Victor Sussman

Hehe, I very nearly created a thread in the forums, and then I stopped myself realizing it wasn't really the appropriate place. However, I could barely contain my excitement! Then I discovered this blog feature and I thought, "Hey - this is perfect." The way I see it, I can write to my heart's content, and everyone can read or ignore to their heart's content, lol.

So my hockey 'story' begins back in the 1990s when I was 13 or 14. I'd always liked road hockey, playing at summer camps, etc. but the summer of 1993 I stopped going to camp and had started a summer job working in a medical research lab (they had an outreach program for high school students interested in science).

Anyway - most of my classmates in school played ice hockey, but I couldn't skate to save my life. Additionally, I don't think my parents were too enamored of the idea of me playing ice hockey. Anyway - in the summers they'd play roller hockey in the park and the best way for me to get in on the action was to man the net. We used a roll of electrical tape for a puck and when I started, I had no equipment to speak of - talk about painful! Anyway, some Mylec pads and an old catcher's chest protector later, and I was a bit more protected. I continued playing and had a great time - I don't know if I was any good, but my friends certainly enjoyed having something more than an empty net to shoot on.

Anyway - time moved on and while I still enjoyed the game, I got away from it - we graduated, I went off to university and then grad school and really had no time for anything but studying and lab work.

Now I find myself in Midland, Michigan - in a job for 5 years having a good time and the hockey bug bit me again. Luckily for me - the arena here offers some pretty amazing programs. I still didn't feel quite ready, but I decided to take the plunge and buy some goalie gear. (If nothing else, I figured the investment would be a motivation, lol) I had played broomball the previous year and it rekindled my interest in getting into hockey.

I still remember going to my first public skate - probably the first time I'd been on skate since I was 7 or 8. I convinced some friends of mine to come along and I still remember my first words as I stepped on the ice, "Maybe I bit off more than I can chew!" But I stuck with it, kept going to public skates, fell a lot, looked ridiculous a lot (I assume), and got totally outskated by the local high school rink rats and the seven year olds who appeared to have no fear of gravity (or really any laws of phyiscs, lol)

January rolled around and I saw that the arena was offering another round of 'Hockey 101' which is our local learn to skate and play classes for adults. I also saw that the figure skating club operated some learn to skate classes, so I sent e-mails off to the organizers of both. The figure skaters never wrote back for some reason, but the arena manager who also coached/taught the 101 class responded and said, "You should come - this started out as a learn to skate/play class, and it's a supportive group." So I took the plunge.

I was pretty nervous that first time showing up in the locker room, getting my gear on. But boy, getting out on the ice that first time - it was the first time I had gotten to skate on a pristine sheet in recent memory (maybe ever?) It felt amazing - like nothing I had ever done before. I fell a lot during some of our skating drills (again) and looked ridiculous (again, lol), but stuck with it. Gradually, I found I was getting the hang of things - I could keep my balance, I could stop on skates, I could skull in and out of the net (that was an amazing feeling.)

Gradually I began to add other tools to the toolbox, I started participating here at GCN (what a great site, by the way), and generally found that I looked forward to Sundays as my favorite day of the week. And of course, no discussion of that first time getting bitten by the hockey 'bug' would be complete without a mention to the other guys in the room. There are two other goalies in my class, both who warmly welcomed me to the netminder family. The other players were friendly too and a special mention goes to Kenny Benson, our rink manager and coach, who really wants to get people into the game - I think that speaks volumes to his character and (I hope) the character of hockey players in general.

Anyway - so the weeks wore on and I found myself asking after one practice, "Well, I know I have a lot to learn, but what else can I do to keep learning and moving forward." Kenny's repsonse? "What is this 'lot to learn' stuff? I've seen you skate, you need to get on a team and just give it a go." So onto the free agent list I went.

Two weeks ago, I got an e-mail - someone was forming a team for spring league and was looking for a goalie. A trip down to the arena to chat, and it looks like I'm on a team for the spring. I'm excited, nervous, eager - it's an almost indescribable soup of feelings. I'm sure it'll be tough, but when I think back to that first time on skates when I was afraid to even lift my feet off the ice, or that first time in gear when I couldn't stop gliding forward, it's been a pretty amazing journey so far. I can't wait to see what comes next!

I do have a lot to learn, and I'm still very much a novice at this, but I have to admit, I've loved every minute. The time in the locker room before and after practices, skating drills, shooting drills, working on moves and there's a lot to look forward to as well - drop in hockey, spring league, the camaraderie of being on a team, the quirkiness of being a goalie. I look forward to doing this for a long time.