Not much news these cold dark days, but in the spirit of posting somewhat regularly, in case anyone actually reads this thing, I'm posting about the most recent fun: broomball! For those not familiar: http://www.cincinnatibroomball.org/
Greg and I joined a league team and played our first game this past Sunday. It was ridiculously fun. Our team, Party In My Tummy really came together with all our novice-ness and managed to not score against the Universal Forest Products. (But they didn't score either!) We did manage to have somewhere around 8-10 penalty points, 6 of them taken by one proud, tripping teammate: Pete. In our broomball league, if you lose control of your body and inadvertently take someone out, it's a penalty whether you meant it or not. So for those of us flat on the ice more than on our feet, this could be a problem!
We started the game with probably only 3 or 4 of us truly understanding the floating blue line. (Once you are in your offensive zone, the blue line "floats back" to the red line and you get a bigger playing area.) So we had confused teammates screaming "offsides!" from the bench the entire game. And then there are those with soccer history that while playing defense think they can't come up past a certain line to keep the ball in the zone. And the rest of us just floated around on the ice not really knowing where to go or what to do. Did I mention the other team was a mirror of our fantastic skills? All put together this made for some GREAT broomball! :)
No one seemed to get too hurt on our team. I fell and smacked my helmeted head on the ice, which was just shocking rather than painful. I think trying to stop yourself from falling makes things worse. The other thing I learned was when you attempt to purposely slide on the ice, as in your body not feet, you go WAY faster and farther than you thought you would.
After the game, Greg and I went to dinner with our friends Shawn and Sarah and discussed strategies and ways to make it better. They played on a league last year at Fountain Square's rink, which is about a third of the size of the Gardens' rink. So the rules were a bit relaxed and the action quite a bit different. Positions weren't so important. We all agreed we need to go to a Cyclones game and pay attention to the positions. Having grown up watching hockey, I get the positions, the offsides, etc etc. The main difference is you don't change directions on a dime like you do in hockey. It was like we were all in slow motion. Hilarious to watch.
The ref was awesome, explaining all the rules and penalties and plays as they happened. By the end of the game, I think because everyone was so tired we just all kind of stood around looking at each other after a whistle. He had to yell at us to hurry up to faceoff a few times. :) Other key learnings: don't take your helmet off while at the bench (in case a tired teammate needs you to sub... NOW!), you can kick the ball but be prepared to fall, and remember a freakin' water bottle.
Good fun. Next week I'll remember to take my camera to our bench and snap some action shots. I'm definitely sore and could use a massage right now. Know some things to practice. I'm even thinking my studio building could be a nice indoor practice area :)
2 comments:
Glad you guys had fun, sounds like a good time. Jamie and I'll have to come watch sometime, maybe even get a crowd wave going.
Go for the goalie position, it's easier on you most of the time, well until the opposition leaves your zone. I speak from experience.
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