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Add Comment Save Island Storm 05/09/2012
 Many of you have heard that RMU Island Sports Center is discontinuing the Island Storm Women's Learn to Play Hockey Program. No reason was given for this. When we posted about this on our Facebook page, we had a lot of comments asking why and/or how this could happen when the program is always full. Out of this response a friend created a Save Island Storm Facebook page and Valley Hockey has expressed interest in starting their own women's only skills and scrimmage program based on the overwhelming comments on our Facebook page thread. Here is the email Valley Hockey has sent to us and others: Valley Hockey is looking at a WOMENS ONLY skills and scrimmage class for 6 weeks starting in June, we are seeking out interest in the Valley Hockey Community. WHO IS INTERESTED? please respond to this email so we can get a head count. the cost for the 6 sessions would be determined by how commitments we get. -- Thanks, Valley Hockey adulthockeyvsc@gmail.com Be sure to email Valley Hockey if you are interested in their program. Hopefully they will be able to continue the women's only learn to play hockey program! -Char You know you're addicted to hockey if... 02/21/2012
This list was put together by a fellow hockey lady, Sonia Bynum. Please feel free to add to it in the comments below. 1. You know your way to/from all hockey rinks in the area without having to consult a map. 2. Any conversation with strangers invariably turns to hockey after a maximum of 10 minutes. 3. When it comes to budget, hockey vs. groceries is an acceptable consideration. 4. That hockey locker smell? You can't remember the last time you actually noticed it. 5. When looking for new property, space for a backyard skating rink is a heavy factor. So is a basement fit for shooting practice. 6. After a ten minute dissertation on the finer points of playing hockey, your favorite position, the kind of stick you use and where you get your skates sharpened...you realize the person you're speaking with only asked if you had plans that evening. 7. You have at least one puck-shaped bruise at any given time, and you are proud of it. 8. You can't understand why more restaurants don't serve food at 12:30 a.m. on weekdays. 9. You sneak out of the house at 11 p.m....to go play pickup. 10. You use hockey pucks as coasters. And your living room/basement looks like a locker. 11. No skating or hockey for any number of days causes a detectable and significant increase in the level of crankiness. 12. Before hockey, you thought of yourself as a warm-weather person, but now summer is your least favourite season. Make your own...Hockey Tree 02/09/2012
 Wannabe DIY-er and frequent HGTV watcher, Sara P. I'm sure many a hockey lady has the same problem I run into every day: "Where do I put my hockey equipment in a way that both displays my addiction to the sport, but still maintains a clean and orderly home?" Being the fiscally responsible person that I am (aka "cheap bastard"), I have been reluctant to actually spend money on a hockey tree or other organizers. So when I read some plans for hockey trees that you can make yourself, I thought, why not? At first I thought about going the wood route with a plan like this one. But the amount of cutting was a little too involved for me. Then I found the plans for an all-PVC hockey tree and that looked much easier to build. So here is my step-by-step process in building my own PVC hockey tree. Total time to build was about 2.5 hours, but that's partly because I had to stop in the middle of it and make dinner for my husband. Note: All of the work was done by myself, alone, with no advice from the husband. "I can, too, do it without injuring myself or breaking anything, so there!"  Step 1. Buy the materials. After owning my house for three years and I have become way too familiar with my Lowe's store. Although a bit uncertain of what some of these materials were, I decided to go ahead and wing it. Most everything was found in one place and, after extensively looking at the same boxes again and again, I was able to find everything on the list. Total cost: $25. Step 2. Measure the cuts. The most involved part of this whole process is measuring the cuts on the lengths of PVC. The shopping list called for 20 ft. of Schedule 40 PVC pipe, but I actually bought two 10 ft. pieces. Luckily my car was just able to fit the 10 ft. pieces, a single 20 ft. piece would be impossible. Keep this in mind when you go shopping. I was worried the lengths might not work out since I had two pieces instead of one, but it was fine. Remember the old adage, "measure twice, cut once". Make sure you have all the lengths you'll need before you start cutting.  Step 3. Cutting. I was a bit concerned about this part, since I'm not so good with the hand saw and there may have been some "incidents" in the past. But I wanted to give it a try and it actually was quite easy. I do recommend using a mitre box and saw as the directions suggest, and I also used a clamp to hold the pipe to the box. The PVC was pretty easy to cut through. I can't say I was super exact in cutting along my measurements (maybe off by an 1/8'' sometimes), but apparently close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades...and hockey trees:)  This picture shows all the materials with the two 10 ft. PVC pipes cut down to the necessary lengths. The ends of the lengths were pretty rough once I cut them, so I did "sand" them all quickly with a scotch brite pad to take off the edges.  Step 4. Assembly. I followed the directions and it was clear and easy to assemble. I decided to do a dry fit first, before using the PVC cement, but after I put it together it seemed to hold up ok so I chose not to use the cement at all. I didn't like the idea of the cement smelling up my house, and this way I can continue to make adjustments to the tree as necessary. I also chose not to put on the stick holders, so I actually didn't need any of the larger couplings or the zip ties. I'll probably just return them to the store. I'm hoping to come up with an attachment to hang my pants from. I also like the "arm" in their picture for hanging up your jerseys. I am super happy with my new hockey tree; it was easy to make and I can now proudly display my equipment without taking up an entire room. E&P session 2... 01/09/2012
I am approaching my one-year anniversary. Last January, 2011, was the first time I played ice hockey. I fell in love. A year later, I thought it might be fun to revisit my impressions as a middle-aged woman playing ice hockey....here ya go. -Val The second hockey session was better than the first. Odd, because I was much, MUCH more nervous last night than I was the first session. Possibly - most likely - because I now knew how bad I was. I wasn't harboring shameful, secret delusions that somehow I was going to turn out to be a hockey natural. I've never been a natural at any sport in my life. I was an enthusiastic but lousy gymnast, an enthusiastic but lousy (and blind) basketball player, an enthusiastic and good swimmer, but slow as molasses, and, well, I can't call myself a "runner" with a straight face, I am a "plodder." Eleven-minute miles, my friends - I know people who walk faster than I "run." I am not sure why, in the deep, hidden depths of my twisted brain, I thought for one minute - one second - that I might turn out to be a natural at hockey. The only thing at which I will ever turn out to be a natural, should the opportunity arise, is the peasant work my sturdy body is genetically designed for: digging potatoes and herding cows and churning butter. I am solid and slow and can go forever, like the freaking Energizer bunny - exactly what you want in a farmhand, not so much in an athlete. At any rate, we live in the 21st century and I don't live on a farm and I want to play hockey. I had done some research and visited the pro shop again, and was now completely and accurately outfitted. Most important for a few reasons were the jock shorts that go under everything. They look like spandex bike shorts, with Velcro patches to use as garters for your socks. They also enabled me to strip down in the locker room without a second thought - well, I had a few second thoughts, but decided I was being ridiculously silly, since I was stripping down to Lycra shorts and a technical running shirt while half the men were wandering around blithely in their tighty whiteys. After I strapped on my shinguards, my new pale blue hockey socks went on top, attached securely to the shorts via their Velcro, and then wrapped with tape. The padded hockey shorts go on top - the shorts pretty much feel like you are wearing an all-encompassing diaper of sorts, but it also helps you feel invincible. I fell on my butt several times last night and barely felt it. (Unfortunately, the shorts also make you think twice about thinking you need to pee.) My jersey is solid pale blue - my ten-year-old pointed out that I looked like I was wearing Penguins alternate uniforms. Not at all my intention - in fact, the thought that I would want to mortified me, kinda like how I am embarrassed for grown men who wear other grown men's names on their backs - but too late to worry about that now. I was not especially pleased when one of the guys called my jersey and socks "baby blue" but oh well. By the end of the scrimmages, my team was calling me "Blue" so, fine. (No one really knows anyone else's names - I defy you to identify one out of twenty five people when you're all in full hockey gear.) I felt a lot more comfortable this week - both because I'd gone skating twice last week, and because I felt less fragile all geared-up. Also, people knew me now. I was putting faces to jerseys and recognizing people, and people recognized me, and I realized we were all pretty damn happy to be out on the ice playing hockey. There was a new guy there this week - a tall Indian guy with a red bandanna doubling as his Sikh headwear under his helmet. He unabashedly confessed that he was completely thrilled to be there, and that playing hockey was a long-held dream. It's not like any of us suit up to skate around in the freezing cold at 930 at night because we feel sorta lukewarmish about something, right? Drills focused on puck-handling and skating skills this week. Despite the fact that I am still the slowest skater, I figured out the basic wrist-turn of proper puck handling pretty easily and the two-on-one drills went much better because of it. (Although when I wryly mentioned that I wish I'd thought to bring my Velcro stick, several people laughed. The puck skittered away from all of us pretty regularly, the slippery little bugger.) I need to work on my backward skating, which I plan to do tonight when I, um, go to the 930 public skating session. Who, me, obsessed? I know you'll all be relieved to learn that I was not the last person picked this week - take THAT, junior high - I was second to last. But the guy who was last is actually a good skater - in fact, I happen to know he teaches hockey clinics for little kids. So I do think my husband's right and it's much more about who knows who than everyone carefully watching the drills and picking out the best players. The scrimmaging was So. Freaking. Fun. With all the new padding, I worried a lot less about 1) falling down, and 2) getting hurt. The slow skating hurt me in the defensive zone, but I am definitely already getting better at reading the puck bounces and knowing where I am supposed to be - even if it takes me forever to get there. I contentedly played defense for a few shifts before our de facto captain shouted, "Hey, Blue, play up this time!" and I found myself on right wing, opposite my friend Sonia. I didn't disgrace myself, I can say that. I didn't suddenly turn into Billy Guerin but I managed. I even got my stick on the puck and moved it up a few times. Next shift I happily returned to defense where I promptly - and accidentally - checked someone into the boards.He asked if I was hurt. I snapped at him, No, are YOU? He had three inches and fifty pounds on me, though, so he was fine. [Note: Last night Sara & I discussed how only women playing hockey apologize. This leads me to my mantra: "There's no I'm sorry in hockey!" (Unless there's blood &/or broken bones...)] It was a great night. On shift breaks I talked to two of the coaches a little - the old one (what? He IS. He's as old as dirt, by the looks of him. Hell, he might be OLDER than dirt. But he can still skate) [Um, yeah. Phil.] and the skinny, mouthy one [yeah, Jason]. Nice guys. Enthusiastic about hockey, knowledgeable as all get out, and thoroughly happy to be running this clinic. Nice. Now I just need to figure out where in this town one can get a beer after midnight and Monday night hockey will be practically perfect. I am approaching my one-year anniversary. Last January, 2011, was the first time I played ice hockey. I fell in love. A year later, I thought it might be fun to revisit my impressions as a middle-aged woman playing ice hockey....here ya go... -Val Stepping out onto the ice in full hockey gear for the first time is an amazing and humbling experience. I felt, even without the cheering hordes the Penguins enjoy, like a freaking gladiator entering the arena to the roars of the bloodthirsty crowd. OK, so I have an over-active imagination...maybe it's the feeling an accomplished actor has stepping onto the stage (I wouldn't know) or a teacher standing before a brand new and eager class (I wouldn't know - I have always been a behind the scenes kind of gal). But whatever it's comparable to, it is amazing. And that was for a scrimmage in a learn-to-play class - imagine the thrill stepping onto the ice at the Consol Energy Center, knowing you can mix it up with the best of them. Buying hockey gear alone was an eye-opening experience. You don't realize as a mere spectator all the crap that a player lugs around the ice with her. Gloves, elbow pads, chest protector, jersey, padded shorts, shin guards, hockey socks, skates, mouthguard, helmet with face mask, stick - you are covered pretty much head to toe in padding. I didn't have time to go buy the chest and shoulder pads, or the shorts, so I made do with some UnderArmour running pants, and the only jersey I had was a San Jose Sharks one, and I didn't want to antagonize any Pens fans there - I shouldn't have worried, the guy wearing the Islanders jersey would have drawn them - so I wore a grey polarfleece. I was the only person not entirely and properly outfitted, despite it being an "instructional" class. Oh well, time enough to go shop before the next class. I borrowed Dan's shinguards and my brother's elbow pads and I had my new skates from Christmas, freshly sharpened at the pro shop.I intend to go buy the shorts this weekend; my brother has some shoulder pads in his old hockey bag down in the basement that I can make work. Everyone else had matching jerseys and socks - red, green, striped - I am leaning toward grey myself. Understated and elegant. Free skate first. I sort of skated around and watched other people until one of the coaches came over and asked if I needed help with anything. First goal - the hockey stop. He showed me how to glide and then dig my blade edge in, to come to that ice-spraying halt inches from the boards.Practice, practice, practice. And then the whistle blew and we drilled - skating exercises first - crossovers, frontwards and backwards, speed drills, stopping drills. One of the coaches told me to slow down and just concentrate on getting the form right, and the speed would come - that helped a lot. Then they broke out the pucks and we did 2-on-1 drills and shooting skills. It quickly became apparent that I was among the worst skaters. Or maybe I just felt that way. But there were a few instances when one of the guys would very obviously scootch his friend forward to skate with me so he didn't have to. Annoying, but I couldn't really blame them - I know I am not any good. That is why I am taking this class, right? Then - scrimmage. The coach selected 6 captains who then selected their teams. Despite the fact that I KNEW I was going to be picked last, it still bugged me a bit. It felt very junior high. I had to remind myself that I had signed up for a hockey skills introductory class, and if the other people were not ok with that, that was their problem, not mine. I was trying really hard, I am an ok skater, and I can only get better, right? After chatting with some of the other people, I felt better. I also realized I was probably a little self-conscious because I wasn't wearing full hockey gear - sometimes you DO want to look like everyone else (I'm talking to you, Mom) - being a tad oversensitive and maybe a little defensive. After that I just tried to relax, hung out with the friendly faces, and played as hard as I could. Turns out I am not an offensive player - not a shock there. But I can be an obstruction just fine, even if the guy bearing down on me at full speed outweighs me by fifty pounds. I feel like my poke check was quite competent, too. I was one of about half a dozen women - several of the others apparently play on a women's team in Mt Lebo, but one of the women was the one who had told me about the class at the public skating session last Friday. Her name is Sonia, she's been skating for about a year, and she plays a very deliberate and thought-out game. Her every move is focused. There was an older guy decked out in Pens regalia who was very friendly, a sloppy but fast player, and another guy whose name I forget, a grad student at CMU, who was playing because his lab partner (one of the other women) talked him into it. He's a better skater than I am, but had no clear idea about zones and which positions shift where depending on the location of the puck. Together with a skilled, experienced young guy in some Slavic-looking jersey who directed us around the ice like a conductor, only with his hockey stick rather than a baton, we rotated through scrimmages for an hour. We played till about 11:15, when the rain started coming down harder, and other guys arrived for the 11:30 pick up game. I was tired, pretty happy, and already looking forward to next week. I have plans to take out my husband for dinner Saturday night, and then skating at one of the public sessions, so I can practice my hockey stop and crossovers. Who wants to go see a nice movie when you can be out in 10-degree weather? 
I was recently checking out this great magazine online for women's/girls hockey called Ice Magazine. As I was looking at some of the product they sell I saw a listing for a hockey stick designed for women. It's called the Eve Metamorphic Hockey Stick, by TCC for Women. One of the main things about this stick is that the shaft is smaller to fit women's hands better. I would love to try out one of these sticks, but since I recently purchased a new Bauer stick not that long ago (before I knew these existed), I can't get myself to spend the money for yet another stick. If anyone happens to purchase or has one of these, please let us know how they work out. We would love to hear some feedback! To read more specifics about this stick, click here. To purchase this stick from Ice Magazine's Ice Store, click here. -Char  Even though I haven't played EA NHL games in a while, I remember how much fun they were to play. The thought of creating myself as a female player actually never came to mind. Maybe it was because it was the normal thing back then (the last EA NHL game I played was 2005). Then I started reading about all the cool new features in NHL 2012 and found out that there will be an option to create a female player. How cool is that? I can finally make myself and play against my husband! Tonight I found out why this option was added to the game. It all came down to the persistence of a 14-year old girl. Check out the story here. Proof that if you put your mind to something, you can do it. Thanks Lexi Peters. Charlene Bidula The Pittsburgh Penguins are running an Adult Hockey Skills Clinic September 22-24, 2011 at Iceoplex at Southpointe. Cost is $250 or $100 for goalies. The clinic will include the following:
For additional information and to register to the clinic, click here. Fall Hockey Classes 08/14/2011
Here are a hockey classes coming up this fall.
| Pittsburgh Women's Hockey Resource Blog
Charlene Bidula, Sara Petyk, Cori James and Val Sweeney blog about local women's hockey news, tips, teams and anything else they find helpful to all the women hockey players in Pittsburgh! ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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