Off Season Training

A few days ago, I went to a skills session training for hockey. In the off season, you should try your best to stay in shape and keep up with your skills, because if you don’t you can fall behind. My high school hockey coach does a skills session every summer in which he teaches you the basics. Some younger kids go to learn the basics where as the older kids go to keep up their skills.

The training is an hour off ice and an hour on ice. I didn’t know how intense it was going to be but I prepared for the worst. I came to realize that if I hope for the best and pray for the worst in hockey, I will never get my hopes up. I arrived at the hockey rink a half an hour before it began. I got a ride with my friend who also does the clinic. We sat around in the parking lot and talked while waiting for the instructors. I was nervous. I didn’t want to face the fact that I am a little out of shape since hockey season was over. I didn’t want to be the kid behind everyone in the pack because I couldn’t keep up. That wasn’t going to happen, I was determined.

The two instructors arrived right on time and it was time to begin. I hoped that they would start out easy and give us time to stretch. I was wrong. Right after they gave their speech to us they made us sprint. Now, I’m not complaining but when we were on our fifth sprint, I was ready to leave. How could I be so tired? Was it because I was out of shape or because this workout really was difficult? I looked around to see the other kids and their reaction. Yep, it wasn’t just me. We were all so tired and it hadn’t even been five minutes. All I thought to myself was what I was going to do to keep going until the rest of the practice.

After sprinting some more, we had to do exercises. I have never even heard of these exercises and I soon realized why. They were near impossible to do. I don’t think I did one of the exercises exactly right. Although I looked around and tried to fix my obvious errors during the exercises, nobody was really doing them right so I couldn’t even get a demonstration. After, we ran around the building and did some jumping jacks, which was the easiest part.

After the hour was over, I wondered how I could possibly be able to go out onto the ice for another set of skills. What was the worst part of the whole thing? I forgot my water. Luckily, my friend had brought some so I just took some of hers. After getting dressed, I finally headed out onto the ice. We skated around a little bit and I was eagerly anticipating what we would do since I was so tired. Fifty five more minutes, and I was counting  until I could take off all my sweaty equipment and go home to drink all the gallons of water in the world.

Surprisingly, the skating part was easy. It was just basic skills that I had already gone over when I was young and just some of the drills we did during high school season. I was so happy! I don’t know what I would have done if the skating was anything like the off ice. Finally, the practice was over. Now if you read my blog, you know how much I love hockey. I will do anything to get on the ice and do anything I can to improve myself. I will not complain, at least not out loud, and I will work hard. Next time I just think that I will bring water and not eat a whole meal right before going.

WORDCOUNT: 661

Learn to Skate

                When I was barely four years old, I started to begin the hockey process.  Now those of you who play hockey probably know what I am talking about. But for those of you who do not, here’s what I mean. When you are young, you go through this process of learn to skate. Where I went, there were three levels. Level one was the worst and level three was the best. But before you join you have to go skate around a little so they can assess your skating and put u in a level.

                It was the night of September 24th 2001, the night before I would start my learn to skate, and I was nervous. I don’t know if this was one of those days where you remember for the rest of your life because it has so much significance, or because you were so nervous you’ll never forget.  But for some weird reason, I remember almost every single second of the night before, and the day it all began.  I remember my dad asking me if I was nervous and me replying yes. Since my dad and my sister both skated, I wanted to impress them and show them that I was no different.  I wanted them to be so proud.

                It was six in the morning on September 25^th 2001, hockey day. The sport I would soon know to love and play starts here. Normally I would say that I woke up at six because I was so nervous, but sadly, this is the time I woke up every morning when I was young. All of the hours of sleep I wish I could regain. I ventured down stairs where my mom was making her coffee and getting ready to start the day. She gave me my apple juice and that’s when I started to get serious. I have my apple juice in hand, and I’m ready to go. Unfortunately, the skating didn’t start till one. I had to calm down a little bit.  One o’clock seemed so far away.

                It was noon, ready to get on the road and go to the skating rink. After my mom buckled me in to my car seat, we started to pull out of our drive way. Being four years old, worrying wasn’t really in my vocabulary. But I was a little nervous. Even being four years old, I knew how much hockey meant to my family. After we arrived there it was half an hour until ice time. Since everyone was just starting out, we all had snow pants, jackets, white skates, and a bike helmet. 

                I remember everyone with their parents and they were all running around and it was so hectic. I was just happy and excited to get on the ice and skate. The coordinator came out and told us all that the session is beginning and to take the child to the door entering the ice and there will be helpers and crates there. Since I was already closest to the door, I was going out first.

Everyone was looking at me and I was so scared I was going to fall. I stepped out onto the ice and there a woman with brown hair was waiting for me with a black crate in hand. I got onto the ice and my parents were smiling. The lady gave me my crate and guided me over to where the rest of the instructors were. After all of the other kids made it out onto the ice the assessment was beginning. We were all told to skate from cone A to cone B. after we did that they told us where to go. I made it to level two!!!! I was so happy! I felt like I was on top of the world, and you know what? That day, I started the sport that I love.

WORDCOUNT: 650

The Death of an Innocent Open Response homework

While reading the story, I noticed several things of Chris's daily life that led me to believe that he was not a regular teenager. His family talked about how on his weekends, he would go and talk to the less fortunate and try to turn their life around. That's when I first noticed that he wasn't the average teen who spent their weekends with their friends hanging out. The second thing was his running style. Leading his team, they would run and run to no place in particular. This showed a free spirited side and someone that went with the flow. I noticed that he didn't really plan some things out and just liked to see where it took him. The last thing that really stuck out to me was the topics of discussion. His family mentioned how he would go on for hours about people's lifestyles and how and individual could starve. I then realized that he was a very eager kid who wanted answers that can be hard to find.

Summer League

Every single summer, my high school hockey team and I have to compete in a summer league. We compete with other high school hockey teams. It is pretty important because this is a sneak preview on what our team is going to look like for the real season. But not only is it a preview to us, but to the teams we are competing against.

My coach told us all to be there an hour early, but since I had so much homework, I got there a half an hour early. I was a little scared that he would be mad but he didn’t even notice.  Seeing all of my teammates felt great! I felt like I hadn’t seen them in forever and when I got there they all screamed and hugged me. We were reunited. I got dressed with plenty of time to spare. Now, I was just waiting. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. I felt a little out of shape and I didn’t know how tired I would get.

Since it is against the rules for your high school coach to coach the summer league, one of the parents coaches it. But don’t be mistaken, my coach is right up there watching all of us. Which is even more nerve racking.  He is trying to figure out where to put us when we get to winter hockey, the real deal. Right when I heard the zamboni finish, I knew it was time to get moving. So I stood up, and headed toward the locker room door.

The opposing team was already out there warming up, and I was getting nervous. I know that this game didn’t count, but it counted to me. I want a good spot on my team for winter so bad. I stepped out onto the ice and started warming up. I hadn’t skated in about a month so it felt a little bit weird. I skated around a little bit and the buzzer sounded. It was time.

I skated over to the bench to hear the lineup. I didn’t hear my name, and I got a little nervous. Did they forget me? I asked my summer league coach and he told me I was on first line with two juniors who will be seniors next year. This made me so happy! Just the fact that he trusted me to be on first line was satisfying enough. Although this was just summer league, it was turning out to be a great season ahead.

The buzzer then blew again which I knew it meant that it was game time. I went to my right winger position and waited for the puck to drop. When it did we won the face off and drew it back to our defense. They proceeded on getting the puck and passing it to me. I went full speed up ahead and made it to their zone. I passed the puck to my center and she shot it. No, we did not score. But it was a pretty positive way on starting out the game.  We wound up winning the game. This made me very happy.  I’m pleased with how I played and hopefully so was my coach. Although I know we are not going to win them all, this was a good start.

WORDCOUNT: 556

May 18th open response

Question: Why has John chosen a more primitive life style for his tribe?

John’s journey is so unusual because of him going to a forbidden place, which is the God’s place. There, he sees dead men, not gods.  In result, he totally changes his view of life. He doesn’t want to live how his tribe has been living. He wants to change their way of life because he now knows the truth about the forbidden place. He is aware that they were not gods, but deceased humans due to war. His tribe and he have been so naïve for so long. He wants to live a more simplistic lifestyle because he thinks that he has finally figure out what was true all along.

Homework May 15th

The theme that was portrayed in the short story we read was forgiveness. In the beginning, it was very clear that they both hated each other. They had their own reasons and were not friendly. They both believed that they were entitled to a piece of land. One day, the enemies got stuck under a fallen tree and were forced to talk to each other. They realized that one another weren't so bad and wound up making amends.

Bringing Moose Home

On the day of December 9th 2010, I brought my puppy home. He was an American mastiff and we had named him Moose. This is a good name we figured because of his size. I remember this day as if it were yesterday. I came home from school to be surprised by this little puppy greeting me at the door. I had always wanted a dog but my parents didn’t think that we could handle the responsibility when we were so young. So they waited, which was the smart decision in the end.

We got Moose from an American Mastiff breeder. She has over fifteen Mastiffs! I complain about taking care of one! I don’t know how she does it but she is great at her job. All the dogs listen to her and obey her commands. Once the puppies are born, she cares for them for two months before she gives them to us. She has a little house for them and everything. She owns a farm, which I guess is what you need when you are caring for so many mastiffs.

Right from the beginning in living with Moose, we knew he was going to be a lot of work. Some jobs included; taking him out every fifteen minutes, constantly watching him, and feeding him and giving him just the right amount of water. It was a lot of constant work. But it was all worth it. To see his face and play with him and take him for walks in which I always dreamed of doing, made all the work in the world worth it. I remember one night, he barked so much in his room because he was just getting used to the environment. I got so upset because I had barely gotten sleep. But when I saw him that morning, I hugged him and played with him. All my anger subsided. I was happy, filled with excitement, and joy.

That Friday, all of my friends came over to see Moose. I was so excited for them to see him and fall in love with him just like I had. When they came over and saw his cute little face right at the door, their hearts melted. That was me when I first saw him too. That night, my friends and I played with him, took him for a walk, and watched a movie while he was on my friends lap, sleeping. It was a priceless moment. That was one of those times where we are all going to look back on and smile.

Today, my dog isn’t so small. He is 152 pounds of pure joy. He comes in every morning and wakes me up. I couldn’t think of a better way in which I could be woken up. Although I have only had him for a year and some months, I couldn’t imagine him not being here every day to do the little things of joy that he brings to my family and I. Moose is, and always will be, a part of our family.
WORDCOUNT:511