Bridgewater, MA

Yes, you read that correctly, and no, I didn't accidentally put MA instead of NJ. This week I'm in Bridgewater again, but this time I'm visiting Massachusetts. I must say that so far I haven't seen much of either Bridgewater or Middleborough (where my hotel is located) but I can say that I have enjoyed traveling around the area much more than I did NJ; I can actually turn left and get onto a road in the right direction with ease! There also isn't a ton of traffic, well, comparitively to NJ. I'm thinking that NJ should take notes from MA on how to keep traffic moving without comprimising the ability to turn and get to the other side of the road.

The camp is an odd one, I have 10 skaters and 2 goalies... 2 goalies! Luckily, I have an instructor who attends UMass Boston (NCAA DIII) to coach the skaters. I'm confident that I know the skills skaters need and the details that need to be focused on, but it would be tremendously difficult to teach both players and goalies at the same time. As a result, I only have to instruct the goalies. It would seem that 2 goalies would be a piece of cake and that there would be no difficulties, but I must say that can't be further from the truth. The difficulty lies in the ability level of each goalie. I have one 14 year old kid who is entering into high school and is enrolled in the Elite program which is designed to be fast paced and less focused on fundamentals with more of an emphasis on details and the explosive nature of the position. On the other hand, I have an 8 year old girl who is just beginning. Enrolled in the regular program this is her first exposure to formal training.

Thus far, I have made it work fairly well, but I'm a little upset that my two original shooters decided not to show up on Monday, leaving me without a shooter for about a half hour. Thankfully the local coordinator found another kid to fill in. Unfortuantely, this is all I have now, one shooter. This makes teaching both goalies increasingly difficult since I have to shoot as well as teach and oversee operations. I have found that I can snipe with a goalie stick, though. I knew I had a good shot and fairly accurate, but I believe both my power and my accuracy has increased while working these camps, soley because I have to shoot in many different scenarios. I guess teaching is still the best way to improve, along with practice.

I do have all 12 kids for dry land training where I've been putting them through some pretty tough drills, reducing the number of sets for plyometrics, which they have reacted positively to. Most young kids don't want to work hard at dry land and just want to goof around, but these kids were excited today, when they woke up with sore muscles... in fact, the parents were excited! That to me says they were working and want to get better, even if they do goof off at times, they still put in the effort that they need to in order to get better. The past couple of weeks I have been participating in dry land training as well, working out with the kids (mostly to show that I'm not just making them do it and that I can and will do it). One of the perks of the job, I suppose; I get to work out as well as coach... I'm not going to argue with getting into shape! I've also worked up a nice tan the past few weeks. It started in VT and I've seemed to be able to keep it up; one of the first times in my life I've been tan! Normally, I burn... instant lobster.