Coach Plonka
After a long needed break, our boys were scheduled to arrive back no later than Jan 2nd to be prepared for practice Jan 3rd. It was a nice xmas break for myself as I visited friends and family back home in Castlegar BC, but I was also eager to see the boys aggian and get back to work. The upside of the break was a chance to get some rest from our very busy schedule, have time to heal injuries and kill that "home sick" feeling by visiting with their own families. The downside to an extended break, (and I have seen it in the past) is that a good portion of the team becomes rusty and conditioning depreciates This is natural after we practice on ice up 5-6 times per week. In our first practice back on the third we were noticeably sluggish, our timing was off and we weren't as sharp as we can be. I knew that this would be the case and instructed a majority conditioning skate. The boys weren't to happy with me but I insisted it was for their benefit to get back to neutral. Practice on the 4th and 5 th were much the same but adding in some new system stuff and also stricter, tighter, pre game routines that will stick with us for the remainder of the season. We packed up on Friday and headed out for a 3 game weekend starting in Camrose. I thought we played well except for about 5 mins in the second period and that cost us. We lost the game 4 to 2. On Saturday we played the first placed Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in a very chippy affair. I feel we out played them and controlled the majority of the game but had some unfavorable bounces and we were unable to climb out of the hole we dug ourselves. We ended up losing 5 to 3, I was actually happy with our performance but not the end result. We needed to remain positive and know that if we play the same way and stick to the game plan that we would eventually be successful. We had a good winning mind set and focus going into Sherwood Park and we came a way with a much deserved 4 to 1 win. The win was a big confidence boost as we headed into the next week of practices and we were all eagerly anticipating our our first upcoming home games since Oct 22.
Coach Plonka
After a long needed break, our boys were scheduled to arrive back no later than Jan 2nd to be prepared for practice Jan 3rd. It was a nice xmas break for myself as I visited friends and family back home in Castlegar BC, but I was also eager to see the boys aggian and get back to work. The upside of the break was a chance to get some rest from our very busy schedule, have time to heal injuries and kill that "home sick" feeling by visiting with their own families. The downside to an extended break, (and I have seen it in the past) is that a good portion of the team becomes rusty and conditioning depreciates This is natural after we practice on ice up 5-6 times per week. In our first practice back on the third we were noticeably sluggish, our timing was off and we weren't as sharp as we can be. I knew that this would be the case and instructed a majority conditioning skate. The boys weren't to happy with me but I insisted it was for their benefit to get back to neutral. Practice on the 4th and 5 th were much the same but adding in some new system stuff and also stricter, tighter, pre game routines that will stick with us for the remainder of the season. We packed up on Friday and headed out for a 3 game weekend starting in Camrose. I thought we played well except for about 5 mins in the second period and that cost us. We lost the game 4 to 2. On Saturday we played the first placed Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in a very chippy affair. I feel we out played them and controlled the majority of the game but had some unfavorable bounces and we were unable to climb out of the hole we dug ourselves. We ended up losing 5 to 3, I was actually happy with our performance but not the end result. We needed to remain positive and know that if we play the same way and stick to the game plan that we would eventually be successful. We had a good winning mind set and focus going into Sherwood Park and we came a way with a much deserved 4 to 1 win. The win was a big confidence boost as we headed into the next week of practices and we were all eagerly anticipating our our first upcoming home games since Oct 22.
Coach Plonka
No comments:
Post a Comment