Played my first game of summer outdoor ball hockey tonight. There's a league that plays at the outdoor rink in Withrow park, off Carlaw just south of Danforth. A couple of the guys I play informal pick-up ball hockey with during the winter months also play in this summer league, so I got onto their team. I got the news just this morning that I was officially on the team, so I had to rush out after work and pick up some equipment. We're required to wear a helmet and hockey gloves, neither of which I possessed, and I didn't have a stick either. Made it to Withrow with barely a minute to spare for our 7:30 game.

It was pretty fun. Helped that we won 4-2. But it was a little different playing on the larger "ice" surface. For the past three winters I've been playing with a bunch of guys every week in a gym at the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club (a former school). In the smaller confines of the gymnasium, my speed and hustle were big assets, and a big part of my effectiveness. On the rink at Withrow, you gotta do a lot more running to get from Point A to Point B, so it's gonna take some getting used to. That and the whole line-changing-on-the-fly thing, which is pretty foreign to me. But we kept the shifts pretty short, so fatigue wasn't too much of a factor. Didn't help that I hadn't really had time to eat before the game. I managed to heat up some left-over cous cous that I had in the fridge. Not sure how much energy one gets from reheated cous cous, but I'm sure it's not that much. I'm guessing maybe a calorie for each cous. So I felt a bit tired and rubber-legged at times.

But I still gave 110%!!

Just gotta be vigilant that I don't start referring to myself in the third person, as hockey players are wont to do.
Interviewer: "Wayne, what was your game plan coming into tonight's game?"
Gretszky: "Well, Brian... [wipes drop a sweat from tip of nose]... I just had to go out there and play like Wayne Gretszky. And give 110%."

We play again Thursday night at 8:30 ( a double header for my first week. Woo.), so hopefully i'll be able to get my traditional plate of pasta into me, and have a bit more jump.

And we have our own team jerseys! Actually all the teams have the same jersey ñ which says "Withrow Park" on the front with an image of a knight's helmet ñ just different colours. Ours are green. At least we didn't get the purple ones like the poor sods who played after us. Good lord.

So this should keep me active and in-shape over the summer. Gotta keep the ol' bod in motion, or it'll start to go to seed. Like mind, like body.

Not sure if I'm looking forward to those 30-degree summer evenings with soul-crushing humidity. But hey, there's a Baskin-Robbins nearby!