Dryden Hockey Tournament Dec. 10-12, 2010

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first minor hockey tournament as a head coach. It was in Dryden, Ontario with my Atom team the Sioux Lookout Jr. Flyers. I have to say that I had lofty expectations for our team; maybe even winning this tournament; based on the facts that we have good players and the kids were playing well as a team at the time. But at the same time, it's all about the experience for the kids so I made sure I did my best to see that each kid on our team got lots of ice time.

Game 1: Our first game was against a team from Dryden. This was an interesting game for me as a coach because we had not played a game since the Monday of the previous week. So to keep things simple I lined up the kids in positions which I thought they would feel the most comfortable; and I explained to them that this game's line up was not set in stone. Well, I guess it worked because we won 15-0.
Yes, I'll admit the Dryden team did not have a lot of skilled players, but at the same time, we played a good team game; we passed the puck and played our positions well. And when Dryden did have chances, our goalie made the saves. After the game I told the kids "I know I said the line up wasn't set in stone but........." and then one of our parents chimed it, "that worked." Yes it did!

Game 2: Our second game was against a team from Kenora; six hours after game one. I was happy to see the kids didn't seem tired and they were anxious to play another hockey game. I talked to a couple of kids who politely came up to me and asked if they could play different positions, so I juggled our line up a bit to accommodate them. After the first period of this game, the score was 2-2; we had given up a 2-0 lead but the kids didn't get down on themselves and the final score was 9-2 for us. I (and a lot of others) noticed some kids on their team; one in particular; seemed to get progressively more angry as the game went on; and started to trip, slash, and crosscheck our kids; even our goalie, pretty aggressively. As one of my players put it "she was nasty!" I liked how our team handled it though, we got off the ice and talked about it as a team in our dressing room; we didn't make a fuss with the refs or the coaches or parents of the other team, and then we moved on.

Game 3 was Saturday morning at 10:30. All the kids showed up looking well rested and ready to roll. Our opponent was a team from Thunder Bay. Now; based on what little experience I had; I knew Thunder Bay teams were good teams. So as a bit of strategy; I lined up my best player and his line as our third line instead of our first; hoping Thunder Bay would have a weaker third line and our guys would have a field day. It worked early, we got up on them 2-0. But like I said earlier, they had a good team and they tied it up 2-2. Again, our kids didn't get down and continued to play hard. We got the lead 3-2; and it seemed like we made it 4-2 a little later but a good goal was not seen by the refs so they didn't count it, Then in the third period; they stormed us for three straight goals to make it 5-3. I could tell on the bench the kids seemed pretty down; so my assistant coach and I just kept telling them to keep playing hard and good things will happen. Our best player scored late in the game to make it 5-4; so we pulled our goalie with about 45 seconds left. We stormed their net but just couldn't bury that tying goal, we lost 5-4. While we were shaking hands with the other coaches, they praised us for having a good team and playing a good game, which I appreciated to hear, but seemed somewhat confused about why they would say that with such conviction. Later I looked at the standings, their team was pummeling other teams 8-1 and 7-2; and we came within a disallowed goal of tying them. I was super proud of our kids after that game and I told them so. I thought it was the best game I'd ever seen them play; we could have given up when it was 5-3, but we didn't; and we clawed our way back and almost tied it.

(continued below)




Game 4: Our final round robin game was Saturday afternoon about 4 hours after our close one with Thunder Bay and I have to say; the kids looked tired. I thought we gave up some goals the previous game because some of our defensemen aren't that mobile yet, so I moved one of my forwards back to defense because he was a good skater; and he could help out the lesser skilled kids. He wasn't crazy about the idea, but I convinced him by telling him he'd get more ice time! I asked the kids before the game "are you guys tired?" and they all shouted "NO!" And I told them I thought they looked tired and to prove me wrong. Well they did, we won 4-0. This game was made interesting by our new defenseman, who kept wanting to play as a forward and wouldn't stay back, leaving our less mobile kids on their own. He played a great game though, picking up an assist and sliding through our crease to save a goal! Another highlight for our team was one of our defensemen scored! It was a long wrister from the point that made it's way in after hitting a couple of sticks. The kid that scored is my most reliable defenseman, so to see him score one was pretty special. I picked him our team MVP that game. The other team had some chances, but our goalie was there everytime. When we went to shake hands with other coaches, one of them said to me "you've got a hot goalie there." He was right, we had the best goalie in the tournament, in my opinion.

Later that evening, we found out we finished sixth place out of sixteen teams; which was OK, but I couldn't help but think about that one disallowed goal against Thunder Bay. In my head we would have won that game or maybe even tied it, but either way we would have ended up in the A side instead. But that was our place and we had to live with it. Our first playoff game was the next morning at 8:30am.

That evening I went home and emailed our parents about the game time. That night though; I couldn't sleep. I hadn't been involved in a minor hockey playoff (or any hockey, for that matter) since I was about 12 years old! I was so nervous, yet excited at the same time. I kept going through my head, trying to think what I could say in the dressing room to get the kids fired up, or what I could do to our line up to make us more competitive, balanced, yet still fair for the kids in terms of ice time. In the end though, I couldn't come up with a damn thing! After I think 2 or 3 hours of shut eye for me, we loaded up at 6:30am Sunday morning for our next game.

Game 5: Our first playoff game; and I was happy to see all the kids there rested and ready to go. I didn't shuffle the line up; and preached to the kids to remember to do the things we do well that set us apart from the other teams that were no longer playing in this tournament. My assistant coach got the kids fired up. He would say so who are we? And the kids would scream "FLYERS" over and over again before we went out. Way to go coach! We played another team from Kenora and it was a pretty even game, but in the end it worked out for us. Our skilled players scored some goals and our goalie made all the saves and we won 4-0. It was on to the B side finals!

We didn't have too much time as our next game was only an hour after our first one ended. Our whole team and parents spent the hour watching the other Sioux Lookout team play their A side semi final game. Probably the most exciting Atom game I have ever seen! It was just a non stop, up and down, back and forth hockey game. The team from Sioux played their hearts out but in the end they came up just short; losing 6-5.

Game 6: Our last game of the tournament; win or lose. Our opponent was from Red Lake. They were a good team, they won a lot of their games 4-2 or 5-3 and according to a parent that I spoke to, they had two kids who passed the puck well and scored all their goals. To be honest with you, I thought they sounded pretty beatable, but for some reason, I was nervous for our team before the game. I made no line up changes, some kids asked but I just couldn't accommodate them at that point in the tournament, we were playing well, and we were playing as a team. Red Lake actually scored the first goal of the game, after we had some chances but didn't score, and the kids seemed a little down on themselves. But this time I didn't say anything as they always bounced back before. We wound up getting two goals from our third line centre and went up 2-1; but after his second goal, Red Lake scored again on the very next shift; game tied 2-2. The kids seemed to play tentative so I reminded them to play hard and without fear; if they made a mistake, there were five kids on the ice to help them out. It was our last game of the day and I just thought we should play like it. Red Lake made it 3-2 but we were able to tie it. I got the feeling that it was going to be a "next goal wins" kind of game and I was feeling a little upset that it got to that point because throughout the whole game our kids had chances, but either hit a post, had a save made against us, or we missed the net entirely. Sure enough, Red Lake scored to make it 4-3 and with about a minute and a half left I called a time out. I just used the time out to give the kids a rest and then I put a made up line of my five best skaters out there to try and tie things up. With about 45 seconds left we pulled our goalie for a sixth skater. The kids played their hearts out but we just couldn't seem to get the puck deep into their end, then somehow,and I don't know how, the puck started to make it's way towards our empty net from center ice. At first I thought it was going to go wide, then as it got closer I thought it was going to hit the post, it seemed like forever for me, but then my next feeling was my heart sinking as I watched that puck slide into our net, millimeters from the inside of the post. We lost the B side final 5-3.

During a short ceremony to hand the medals out to the kids I made sure to thank the organizers of the tournament for a job well done; and to ask the fans in the arena to give our kids a hand; they played their hearts out but came up just short.

I was happy to see how the kids handled the loss. No one cried, no one complained, we all just accepted that we tried our best, but it just wasn't to be for us this time. In my own mind, we were the better team out there, we just couldn't bury our chances early in the game and it wound up costing us. But whatever, I asked each and every kid if they had fun and the answer was always a "yes" and that's what's important for kids playing hockey at this age.



I shouldn't forget to mention I had several compliments from other coaches, other parents, the refs, and the tournament organizers about how we were a good team that played well. I can't put into words how proud I am of these kids! Two more tournaments to go; both in the month of February,2011. Of course I'll be blogging those so feel free to come back to this site and see how we did! Thanks for reading.

My Love Affair with Music

As some of you know I play the bass, as well as dabble in the guitar and sing; if you didn't know that about me, well.....SURPRISE! Seriously though, I'd like to tell you where my love of music came from and the whole journey behind it. I've been thinking about blogging this for a long time; but now is the time that it just had to come out.

I grew up hearing my dad and my sister play guitars and sing songs during get togethers at home, mostly when I was trying to sleep. I remember being a kid and listening to my sister practice her guitar; playing along to the Scorpoion's "the zoo" among others. I also remember seeing her play live with her friends at a fair or something; it was the first time that I can remember that I actually adored my sister and thought she was pretty cool!

When I was about 9 or 10 I would get my parents to buy me compliation albums; "Blast Off" and "Radioactive" are two titles that I can remember. My cousin Kyle and I would air band to the songs on my bed and wet our faces in the sink to make it look like we were sweating! I also remember at the time going for rides to the dump in my dad's half ton and listening to Don Adams, Willy Nelson and Merle Haggard on his 8 track!

During my pre teens I became a fan of Michael Jackson, just like the rest of the world. I bought the Thriller album and even put his poster on my bedroom wall. Then it was in my teens that the infamous "heavy metal phase" kicked in. Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Dokken, Cinderella, Poison, Warrant, KISS, Alice Cooper, Ozzy, Whitesnake, RATT, Autograph, Triumph, Twisted Sister, Queenryche; Skid Row and the immortal King Kobra were all bands I adored and spent a pile of money on; buying their tapes and putting posters on my wall. Yes, I'm a little embarassed to admit it.

Then, between the ages of 18-20; three things happened that cemented my love for music that will last forever. Number one, I became a fan of Metallica. I was a late blooming Metallica fan; I didn't get into them until they made their "... and justice for all" album and my friends drove me crazy playing it in the car on the way to our baseball games. The song "One" really got to me; so I bought the CD and their back catalogue as well. To this day I've purchased all of Metallica's recordings; a couple of home DVD's and seen the band live 4 times.

Number 2: When I was 18 or 19; I taped a "battle of the bands" contest that was on TV. One of the bands was from Winnipeg and they were called "the watchmen." They performed two songs; one of which was called "mister" and I absolutely adored that song. A short time later, my best friend Charlie introduced me to the watchmen's first record "maclaren furnace room." "Mister" was on there; as well as a song he thought was pretty cool called "run and hide." I bought the album and something in me just connected to that band, I really caught on to their music more than any other band I've liked before or since. I got their emotions and inspirations that they were trying to get across in their music, I memorized all of their lyrics; taught myself all of their bass lines; and they are the only band that's written songs that can make me cry when I hear them. As I got into performing music myself (and I'll get to that later) I got to meet Sammy, the watchmen's drummer, and Ken their second bass player whom I idolize, and I got to speak with Joey; their guitar player on the phone. I've never had any contact with Danny, their singer, but that's okay because rumour has it he's a bit of a prick anyway! To this day; I've bought all their albums, and seen them live more times than I can remember. Maclaren Furnace Room and their second record "In the trees" are two of my all time favorie albums.

Number three: At age twenty; I finally got the nerve to call up Dennis Hammerstendt; a local guitar teacher and ask if he could give me lessons. I was always a nervous person and I remember shaking and my voice quivering on the phone when I called him. I asked for bass lessons which some people thought was crazy, they thought I should have asked for guitar lessons instead, but the bass was where I wanted to go; and I had a drummer friend and a guitar player friend, they needed a bass player!

I have to admit, starting out was hard, but Dennis had a way to keep it fun and interesting; he kept teaching me new techniques and after a while, we both noticed I had a bit of a natural feel for bass playing. He liked it when I would come in for a lesson and we'd jam on the jazz chords he taught me last time! What I liked about taking lessons from Dennis was I could bring in a song and he'd learn it by ear on the spot; and teach it to me.

Finally, around the age of 23 or 24; I joined my first band. We were called Bullwhip Griffin and our members were Michael, our singer, and Ammy and Jeff, two of my best friends in the world on guitar and drums. We wrote some songs, recorded a demo, played some live shows in some bars in Winnipeg, and even got a radio interview. Unfortunately it didn't last, but to this day if I ever made a career out of music, I wished it was with that band. We had an energy and an edginess to our music that I absolutely loved; and playing that music for a living would have been my dream job for sure! Ammy and I teamed up with our friend Jaimie and some other people to form "L'Ammy L'Amour and the Gorillas" and played a couple of fund raising socials for Ammy's dentistry class; but that was all.

I eventually sought out some other musicians and joined a band called Sandlefoot. We played rock music but were more classic rock sounding than BG. Same thing, we wrote some songs and recorded a demo and played live, but the band split up when a couple of members couldn't get along anymore.

So when I was about 25 I put my own ad in a local newspaper and even got a few calls. I settled on a group that called itself "Frankie Machine" and they were writing songs for a record. We didn't last too long, but the musicians from the band left to form "Shades of Difference." "Shades" had a good run, we played a lot of shows, recorded and I even met a couple of music industry and radio people. I thought we had a sound that would be popular; and we had a gifted singer/songwriter named Ken and I absolutely loved playing his songs. We wittled down to a three piece band but still were able to keep playing shows; having fun; and meeting new people. In 1999 though, I moved from Winnipeg to Sioux Lookout, Ontario. It was time to grow up and quit trying to "make it" in the music business!

I have to admit; I thought I was done playing music when I moved to Sioux Lookout. SL isn't Winnipeg; and I thought for sure there no bands here. Much to my pleasant surprise, I hooked up with a guy named Pat; who was one of the best singers I'd ever heard; and I joined his band "Badjazz." We had some fun playing covers in the bars here, but I was just relieved I didn't have to quit playing music! When Pat moved, things got really quiet for me musically. I didn't touch my bass for about six months, and I thought for sure that would be it. But, one day I came home from work and there was a message on my answering machine by a girl named Gabby who was a singer and wanted to play at a local music festival that summer, all she needed was a bass player. I was in, and through Gabby, I met Ryan, a local drummer.

Since meeting Ryan that fateful summer about 10 or 11 years ago, we have been collaborating on music projects ever since. Mostly just cover bands for fun, but we also did the sound for a music festival here one summer; my first gig as a soundman!
It was through Ryan that I met Neil and Suzanne. We formed "Edible Rex" about 8 years ago and are still together today; our latest gig was the summer of 2009 where we played our seventh year in a row at the "Fireman's Social;" an annual event during the bluberry festival here in Sioux Lookout. The social is a pretty big event; about 300 to 500 people come out every year and we were their entertainment! Funnest gigs I have ever played for sure. Funny thing; I was so worried about moving here that I wouldn't get to play music, yet here is where I've played the biggest shows of my life!

I should say I kept out all the negative BS and side stories in this writing. If I included them, I'd be writing for a week straight. Music is a very cut throat business full of make believe people who think they are the next great thing. I've met so many people that I couldn't stand because of my music career; so if you know someone who wants to start a band, you can tell them it's not all fun and games.

Today, Edible Rex is still around but dormant; until the phone rings for that next gig. I also play bass for the worship team at our church; so I'm still involved in music a little bit. All through it though, I keep telling myself that day I finally got the nerve to call Dennis was one of the smartest things I ever did in my life!

Thanks for reading. Next post: my love affair with hockey!

Back to the Rink

Haven't posted for awhile because nothing's been new. Except......

The kids started their minor hockey this month and as usual, we are pretty busy with it. Both boys have ice three times a week; as well I have my own hockey two nights a week, so that leaves Friday as my only night off. This year I'm assistant coaching Cameron's Novice team and I'm head coaching Andrew's Atom team. This is my first crack at head coaching so I hope it goes well.

On top of it all, I took a refereeing course and will likely ref a few games.

Sounds crazy but I love it; so it's not hard for me to go the rink that often.

See you next post.

The Medicus Dual-Hinge Swing Trainers

Hello folks! As some of you may know, I moonlight as a golf instructor. (I also moonlight as a bass player and an actor in the adult film industry)

Seriously though, people sometimes ask me what the best swing trainer is. My answer is always the same; it's the Medicus. Why you ask? Well, in my opinion, the Medicus teaches you the most fundamentally important aspect to a good golf swing; and that's the swing plane.

The swing plane is simply the path the golf club takes from takeaway to follow through. In a good golf swing, the club stays "on plane" which means the club follows the same path back and then through the ball. A swing that is not on plane does not follow the correct path and that leads to poor ball striking.

Here's one of the best explaining what I mean;



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You can purchase one of the fine Medicus products at the best price available; by clicking the banner below. Thanks for reading.

Hockey in July

Well we just got home from the boy's hockey camp in Winnipeg. For five days we set up shop at the Canlan Ice Sports arena at 1871 Ellice Ave. in Winnipeg. First thing I have to say is the facility is perfect for a hockey camp. They have 3 indoor rinks, plus an indoor soccer field, a pro shop and a restaurant with a view of all of the rinks upstairs. Pretty nice. The pro shop did the best skate sharpening job I've ever seen, if we go back, I'm bringing my skates in. The gear they had for sale was all high end stuff, no naturally it was pretty expensive.

While we were there, they also had camps going for soccer, and.... wait for it.....ringette! I thought that game was extict, but I guess not.

We mostly hung around the rink and watched the boys practice. All I could think about was how jealous I was that they were playing hockey, it didn't help that there was "pay and play" for adults twice a day there. Next year, if we come back, I'm brining my gear! Anyways, sure sitting and watching the kids skate around pylons got a little boring once in awhile, but luckily Polo Park Mall, Walmart, and most importantly; Golftown were five minutes away. My only complaint was the restaurant upstairs was pretty expensive. $13.00 for a burger, fries and a coke? (mind you, it was a really good burger!)

After hockey each day we did some fun stuff. We took the kids to laser tag in Stonewall one night, and Grand Prix Amusements another night. Plus we took them to Dispicable Me (great movie) and Jennifer and I took in Inception with my best buddy Charlie. (also a great movie.)

So that's it for summer trips for us, except for down to the lake I guess. If you read this and live in the Sioux Lookout area, stop in for a swim! We'll be home!

See ya next post.

My Proudest Moment As A Father (so far!)

In honour of this past father's day, I wanted to post my most proudest moment as a dad, so far. Sure there's the usual things, teaching the kids to ride a bike, learn to skate, do the dishes, cut the grass....(OK those last two were a joke) but this moment is extra special to me.

In March of 2009, Andrew was 7 years old and told Jennifer and I he wanted to play hockey. Since it was too late in the current season, he couldn't start until October, 2009; so to give him a bit of a head start, we put him in a hockey camp in Winnipeg at the end of last August. The plan was for him to stay at my dad's and go to camp for a week while Jenn and I stayed home. Just before he left I gave Andrew a good talk about camp, that it would be fun, but it would be a lot of hard work too; he said he understood and reassured me he would do fine.

Well, two days in, we get a call from my dad. "I don't think Andrew wants to play hockey anymore." He was crying on the ice, crying in the dressing room, and making up any excuse he could not to participate. Andrew even said his skates were hurting his feet, so dad bought him new ones, but nothing was helping.

Now, Jennifer and I knew this might happen; and there's lots more to the story than what I'm saying here; but to keep it short; about one hour after dad called I got time off work and booked it to my dad's, I got there just as Andrew was going to bed.
I said "Andrew, I know you want to quit hockey, but you are going to finish this week of camp, because that's what you, me, and mom agreed you would do. After this week, if you still want to quit, that's something we will talk about." He agreed and went to sleep. My dad said, "I don't know what you can say or do to change his mind."

The next morning, I took Andrew to hockey camp myself. He was fine all morning but in the dressing room, I could tell he was getting nervous. (Here's my shining moment....) I asked Andrew if he was nervous because the other kids out there were better hockey players than he was, and he said yes. I said "Andrew, don't worry about anybody else; just go out there; listen to your coaches, do the best you can and have fun." He quietly and confidently said "OK" and headed out to the ice.

I have to say that hour I was watching him practice I was on pins and needles the whole time. Although Andrew has skated before and taken some lessons, he was a horrible skater compared to the other kids out there, and he didn't even know how to stop. Every drill he was the last kid done, and I was just waiting for him to come off the ice all discouraged.

But he didn't.......

He got off the ice and in the dressing room he told me he was happy and having fun! I stayed with him the whole day, they did exercises outside and watched videos of hockey drills and ate lunch. Then he had another on ice practice in the late afternoon which he participated in and did great. I could even see a little bit of an improvement in his skating from that morning. That night we had pizza for supper and let Andrew pick a movie at the video store in celebration of his great day.

The next day, we went up again, and Andrew did great in his morning practice. That afternoon, my dad came up to watch him practice. "Holy shit" he said when Andrew got out there. Dad couldn't believe how much progress Andrew had made in a day and a half. Andrew's coach Larry Bumstead or "Bummer" as everybody calls him, saw dad and I standing there and came off the ice to see us. "Is this Andrew's dad?" When dad said yes, Larry reached over; shook my hand; and thanked me for keeping Andrew in camp. "Look at him" he said. "He's smiling and having fun, just like everybody else." I snuck away from my dad and sat in the bleachers by myself for a few minutes, and while I watched Andrew do his drills with a smile on his face, I started to cry like a chick for about 10 seconds. I was so proud of him. Once I regained my composure; I went back and stood by my dad.

The story get better.

I had to leave Winnipeg and get home to go back to work, but Jennifer was able to go and watch Andrew's last couple of days at camp, including the game they have at the end. Well, during that game, didn't Andrew score a goal! Jennifer said the place went nuts and all the coaches cheered for Andrew and gave him high-fives. I got three phone calls that night about Andrew's goal, one from him, one from Jennifer and one from my dad. One of my friends said to me later "You know, that goal is going to cost you about 10,000 bucks on future hockey fees." I know he's right but I don't really care.

This past fall, Andrew played his first season of minor hockey. Although he is still not the best skater, he works hard out there and he's strong on his skates. He scored about 5 or 6 goals this year (10 or 20 if you ask him) but I really noticed was his development as a defenseman. He was hard for kids to get around, but most of all he had fun and wants to play again next year.

So, why was this my proudest moment? Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm passionate about hockey, and to see both my kids playing minor hockey today is a thrill for me. Also, my dad and Jennifer were there to share the experience with Andrew too. Will Andrew make it to the NHL? Probably not, but if he does this would be one hell of a story. Thanks for reading.

May Long

Well, it looks like our family will be making two trips to Dryden this May Long weekend; one for a birthday party and one to catch an Air Show so that should be fun.

If you're travelling this weekend or if your staying home shopping; check out my links in my earlier posts. Sites like Sears and Expedia are having great deals this weekend. Peace y'all!

Travelling this Victoria Day?

Hi all,
Expedia.ca just sent me this link for all those folks interested in doing some travelling during the Victoria Day weekend. Some good deals here so check them out!

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Links!

Hey everybody,

Here's an updated banner list of the companies I'm promoting.
Lots of great deals here so please check them out!

Much love, Rick

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My Perfect Day

Hello all,
I had such a great day yesterday, I just had to put it on my blog.

First, let me quickly tell you what a typical Sunday looks like for me.....
-up at 8am and at the church by 8:30 for band practice. (I play bass.)
-8:30 to 12: attend church; play about 5 or 6 songs with the worship team.
-go home and make "lunch" for everybody, usually bacon and eggs.
-spend the day doing stuff around the house, usually the laundry and handyman stuff,
(ok, that last part was a joke)
-occasionally separate the kids from fighting with each other.
-have supper, wind down in the evenings, put the kids to bed, maybe watch a movie with Jennifer, maybe do "other stuff" with Jennifer.




Now HERE's how yesterday went!

-up at 8 and found out by phone I did not have to play in church today.
-had breakfast, made coffee, watched the hockey highlights from the night before while the kids played outside.
-went to church
-came home, Jennifer made lunch.
-said "forget it" about the laundry and spent a crazy amount of time outside with kids! We played on the trampoline, played t-ball, chipped golf balls, went to the park, and went swimming! (the boys did, not me.)
-BBQ'd for supper, and watched hockey while the kids watched a movie and Jennifer went out.
-hit the hay around 11, not a bad day huh?

Golf Links

Hi all,
As you may or may not know, I have a side gig in the summer teaching golf. I received my certification from the Canadian Golf Teacher's Federation in 2006. My experiences have been with the Dryden and Sioux Lookout golf courses where I taught a junior program and individual lessons. I've kind of slacked off a little bit in the last couple of summers, but this year I'm feeling like I want to get back into it so if you read this and want a lesson, get in touch with me!

Here's a free golf tip. When buying golf clubs, keep your height in mind before you select any new clubs. Guys up to 5'10" should fit a standard set of clubs. Women up to 5'8" should fit a standard women's set. If you are taller, (or very short) you should consider getting "fit" for a new set of clubs by a golf professional. Trust me, fitted clubs will improve your game. And don't ignore what shaft your golf clubs come with. You have a choice between metal or graphite shafts. I would suggest graphite if you are a beginner, as they are light and easy to swing. Metal shafts are a little heavier and stiffer, but are more accurate, so they best suit an experienced golfer.

I also promote a few golf companies on the web, so here they are........

Golf Outlets is the best site I could find for clubs as far as quality and prices go.
They have a great variety of clubs and price ranges. I suggest checking them out, especially if you are a golfer who's been playing for awhile and in the market for some new gear...




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Surprisingly to me, Sears has some good clubs at decent prices. An excellent
place to shop for clubs if you are a beginner in my opinion.

Sears Link

Hi all, In case you're here because you saw my latest Facebook status; here's the link to Sears that I was talking about.

Cheers!

Sears Days - Save Up to 45%

Travel Deals

Hey there. Some of you may be visiting because you saw my ads in Kijiji. First of all just let me say thanks for visiting. Second, your stop here to check out these sites can save you a lot of money! You see, the prices in these links can only be found through an "affiliate" of the company(me) and are a lot cheaper than if you googled the website on your own. If you don't want to spend the time researching vacations on your own, email me at rickmckenzie_69@hotmail.com and let me know where you want to go. I'll research the trip for you and get back to you with the details (pricing, etc.) I'm providing this service free of charge as I get paid from the company if you book something. Happy travels!

Spring Break

Happy Spring Break everybody. Tomorrow we are heading to Duluth for a mini holiday. We are all very much looking forward to it. If I can get to a computer, I'll blog our shenanigans here for those who want to see what we're up to!

See ya!

Ode To My Mom (not a happy post)

Seven years ago today was the worst day of my life. I got home from work that day and got a call from my dad. A call I almost didn't answer because the call display was a long distance number I didn't recognize, but I answered it anyway, maybe because I was in a super good mood at the time.

It was my dad calling from my uncle's in Minneapolis. He said he and mom were in a car accident on their way home, and when I asked him where mom was he had to tell me she was gone.

What made this especially hard was our son Andrew was 17 months old at the time. He was mom's only grandchild and she absolutely adored him. She would come and visit us for weeks at a time and spend it all with Andrew; taking him for walks and playing with him around the house. What particularly bothers me is he was too young to form any memories of her.

The next day me, Jennifer and Andrew raced home to Selkirk to be with family and friends and prepare for mom's funeral. Dad's house was packed with people for days, the support was appreciated. Mom passed away on a Monday and yet by Friday they were able to get her back to Selkirk and we had her funeral then. About 250 people attended mom's service. I had no idea she was so popular!

Mom's passing caused an interesting situation for our family in that we decided to sue the driver that caused the accident. Our lawyer was a really nice guy and made trips to visit us in Selkirk and here in Sioux Lookout. It took months and even though the other driver had 2 miilion dollars in third party liability, and dad was found to be at 0% fault; we had to settle in court for considerably less. That is why I'm not a fan of insurance companies. They make billions in revenue from premiums, but when there's a claim, you have to fight them for every little penny, they make me sick. (Sorry for you folks reading this that may be employees of insurance companies; I'm not mad at you.)

I'd have to say that the support of my family, especially my wife Jennifer and our son Andrew, as well as my dad and my sister, helped me get through that traumatic time. Even though it was seven years ago, I still think about my mom often, and what would my life be like if she were still here.

I've actually been asked by people if I could talk to my mom again, would I? My answer would be no. Becasue then I'd have to say goodbye to her again, and once was enough.

For My Wife......

Andrew's First Away Hockey Tournament

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we all piled into our Kia and headed to Kenora for Andrew's first out of town hockey tournament. His team played four games; two on Friday and two on Saturday; and his team finished with a record of one win, one tie, and two losses. Andrew actually scored a goal in their first game, but his shot went in off of a team mate's stick so the other kid got credit for it.

The tournament had sixteen teams in it and for the most part was organized and ran very well. If I had to make one complaint, it would have to be about the referees. No, the refereeing did not cost us any games, but a lot of penalties that should have been called were not; and I was terrified someone was going to get hurt.

Anyways....... We stayed at the Best Western Lakeside Inn in Kenora; which was nice because it had a pool and it was right next to one of the arenas Andrew played in.

In between games we killed time mostly by letting the kids go swimming. There was a pool in our hotel but there was also a REALLY NICE pool in the arena, so needless to say the kids were pretty waterlogged by Sunday morning!




In the evenings most of the parents got together for a drink while the kids all played with each other, or we were all up visiting by the pool while the kids went swimming. It was a lot of fun. Jennifer and I planned to use some downtime to visit some stores and maybe shop a little, but surprisingly, there wasn't much time for that.

If any parents are reading this and thinking about putting their kids in hockey, I would say if your kid wants to play hockey, then go for it, but don't encourage them to play if they don't want to. Hockey is alot of fun, but at the same time it's expensive, and even a little dangerous too, so kids have to learn to be careful. And it's a real hassle to get kids into all that equipment!


To go to Andrew's hockey team's website; click here.

For My Sister...........

Back to Reality

I'm back at work now following our whirlwind 12 day Christmas vacation. My plan was to document it here often while we were gone, but my hectic schedule didn't permit it! Anyway, for those who are interested, here's how it went.

We left for Winnipeg on December 22 and arrived at Jenn's dad's in Ille des chenes around 5 or 6pm. Jenn and I toyed with the idea of going to a movie, but instead we stayed in and called it a night early.

On the 23rd we left for Regina. Me, Jenn, and two kids in one car, Michelle, Don and the other two kids in Michelle's van. Regina is about a six hour drive from Winnipeg, but if you travel with Don, it's eight. We left around 10am and drove without incident to Brandon where we stopped at "Timmy's" for coffee and a pee.
Don likes to chat with the locals when we travel, and this stop was no exception, but thankfully he took the hint after about half an hour that we wanted to get back on the road. (The hint being we put our coats on and left.)

An hour past Brandon is Moosomin, Sk and we stopped there for lunch at a little place called the Red Barn. Excellent restaurant, stop there if you're in the neighbourhood. Then we departed for Regina, about another 2 or 3 hours drive, but this one was made longer due to a snowstorm, yay!

So, for about 2 or 2.5 hours we chugged along the transcanada highway in a blizzard. In the ditch along the way, we saw a semi, an old Ford Bronco, and a boat, yes you read correctly, a boat. Who tows a boat in a snowstorm???

Thankfully we arrived in Regina and after Don's top notch navigating we arrived at the home of Jenn's step sister Linda and her family, Shawn, Cohen, Jake and Pascal.
I was pretty happy to get there and intended on getting a little looped, but fatigue set in before I could make good on my intentions!

We stayed at Shawn and Linda's from the 23rd to the 27th and enjoyed virtually every minute of our time there. Unfortunately it was pretty cold, so we didn't go out much. However the dads did manage to take the kids to Avatar on Christmas eve. (Great movie by the way) and swimming on Boxing day. The moms managed to go shopping! The kids mostly spent their time playing with toys and video games and waited for Santa to come, while the adults ate, drank, visited, and played a few games of crib and poker. I really like spending time with Shawn, so whenever he had to leave the house, I went with. Shawn is an entertainment lawyer and during a trip to his office I got to hold some Gemini awards and I picked up a signed photo of the cast from Corner Gas, which I gave to my dad.

I was sad to leave Shawn and Linda's on the 27th as I was having a lot of fun and making a few bucks playing crib and poker! But it was time to go and off we went.

On the way back to Winnipeg we managed to touch base with Jenn's friend Penny and her husband Steven, who live on a farm just outside of Portage la Prairie, MB. We stopped in for a visit and wound up staying later than we planned, but that was ok. We visited with Penny and Steven while our kid played together with toys and vids.

From the 28th of December to New Year's day, we hung our hats at my dad's in Selkirk, MB. (Or as Andrew likes to call it, Selkrit) Jenn and I did a little shopping and took our car in for some new sway bar links at the Kia dealership. I made out really good by getting an early birthday present, a new pair of Reebok skates. Easily the most comfortable skate I have ever owned, and they pump up around your ankles for extra support.

While in Selkirk, we managed to hook up with my best friend Charlie and his family. We visited at his house before confiscating him and taking him to Avatar. Yes, we saw it again, but this time in 3D! We also saw my friend Bill's family, but not him as he was working. According to his wife Kathy, he works through Christmas and New Year's every year because he doesn't like the hustle and bustle of it all. I'll have to admit; I'm somewhat the same way, but I'm not going to work!

New Year's eve was a blast as we spent it with Penny and Steven at their farm along with another family who were visiting from Dryden. We had a great supper, some beer and wine, and played cards, but the funnest part was playing Rockband! The adults must have been at it for 2 or 3 hours, time goes by fast when you're rockin' out!
We didn't get back to my dad's until about 2am, thank heaven the kids slept in a bit the next day!

On New Year's day we visited my family at Auntie Lou's in "Selkrit" and then helped Don celebrate his 60th b-day at his home in Ill des Chenes. We stayed the night there and left for home on the 2nd. Overall a great Christmas, but I think it's safe to say we were all pretty happy to get home!

Warehouse Sale at Sears.ca (January 4-24)