From insult to injury to....
As an official, you are always in the line of fire. You do your best to maintain a good position in order to have good sight lines. Yet you are constantly adjusting your position on ice due to the position of players and the puck.
I typically rely on good skating and anticipation to put myself in the right position where I can see but where I'm not going to be hit by players and puck. It does not always work quite the way you want it to. I have been hit with my fair share of pucks. I have been hit by my share of players. That said, I can not remember ever being knocked over by a player. I have surprised most of them by still being upright in the end (it does not hurt to be a strong skater on the ice...all the way up to the pros).
Last night, however, I zigged when I should have zagged. A player came out from behind his net and I adjusted by giving him the boards in the corner and plenty of ice to skate into by not getting out into his skating lane.
He never looked up.
And from ten feet away, I never stood a chance. A clearing shot right to the nuts.
He apologized profusely, during the rest of the game and several times after we had all left the ice. I just wanted to puke.
Is it better today? Yeah, I think so but only time and the return of my wife will tell.
But you know what? God, I still love this game!
As an official, you are always in the line of fire. You do your best to maintain a good position in order to have good sight lines. Yet you are constantly adjusting your position on ice due to the position of players and the puck.
I typically rely on good skating and anticipation to put myself in the right position where I can see but where I'm not going to be hit by players and puck. It does not always work quite the way you want it to. I have been hit with my fair share of pucks. I have been hit by my share of players. That said, I can not remember ever being knocked over by a player. I have surprised most of them by still being upright in the end (it does not hurt to be a strong skater on the ice...all the way up to the pros).
Last night, however, I zigged when I should have zagged. A player came out from behind his net and I adjusted by giving him the boards in the corner and plenty of ice to skate into by not getting out into his skating lane.
He never looked up.
And from ten feet away, I never stood a chance. A clearing shot right to the nuts.
He apologized profusely, during the rest of the game and several times after we had all left the ice. I just wanted to puke.
Is it better today? Yeah, I think so but only time and the return of my wife will tell.
But you know what? God, I still love this game!
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