Junior Training Camp Notes by Paul Gugino

Buffalo Stars Empire Junior Training Camp 2011

Day 1...August 1, 2011

            August 1^st, the first day of training camp, started out just like any other day with an early morning practice. My alarm was set for 6a.m. but I was already awake and excited several minutes before the alarm sounded. After putting on my stars clothing I decided to get some breakfast. Now, trying to find something to eat before an early practice is usually not easy because my pre-practice nerves make nothing very appetizing, and today was no exception. I finally decided to have half a roast beef sandwich, half a peach, and a glass of water. With breakfast over it was time to get to the rink.

            Once I got in the locker room all my nervousness disappeared because everyone was in a pretty good mood, despite the early time. With about 10 minutes until practice started, the room went quiet as the coaches came in to briefly discuss what was planned for the skate. Once they left it was time to hit the ice. The practice was pretty good, the pace was good and everyone seemed to put in a good effort. We did lots of “1 on 1” and “2 on 1” drills which are good but “1 on 1” is not my specialty, and I had many failed attempts at scoring. Personally though, I thought we were going to do some more system work, but it was only day 1 and I think the coaches wanted to keep it simple. Towards the end of practice we did do a continuous “3 on 2” drill which is more my type of play, and my line was pretty good at it. Practice then ended with some conditioning, which is always fun.

            After getting changed out of my gear it was time to head out into the heat for some off-ice work. This was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I’m not saying it was easy. In fact, the workout consisted mostly of condition broken into drills, mainly sprinting. Then, after a decent amount of conditioning, we all headed inside to do a good 20-30 minutes of core and leg work. It was going good until my legs cramped badly and I had to sit out for a few minutes, waiting for my legs to “unlock.” However, by the time the cramps went away though everyone else was done with the workout so I stayed late and made sure I did everything that I missed while I sat out. Guess I should have stretched more.

            Finally, the first day ended with 30-40 minutes of classroom where the coaches just went over some defensive zone coverage strategy. We were then dismissed around 12p.m.It was a good first day.

Paul Gugino age 17