Friday Night's

The urge to hang out with the community at the proverbial suburban town hall, aka Friday Football games is palpable in youth. Even for some adults. Some of your kids may have to attend. Maybe a brother or significant other is playing. Perhaps your daughter is in the band, on the dance team, or a cheerleader. Anyway you slice it, the pull to hang out at Football games on Fridays is strong. Very likely someone's crush is headed to the game and they will do anything to tag along. For me, it was the draw to hang out with the popular kids, cause that is what they did on Friday nights.

I tried it a couple times, trying to insert myself amongst the gossip, and flirtatious shenanigans. But the games were never any fun to attend for me. I was always a shadow more than a participant and despite having played flag football in middle school watching a bunch of blowhards hit it out in the public arena was drab. Not to mention the majority of the football players were the school bullies. I couldn't even tell you if our team was any good. I feel they weren't; too male middle class to work hard enough at something.

Lucky for me I found an alternative hall to attend, one I enjoyed much more. I don't know what first drew me to the ice arena. Perhaps it was because I loved roller skating, and ice skating was it's winter sister. Xanadu did have a pretty large influence on my pre-teen years. Regardless of the how it happened or the why, it probably saved me psychologically. The rink was where I found my POD.

You'd find me at the ice rink almost every Friday night, exhausting energy with a crowd of other early teens. We were of course a bunch of perceived outcasts. We didn't fit in with the popular crowd but we weren't nerd enough to fit in with the D&D gang. We would cruise around in circles to the most popular hits of the 90s, entwined in our pubescent lives and newfound crushes. I was so committed to the social aspect of it I had soon saved enough for my own set of hockey skates. I had them right up until I moved to Germany in 2009. A lot of the area's ice skaters and hockey players would hang out at the rink. I was the only one for 20 miles in all directions. As it would turn out it is where I met my first real middle school boyfriend. Who I should mention I still keep in contact today. Life is Crazy!!!

It was a place outside my social circle, it was a whole new group of people I didn't spend Monday through Friday with at school. The rink was where popular, cliques, and fake friendships didn't matter. We all skated until the Zamboni whipped the ice slick, drank hot cocoa, laughed and flirted. I was always a little jealous of the girls who played hockey, they seemed badass.

By the time High School came along and the competitive athletic circuit became more demanding so too did my coach. Those quasi off-seasons I refer to in my book became even less off-season. I kid you not, our coach required us to log our physical activity regimen in a notebook. Information had to include the activity, duration of activity, and synopsis of achievements. Since there were only practices and no league games we had to keep up with our physical fitness on weekends. That notebook would come with us to the first practice of the week and be turned in, we would get it back at the next practice with his signature and any comments on what we needed to focus on. i.e. include fifteen minutes of juggling.

Luckily, for me, I was already participating in one activity that is great for any athlete. Ice skating is great work for the core. The impact on the knees is less aggressive than the day-to-day activity of running. The cardio it provides may not be as top-notch as skateboarders but it is up there with all your high-performing athletic sports; soccer, tennis, basketball, football, water polo.

Not only was the ice rink a positive experience on my growing psyche it provided me the confidence enough to form new bonds and friendships. Additionally, it contributed to my athletic agency. Learning new skills and honing the body's movements; balance, speed, mobility. Before people can even think about playing the sport of hockey they first have to learn to skate the only other sport that has that requirement is swimming. The rest just require what many of us do everyday, walk. Not to mention ice skating is just fun, I recommend it to anyone who hasn't gone.