And finally, the hockey!

Last night we had our first game with me on the team.  We are called "Milenyum" and it is actually a figure skating club.  Yes, a figure skating club.  And our jerseys are purple.  That aside, it's a great club to be involved with.  The girls on the team range in age from 13-31.  There are a handful in high school, and a handful in their low-mid twenties.  I am the second oldest, at 29, and as you can see in the picture (second row, third from the left) I think I am also the tallest.  

Most of these girls have never really worked out, so they were in shock when did our first leg workout.  Apart from two or three players, they were or are still figure skaters.  Actually, for a beginning team, this is a good start, as at least they can skate!  Now, we just need to teach them everything else!  

The team hangs out together a lot, and has great team chemistry. We are always having fun together, and I've spent many evenings going out with the girls.  I've said before that I like the people here, and they really are great.  Often after practice some of us and maybe some guys from the men's team go out for food or a beer.  

So on to the game.  We drew a pretty big crowd, (well, for Turkish women's hockey at least) as so many people were curious to see me play.  Pressure!  We were playing the Ankara University team, and were supposed to win by many goals.  We started okay, and I think it was 3-0 after the first period.  I had an assist maybe, but no goals.  Then, between periods, i was told that i need to start scoring, even though I would much rather pass to the other girls and help them improve their game.  But, alas, i had to start scoring, so once in a while I would skate the length of the ice and put one in.  Some were slap shots, and one or two were semi-pretty dangle goals.  In the end, we won 11-0, i scored 5 goals, and everyone was happy.  I am happiest for the other girls that scored or just felt like they could play hockey.  I motivated them to skate more and to give and receive hard passes.  Obviously we have many things to work on in practice, and the game was a good way to gauge where they are.  We have potential, I just have to teach them how to think and play hockey.

Aside from playing, i am also now in charge of two off-ice trainings a week, as well as i get to coach them on-ice on Fridays.  I am looking forward to that, and hope i ca help them improve their skills!  Our next game is in a few weeks against a very weak opponent, but the big test that we have to prepare for will be in December or January against the team that won first place last year.