
Dickie.
17 Comments:
Brilliant Dickie! Well spoken. I have been sitting here watching everyone go at it on this board. Lots of good ideas being thrown out there. I really like the one by that Killer Carlson dude about the Draft. That is genius.
Now all that being said, all this discussion about gold league, bronze league, silver league, and what have you has been very productive. There are some obvious changes that need to be made to the BRonze league. However, I dont think dogpiling on the top teams is the answer.
I think the idea of calling our league the bronze league is good. Yes, it is a low level league, that use to be called the I-League (and in most of your hearts always will be called the I-League). Being a lower level league , you are going to have guys and girls new to skating side by side with folks who are ready to take the next step up to a more competitive league. Yes I hear you guys that get frusterated when someone is out there flying up and down the ice at will, but to me that is just simply motivation.
I grew up a competitive golfer, I played tournaments in the American Junior GOlf Association all over the place. One of the guys that played in lots of AJGA tournaments was a fellow named Tiger Woods. Most of the kids knew that when you were playing a tournament with Tiger, you were probably not going to win. Did it make us want to quit, and just play tournaments at the local muni, No, it fired me up, and made me want to hit more and more range balls, spend longer on the practice green, and get better at the game so that I had a chance. Having that guy out there who whooped my ass got me to push myself and be the best player I could. I did go on to have my golf game pay for college, and even spent a few years playing professionally for real american cash. I worked on my game, and pushed myself to take it as far as I could. I would have never gotten good enough to play even college golf if I would have just given up and gone and played with kids who were about my skill level. I always wanted to play in the best tournament with the best field, to get better.
How does that relate to this blog's recent bitching and moaning? It just shows you need some people better than you to push yourself.
We could even out the talent a bit, create a draft or system like the Killer Carleton was saying, you know sort of like a salary cap type deal to level the playing field. Sure, that is a great idea, but we are in the middle of a season and we all know nothing is going to be done right now. Dont lose yourselves in anger, just remember what we are all involved in, a Saturday night Beer league. Yeah there are good teams, and yeah there are teams who struggle. But seriously every league is like that.
And about the west rink issue, I know it has been turned into a mini wembley stadium or indoor park or what have you, but last year that thing sat empty all summer. At least it is getting used right now, and it is supporting Nytex instead of just sitting empty like a garage. Whether or not the ice comes back who knows. I do know that if we all got with the program here and had a bigger show of force in the open hockeys and skills class that would speak volumes to Nytex ownership about how important hockey is to us all. Bitching on a blog does no good, if you care about nytex and care about getting better, get your ass out to the skills class, get out to more open hockey sessions, come to the drop ins, and make it so crowded out there on the ice that they have to put down the 2nd sheet.
You wonder how the gators got better they came to the skills, came to the crop ins, put in some sweat equity, and are now coming into their own. The Gators of today could be the Silver Bullets next year, who knows. All I know is we have a good bunch of folks, a great sheet of ice, and saturday nights belong to us.
POW POW
great post!!! thats exactly how our team got better..by playing those who possesed skills and talents far beyond ours. we watched how the good teams played hockey and compared it to how our team played the game and have gotten leaps and bounds better since our first season when we didnt win a single game. I agree 100%
#10 Gators
Draft is the worst idea since the Metric System Campaign in the USA. Nice try but you're smoking crack, unless the draft is purely optional, which would defeat the purpose. What next, Salary Cap?
I will throw this Idea on the table, then I'm done. I've been threaten by someone who's hideing behind some bogus team number.
What about takeing the 10 teams in the league ang splitting the league into and "A" and "B" division. With 5 teams in both. the top 5 teams into "A" and the bottom 5 into "B". Then do the schedule with, say the "A" division playing teams within theie division twice (8 games) then 2 games againest teams in the other division.
Another thing that could be added, the team that finishes first in the "B" division moves up to the "A" the next season and the team that finishes last in the "A" division moves down, Or they have the option to move down and if they decide not to the "B" doesn't have to move up.
just a thought that would be a simple and quick solution
Now I'm done with this.
Greg
#8 Bullet
The draft is a hot button topic. For now it is like Time Travel, just a thought that may never see the light of day.
And woops, looks like I did smoke crack last night. I thought I was using my inhaler for asthma, but on second glance yep its crack
Greg,
That's the most sense anyone has made yet. I like that idea a lot.
And if someone has actually made a threat to you in a post, that is uncool and we can have that dealt with. Let me know more details ASAP. dickiedunnblog@gmail.com
We need to have a mandatory smoke out before every game. Consider it a warm up. That would make the games much friendlier. There would be a lot of laughter, too. Tough guys would mellow out, shy ones liberated… As the ancient Greeks and Romans used to say before their hockey game, “In weedo frienditas”. Follow this advice and I guarantee you that the only cross checking in the game would be looking at the opposite sex on the other team. You know, right Dude…? Can’t we just all get along…?
Gator #156
P.S.: Don't be a chicken Greg...
actually not a bad idea at all...i would support that 100%. i actually like that better than a draft...alot less work would go into splitting up the league than having someone watch many games and labeling each player and all that. good thoughts...#10 Gators
Greg,
I support that 100%. I think that would be a great way to keep the Bronze league good but make it fair. You can have a playoff for each division and the two division champions can play each other for the Keg. I do agree that there are teams in the Bronze league that are really good and should be in the silver league but prefer not to move up. This way you still play a couple of them but not all the time.
*scratches head* Didn't i say something just like Greg in the other topic? I'm just sayin. ;)
Monkey 65, you probably did, do you want a cookie?
If your offering I'll take a beer.
On board with Greg's idea of a split in the bronze with the best B team moving to A and vise versa each session. Only thing I would add is the winner of the A division play a team of all-star B division players.
May God Have Mercy On The Souls of The Ice Gators!
The split league format would benefit the league/players in a couple ways.
1. Teams playing like-ability teams would tend to have more fun due to not getting blown out, having more of a chance to get puck-time (because the other team won't have it all the time) and would generally allow for more play/player development, again because there would be more equal time of procession.
2. Teams in the upper level would be forced to be "on" for more games, due to the more consistent level of competition, thus forcing them to perform at a higher level which by nature makes you a better player.
I was intrigued by the draft idea. It would certainly be a revolutionary move in any beer league and would create an interesting league atmosphere. The concept is riddled with problems, mainly how to evaluate, how to help teams that are short handed that night (so they don't go get a bunch of level 1 guys to sub in), and by nature, in a beer league, you want to play with your friends and co-workers. People would need to completely buy in to the "I-league" concept of providing an opportunity for new players to get started and learn the game.
Unfortunately, that attitude will never be shared by 100% of the participants, due to egos, personalities, etc. It's the same all over in any rec league that I've ever played in Chicago, New York and Ohio. There are guys who think that this is the NHL and what they see on TV is appropriate conduct. What they forget is that those guys are highly trained and get paid a lot to play. After the games on Saturday nights, we have to get ready for work on Monday and don't have Loyd's of London insurance policies to fall back on in case of injury. The dumb, insulting comments will always be there. The sometimes stupid (read: dangerous) play will occasionally be there. What the members of this league need to remember is the main thing is to have fun, win or lose, and if you're winning, win gracefully and if losing, refocus and work on something, anything, so that when you go into the locker room, you can say "we got beat, but did you see how (insert a positive from the game here)?". Take a positive home after every game.
I'm 40 years old and my glory years are way behind me, but as long as I can skate hard, get a good workout in, have fun, help others who want to learn, and meet new people who are fun to be around, that's all I ask out of the game of hockey any more.
In summary, I throw another voice to the groundswell of support for a split Bronze (A/B) league.
See you on the ice....
Monkeys #24
Another reason to think about who plays in what leage is the nights the games are held....
Also, there are ALWAYS going to be guys better than you and guys not as good as you. Never will there be an evenly matched talent/skill/desire/whatever group of guys. If you think you can "even" out the teams by splitting guys up, you are wrong. It may work for a while, but pretty soon you will have some guys that get better faster and so on.
I understand the feelings that drive most of these comments. Believe me I have seen this before. That's the main reason players, teams and entire divisions have left one rink to go to another, only to find the same stuff at the new place.
Is there something that could be done to make the disparity a bit closer, probably, but i guarantee you, no matter what is done about it, there will always be a certain group of players upset about the decision......
That's why nothing gets done by rinks. They leave it up to the players.
So, what's it gonna be? Change your tampon and get back out there, or go to the doctor and get a hysterectomy?
Greg,
The split league idea was brought up at the last coordinators meeting and was shot down. I say we ask for it again next session. I believe we can get a two teir or A and B league. You guys are right on with the top team in lower move up and worst team move down. The Coordinators still need to resist the temptation of bringing in the "ringers" whenever possible. For the life of me I don't know why a Gold league or A league player would want to play in our league, but they do. Guess they are the same guys who need big hats and big belt buckles?????
Lets have some fun. What do you think of a pond hockey style game.
Sorry about the delay on the scores I'm still in Florida. Hey lets have a beer next week and have some fun.
PS Whoever wants a piece of Greg doesn't know him. He may be the biggest guy in the league. Greg I think you are safe.
Sens#2
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