Chelmsford Hockey Night at the River Hawks (2016)

Cooper stocks up on electrolytes in anticipation of an exciting night.

The River Hawks getting warmed up.

The Mite 2 crew settling in. 

Coach King is a lock for Girls U12 head coach in, say, 8 years. 

Logan, Josh, and Thomas (blocking Keegan) are all smiles.

Clayton probably won the “Hair of the Night” award.

Adam and Nicky, best buds and huge River Hawks fans.

UML staff gave us this banner for the night.

Next year those are going to be Chelmsford kids with the flags. 

Time to get this party started. 

The snow didn’t stop these hearty Chelmsfordians. 

The future is bright for our girl’s program.

No shortage of Bauer jackets in the house.

Jackson with a yard full of fun. 

The Squirt 2s take the ice for the Intermission Experience.

Chelmsford youth showing off their skills.

Nice form by both goalie and skater. 

Goal or save? 

Cooper’s not letting this one get by him. 

I think there’s a spin move in progress here. 

The PeeWee 4s and Squirt 2s doing their thing. 

Looking good, Chelmsford. 

Squirt 2 half sheet. 

PeeWee 4 half sheet. (Nice follow through!)

Over here, Rowdy. 

Matty getting the crew fired up.

These kids were at it all night. 

Getting ready to pick up after Chuck-A-Puck.

You’re the best, coach. 

Can you find yourself? 

Maybe you’re in this shot? 

The kids still at it along the glass. 

Chelmsford parents watch on as the River Hawks battle Northeastern in a 2-2 tie. 

No shortage of Chelmsford kids on the Jumbotron.

Rowdy trying to rally the crowd in overtime. 

 

Mite Maroon: A Storybook Season

This post is dedicated the kids and parents of our Mite Maroon team. Coach Joe, Coach Gary and myself were very fortunate to get the opportunity to coach such an incredible group. The development we saw in these kids from first practice to last was borderline unbelievable. Every single kid improved by leaps and bounds, and every single one of them tried their best all season long to achieve that. Every single kid was respectful, kind, and a good teammate both on and off the ice. Every single one of these kids is a hockey player.

Special props to the parents. All of us coaches know that it starts with you guys. You got them to the rink 3-4 times a week, got them dressed in their gear (not easy), woke up before the sun for most games, and encouraged your kids to be the best athletes that they can be day in and day out. You parents deserve special credit for doing all that you did these past 7 months. 7 months!! Thank you for making this a storybook season for your kids and their coaches. I’m going to cherish this experience for as long as I live.

(You can click on each picture to see a larger version, and if you right-click on an image and choose “Save image as…” you can save it to your computer. Both of those things should be possible with your phones as well, but the method differs depending on your type of phone.)

Spitzy. We got handed our first loss with him in net, but he took it like a champ and was smiling in the locker room afterwards. We all learned from him that day. Maybe one of my favorite moments of the season.

Sure these two had fun on the ice all year, but nobody had a better time than their dads, yucking it up behind the bench during games.

Good friends off the ice, teammates on the ice. Have fun in Squirts next year, Coop. We are going to miss you.

Amber and Austin getting ready to take the ice at the Tsongas Center.

Huddle up, kids. You’re about to skate on the same ice as the River Hawks.

After a vigorous pre-game speech from their coach, Mite White is all business heading to the ice.

Girls just wanna have fuh-un.

I slipped the camera guy a 20 after the game, so, you might happen to notice a few more shots of this guy than the other kids.

I need a faster camera if I want to catch Jack Sheehan in focus. Opposing teams beware, you’re not getting by this kid when he’s playing D.

A late-season addition to practices, but boy did he shine. You’ll look good in maroon and white, Mark.

A pre-game pic of our Maroons. Love these kids.

I warned you.

I got to calling him “Full Ice” Aidan by the end of the year. His speed and skills really stood out once we went full. Squirts are lucky to have you, A.

Cooper and Will getting ready for a face-off; smiles on their faces.

Hockey ready, every single one of them. Love it.

At the beginning of the season, all 4 Maroons in this pic would be bunched up around the puck. Nice spacing, kiddos.

Crashing the net.

Kiggins lets it rip.

Line change! (Aka, chaos)

Coach Joe took face-offs very seriously.

#5 bringing it out of the zone.

Nice face, Nicky!

He’s like a brick wall, isn’t he Ruby?

Like I said, very serious about his face-offs.

Honored to be sharing the ice, River Hawks.

Joe Joe has his game face on. Another kid headed up to Squirts that will be sorely missed by us Mites next year.

Z sets up on the blue line, his coach and dad preparing for the next shift in the background.

Luke streaks down the ice with Little Jack G (maybe the MVP of this game) following behind.

Hunter joined Mites mid-season and I really enjoyed seeing him develop during this time. Great job, Coach Glen.

Full Ice Aidan making a play from the corner, #5 manning the point.

Clayton about to pivot and get into position on D to stop those pesky Maroons from scoring.

I love the positioning of Mite White in this picture. That’s how to support the player with the puck! Well done, Coach Glen.

Josh getting into position in front of the net as one of his teammates battles for the puck off to the right. Stick down, Josh! (sorry, the coach in me never rests)

Brick. Wall.

Live action face-off. Great job, camera man.

Matty Ice on a breakaway. (We swapped goalies a few times by the way, this is legit)

Joe Joe rips one past Mark, not something easily done. This one rung off the post though… #GoaliesBestFriend

You guys getting the picture yet? Very, very serious business, this face-off stuff.

Maroon and White going after the puck, stride for stride.

Cooper bringing the puck out of the zone along the boards. Thank you for listening, Coop.

Nicky is getting on the ice, not off. This kid and his hair brought a smile to my face often.

Good times being had on the bench.

Joey G, on IR for a good chunk of the season, came back to us with a vengeance and finished the season strong. Here he’s about to challenge White for the puck behind the net.

Hunter going after Joe Joe as if he’s been skating with the Mites all year.

A sellout crowd watches on…

Haha! I caught Coach Joe having fun during a face-off. Busted!

Ruby on a breakaway…

Not so fast, Ruby. Maroon has something to say about your breakaway.

Safe?

Jack mans the point as his teammates pinch deep in the other team’s zone.

Go get him, Amber! Click on this pic to see the larger version, note the smile on her face. Rule #1 — Have fun. Mission accomplished.

Joey G about to unleash a laser. Everyone duck!

Thanks for having us, Tsongas Center. We had a blast.

Magnus in pursuit of Joe Joe. Not an easy task.

This was Jack after a great save. “Hey, you guys looking for this?”

Coach Joe takes the puck and gives Jack a well deserved pat on the head.

Luke and Matty Ice battle for the puck.

One of my favorite pics of the shoot. Smiles and sweat, that’s all we want to see at the end of every game.

Great, great season for both Mite White and Mite Maroon. So proud of these kids and happy to be a part of this storybook season. Wishing all of you bright futures in the best sport that there is.

 

The Story of Grem and Acer

They were cars.

Two lemons to be exact. Two lemons of little note. Exactly the way the two of them wanted it. For the most part…

“What do I care?” Grem whined in his shrill voice. “It’s better off they never notice us. We aren’t supposed to be noticed, remember?”

“You’re always so dramatic,” complained Acer. “I’m bored and this is getting old. Nobody ever notices us anyways.” And so went the argument they were having once again, an argument they seemingly had almost every single day. If it was up to Grem they would stay out of the spotlight and never have any fun, but Acer wanted more. Acer wanted a life that was more than just hiding. They were always hiding! Hiding as if they were criminals.

The two of them actually being criminals was not the point, thought Acer.

“How about we just test the waters and see what’s out there?” asked Acer.

“That’s not our life. That’s not who we are,” stated Grem as if this was absolute.

“The little one’s noticed us, you know?” Acer said with a nervous, sidelong glance.

“I know,” grumbled Grem in frustration. “He’s had his on eye us for a while now. We have to watch out for that one.”

Much to Acer’s delight, it didn’t take long for Grem’s suspicions to prove true. Before either of them knew what was happening, they found themselves pulled directly into the spotlight.

Continue reading the rest of this post on Dads Round Table…

 

Confessions of the Lost: Her Fight in the Snow

She crouched behind the crumbled remnants of an old, stone wall and waited.

She could hear them breathing, hear the slight movements of their hands and arms coming from the signals they gave each other about her perceived whereabouts. This, along with the crunch of snow beneath their boots and sharp intakes of breath from the frigid air they were breathing gave away their exact locations. But, it was clear they did not know where she was. Knowing her location was unacceptable.

And why would they know where she was? Boys. They sent boys to kill her.

The last light of the day was slowly fading below the trees and their shadows began to stretch across the earth as if reaching for her from across a great distance. “Join the club,” she thought.

She wasn’t sure which was the bigger insult — that her ex-captors still wanted her dead after what they did to her, or that they sent these boys all this way to finish the job. After robbing her emotion and feeling, you would think they would leave it at that. Be satisfied that that was enough. That to leave her alone with the memories of their brand of torture would be punishment enough for her escape.

Alone, she was. Left alone, she was not.

She would always be alone after what they did to her. Nobody could possibly know how she felt, what she experienced in those caves. Nobody that was alive, at least. Women never left those caves, only entered. She was the first. She was on a mission of firsts, and if all went accordingly to plan, also of lasts. She, the one for whom the shadows were cast.

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To Our Mother; My Wife

Always there for me: in the middle of the night, when I get off the school bus, to hug me when I’m feeling happy as well as sad.

Underappreciated: there will come a day when I truly recognize and appreciate all that you have done for me and all the effort you gave to make me who I am, but for now, just know I love you unconditionally.

Sacrificer: something else I won’t fully appreciate until I’m older, but rest assured I’m taking it all in: your patience given, time dedicated, energy spent, love spread.

Teacher: you’ve taught me many things big and small, and will continue doing so for the rest of your life, but it’s those basic fundamentals I want to make a special point to thank you for — a critical life skill as well as a way to better enjoy pool parties with family or friends, our time spent at the beach … thank you for teaching me to swim.

Intelligent and strong: our entire family draws upon your strength daily and benefits from your intelligence just as often – teacher and educator, backbone and glue.

Continue reading the rest of this post on Dads Round Table…