First practice…

December 14, 2009

I walk into the locker room buzzing with girls talking and singing in Turkish. I couldn’t understand anything, so Brittany and I got dressed silently. After walking up the stairs to get to the rink, we waited until the practice prior to ours was over. To signal the end of an ice session, an announcement comes on over the speakers telling the practicing team their practice is over. After we heard said announcement, we went out to our 40 minute ice session.

Ice time here is hard to come by. Our practices are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:10 to 5:50. We have 40 minutes, three times a week to put together a team. Most of the girls on the team are new to the sport, adding to the difficulty of our time constraints. Hockey is not an easy sport. We don’t run or walk, we skate; it takes learning a new medium of moving to play. Skating greatly increases the speed of the game, hence “the fastest game on earth.” Add sticks, pucks, and all the gear we wear, you’ve got yourself quite the unusual experience for a newcomer.

On top of all that, there is a language barrier. Our coach, Keith, is from the states. He doesn’t speak Turkish; the team doesn’t speak English very well. Lola, the girl on the team most proficient in English, stands next to coach and translates for the coach while he passionately explains the drills. Although the drills are drawn on the board, little bits are lost in translation. If a mistake is made during a drill, coach can yell and explain all he wants, but the message won’t be understood until it is demonstrated or explained again back at the board. Most of the girls understand basic English, but you throw in hockey terminology (back check, stick handle, body positioning, etc), they can’t keep up. So you can understand practice can be trying, and the first one proved to be a learning experience for me. I’m excited to work with the girls, because they are all excited to improve and learn more about the sport.

Will the team stay motivated enough to commit to a great season? Will we float to continuous improvement or sink to monotonous mediocrity?