What an amazing way to spend a day in my much needed vacation….sitting in my sister-in-law’s kitchen watching her paint a story stick for the newest all-encompassing obsession in my life. A little coffee…lots of chatting….the doggy supervisor interrupting every now and then to play….more chatting….
So…what is a story stick? Or a spirit stick? And why are we painting one for Spirit of the Stick? Well I guess to get here I need to tell you where the whole idea came from. Truth is that it is all Jim Veltman’s fault.
I am Jim’s biggest & best fan he is not related to. 2008 was to be the last in a long and illustrious lacrosse playing career. This required an appropriate gift to mark the occasion. And if that gift could reflect his lacrosse history, so much the better. Problem is that Jim & his family are not “stuff people”. They don’t collect things. Possessions are not high on their list of priorities. So the dilemma was to find something meaningful.
Now this problem had been on my mind for some time, knowing full well that a 40 year athlete, no matter what kind of excellent shape he kept himself in, could only deal with the game at that level for so long. Retirement was inevitable, as much as I wished he could just play forever. I had a few ideas but had seen somewhere, at a pow wow, a stick that told a story tellers “story”. And it planted a seed.
The short version is…my sister-in-law is a pretty talented artist so I got a traditional handmade wooden stick donated, did a lot of research and then, with some direction and suggestions, let the artist loose. The result was Jim’s history on an “instrument” that reflected his accomplishments and memories in one place. It was decorated with symbols that truly reflected his fan’s respect for him and his for the Creator’s game. And I am pleased to know that it holds a place of honour in his family’s home.
Fast forward to last fall…October….my living room on a Friday night. Jim & I had invited a group of like-minded lacrosse friends to talk about how we could give something back to the game that had given us so much.
The evening grew naturally out of a project that Jim & his family decided on to mark his retirement from the playing side of the game. They decided that it was time to give something back and so a trip was planned, after considerable research, to the northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat. Its purpose would be twofold- to run a lacrosse clinic for the children there and to provide their own children with some important life lessons.
I was privileged to help Jim & Teresa prepare for that trip but, at times, it was a bit like flying by the seat of your pants, so to speak. Getting stuff donated and then transported in time for the start of the clinic; making the most of the donated funds; getting them up there and back. Lots of fun but pretty overwhelming. In the end, it was all worth it as it was a great success.
Jim & I talked when he got back and we realized that there was a need for this sort of outreach, maybe even closer to home. Well if we realized this maybe we knew some people who felt the same way. Well then maybe we should get those people together to talk about this idea. A ton of food, a dozen friends, an equal number of regrets…..lots of wonderful discussion later and using Jim’s stick for inspiration, Spirit of the Stick was born.
This past year has been an adventure and then some. We have incorporated, hosted three distinctively different clinics, raised a few bucks and a lot of awareness and have developed an amazing network of supporters and volunteers. Our advisory committees read like the who’s who of lacrosse. And we have some pretty ambitious plans for year two.
Jim’s stick has provided us with some amazing inspiration but it is his. We needed our own. So…another donated stick, thanks to Delby Powless Senior, the inspiration of an amazing logo thanks to John Jacobs and the paint jars & brushes of my sister-in-law, Connie Anderchek. And this time it is her kitchen table instead of mine that is the work table for another story stick. This one will be a little different however.
The Spirit of the Stick’s stick will be just beginning its journey. It will tell our story. And my plan is to ask each clinic we do to provide us with a piece of the story. The first additions are waiting, thanks to our friends from the Chippewas of Georgina Island. We will add something from our other two clinics. And I will keep a journal so that its story will become part of who we are, so people will know what we have accomplished.
But the stick is giving other gifts as well. I get to spend a day, just me and Connie, planning and painting (well her at least), talking and sharing. It is a way for us to work on something together. It is a way for her to give back to the game that has given me so much. And that is important to her. And to me.
And it is a way for us to honour the traditions of the game that, in the beginning, was truly a gift from a generous and caring Creator.
It seems like forever since I have had the time or the energy to write anything. Not my fault. I intend to blame it on my right knee. Years of ignoring the occasional bit of swelling and discomfort and I found myself unable to walk without pain. An MRI, done in a timely fashion thanks to me knowing a guy….and it was determined that a surgical repair was in order before I could get back to work.
I do not like being on the “DL”. And basically all I had to do was miss some work and worry about my knee surgery for six weeks. It certainly gave me an appreciation for athletes who get hurt during the season and have to sit on the sidelines and watch their team play.
I was really pretty lucky, considering it was my driving leg that I did in. All I had to do was screw up the courage to ask people for favours. A drive here and there; some help with housecleaning; someone to carry my groceries up the stairs. Frustrating but it was only me that was put out. Oh and my boss who had to cover my shifts at work. And I knew the surgeon was going to be able to repair the damage so that I would be back to work mid-summer; not full speed but almost.
My forced rest got me thinking about how frustrating it must be to watch your teammates and not be able to play your part in the game plan. I remember in 2005 watching Glenn Clark on the sidelines. He “celebrated” the championship along with four guys he had played with for eight years…their fifth together. But it just wasn’t the same. He was part but not. All he could do was watch and encourage. He had to be a fan and I can’t even imagine how hard that was. I know how hard it is for me to watch and I can’t play worth beans.
What my forced sitting did for me, I think, was make it a little easier to be a fan.
*************************************************************************************Now…anyone who knows me will know for certain that I didn’t sit around doing nothing. There was training camp for my Senior “B” team and the resultant paperwork. Road trips with them. At least I didn’t have to miss a game because of work. Except the day of my surgery. But I was there in spirit, in the form of brownies & cookies & rice krispie squares for the ride home.
And of course, my Major team to watch. Couldn’t drive myself but I seem to have more friends than I realized so got to lots of their games and a bunch more as well. It was actually a real treat to get to games that I did nothing but watch and enjoy…no real stake in the outcome.
The physio kept me out of trouble during the days. A fabulous clinic that made it fun to work hard. I owe particular thanks for that to Uma the “Physioterrorist”. It made it a lot easier to take being in the Beaches with all their lovely patios and marvellous food for lunch al fresco.
Got a ton of reading done too! Which was great especially after I found a lawn chair that I could get in and out of without any help. Sunshine, a BIG glass of lemonade and an engrossing novel full of dragons and wizards and knight in shining armour can take your mind off of a lot of discomfort.
And there was Spirit of the Stick work on as well. Another column on that shortly but I do want to thank the two guys from The Lax Life for their ongoing support, especially with the insert in their new instructional video. Looney & Chedda are two of our biggest fans & we are proud to be associated with them. Oh congrats to them on back-to-back President’s Cups! Can never have too much jewellery.
So…back to 12 hour days. Still careful with the knee because it has good days and not-so-good ones. Full tilt with Spirit of the Stick. Getting ready for training camp. Had to find the time to watch my Excelsiors win back-to-back Mann Cups on my computer, in what was arguably the most exciting national senior championship ever. Busier than ever and trying to fit ongoing physio and trying to get back into shape and….well you get it. I do believe that the expression “no rest for the wicked” applies here.
]]>For those of you interested in a sneak peak of the video you can view some clips on youtube at the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qv53McZrJE&feature=channel – Basic Defence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syznY3kdoV0&feature=channel – Advanced Shooting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BkpF0ZJQ_8&feature=channel - Transition
Otherwise, you can follow us on twitter or shoot us an email through the contact forum…
Ya Boi,
_Chedda Bob
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Get the LAX Life Lacrosse Instructional DVD
$29.99 + $5.00 s&h
Very sorry for the delay for those of you who have looked into purchasing our box lacrosse instructional video from the website. We hope to have this distribution channel set up very shortly.
In the mean time I will be living in Truro, Nova Scotia, and if you are interested in a copy of the video we are selling them for $30 plus $5 shipping ($35 total) to:
Chet Koneczny
144 Oakwood Dr.
Truro Heights, Nova Scotia
B6L 1N4
Thanks for your continued support!
]]>We hope to have better distribution channels set up in the coming weeks (mainly Internet based), so if you can’t catch us at one of our venues, share your support and help us with the transition into lacrosse full-time, able to take this game where it is destined to go.
Thanks again everyone for your patience and support,
You can reach us for the next six weeks at the following address or cheddab@hotmail.com:
The Lax Life
780 Second avenue West (upper unit)
Owen Sound, Ontario,
N4k 4M4
Yonder
_Chedda
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Cheers,
_Chet
]]>So…a very successful road trip draws to a close. And…I am writing this as we drive along the MassPike, as it is called on the signs with the cool hats.
I must admit that the road trips, of late, have been shorter AND far less satisfactory in nature. Amazing how actually winning, albeit in overtime which I abhor, does that for a little 900 or so kilometre jaunt across the border and into a state with 13 letters in its name.
I was excited to go on this road trip…an extra long weekend, a visit to a city I have never seen and one of my favourite players on the other team. So…organize rooms. Then get nephew, who is affectionately known as “The Dood Of Direction”, to create his usual fabulous directions. Pretty hard to get lost with directions that suggests things like not to attempt to cross the median to get to your hotel. Detailed down to how many kilometres…pretty hard to get lost, thank goodness. Although he did miss one toll.
Packing to leave is always fun, especially at this time of the year, with the weather so changeable. But when you are driving, just take outerwear to cover any possibility and all is well. Figuring out which jerseys was the easy part of this trip. And, as always, three bags for every one that my travelling partner brings. How can one be expected to be a goddess without all the right stuff?
Snacks and fill up the tank and we were off, with an overnight in Syracuse, just so we weren’t too pooped. Good thing breakfast foods are appropriate at any time of the day. And that Denny’s seems to be open all the time. 11 pm…And then 9 am…same one and on the road again.
One never thinks that they are going to run into anyone they know on an interstate, right? Wrong! Heading off towards our destination we passed a car with “ONTARIO” plates and next thing we know someone is waving furiously in the car behind us. Turns out the lacrosse decal in the back window, the sticks hanging in the windows and the customized plate were a dead giveaway. Thank goodness for all those nice little layovers along the way. We just pulled in to the next one and, while we all had a stretch, caught up on our plans that would apparently intersect before the game.
Off again only to discover that rush hour is pretty much the same in any big city. It sucks! Especially when you don’t really know where you are going except for the fabulous directions you have in hand.
Delicous and real Mexican food, which is very hard to find in Toronto, a meander around a 24-hour drug store/everything store, a good night’s sleep and we were all set for a fun day in Boston.
First off, I must say that Boston has to be one of the most polite and friendly cities I have ever visited. Please and thank-you seem to be the norm. People actually let you in when you signal in traffic. And, with my “funny” accent, people wanted to know where I was from. That led to the inevitable “why are you visiting?” inquiry. So….plenty of opportunity to talk lacrosse with total strangers, which is always fun.
Because we had a few hours on game day, we decided to just park by the harbour (pronounced much like “hah-bah” by the locals) because we were meeting friends for a pre-game dinner in that neighbourhood. And how beautiful the area was! Fresh smelling air and bright sunshine! A little chilly to start but it didn’t really seem to matter. Lots of wandering and then we decided we might have a look around a few stores for a few souvenirs for friends at home and a special birthday gift for a soon-to-be 80 year old friend who couldn’t make the trip because it has been a tough winter.
So…where to shop because we couldn’t actually see any stores? A store that ships lobster around the country seemed the obvious place to ask. Well! We figured out where we were going with a little sign language. Because we met the native Boston accent at it’s very thickest. It was almost like a foreign language….very cool sounding but did I ever have to work hard to figure out what this very friendly man was saying.
So….found the shopping common and who should we run in to? Yup! Our fellow driver. She had been on a bus tour that morning and comments just reinforced what I had already decided. Boston will make a great long weekend destination this fall. I even found a book of walking tours which I plan to study a bit, in anticipation of that return trip.
Souvenirs in hand and then off to eat some extremely fresh shellfish and get ready for the game with a bunch of fellow hometown fans and the father of my favourite player on the other team. And what could be better? A little friendly trash talk over a bucket of steamed peel-and-eat shrimp, a few crab legs, corn-on-the-cob and my very first bowl of “chow-dah”. And the “most interesting” crab cracking device I have ever encountered. A big rock and a pile of paper plates. Use your imagination. But the crab was delicious!
Then off to TD Banknorth “Gah-dans” and more friendly people. The Blazer staff did absolutely everything they could to make sure I was looked after. As did most of the arena staff. My “accent” sure stood out. Oh and my #32 All-Star jersey. All I can say is if this city doesn’t embrace this very good young team it won’t be for lack of trying by the staff. Special thanks to Dave who helped not only me but Spirit of the Stick as well; and was most interested at the post-game party in any comments I had on the game presentation itself.
So…now to the game. My Rock actually showed up for the whole sixty minutes. Completed passes, hard work on the “D” end and Whipper definitely on his game. As was Mr. Cosmo! In the end, the Rock just worked a little harder, as the Blazers clawed back to tie it in the fourth. A great game by Luke Wiles. Lots of hard work by Craig Conn, whose crease-crashing antics all night netted him a shiner & a bunch of stitches. Apparently, however, the “W” sure made them feel better and, as he told me, “Chicks dig scars”. I suggested that that was enough information.
This Blazer team has so much young talent. Fast…exhausting to watch at times, actually. How could I not love a team with my pretend nephew, the next Veltman, red hair and all? And a great leader in the guy who left me some excellent tickets, Dangerous Dan himself.
Danny told me, after the game, that he is working awfully hard. As, it seems, is everyone employed by the team. They are trying everything they can think of to sell this team, which is at the beginning of “very good”. They just need to get people into the seats. This team is out and about in the community all the time and, hopefully, their numbers will grow to match the passion and hard work of the players.
Now…to the game winner! By a most unlikely candidate who, I am sure, will milk it for all it’s worth, to some very good natured ribbing from his teammates. I have to admit that I really intensely dislike overtime. So hard on the nerves! But….that much sweeter when one of my boys scores. I am just glad Scott “Soupy” Campbell’s teammates didn’t hurt or break anything when they mobbed him in congratulations.
Then off to the post game. Lots of pictures and hugs all around. And that was with the Blazer players. These guys had to be disappointed, especially a guy like Anthony Cosmo, who used to be the heir apparent in-net for the Rock. But the game stays at the arena and the post game is time to catch up and enjoy.
I think for me the true highlight of the trip was something Chad Thompson yelled down the sidewalk as we headed off last night before the real silliness got underway. He thanked my travelling partner and me for making the trip. “It means a lot that you guys are here”. And that is a sentiment that was echoed, not just by my team but by the boys on the other team as well. And not just in Boston but every time we make an away trip. Makes the drive home a lot easier. And shorter too!
I am an unapologetic fan of my beloved Toronto Rock. And it pains me to watch them struggle as they are. I have, in the past few seasons- since that last championship on 2005- suffered through some pretty tough losses. But this season is different. It is almost like watching a loved one struggle with an illness. My team is suffering from, for want of a better term, heart failure. And I feel completely helpless. I really don’t know what I can do to help.
In the early years my team, on paper at least, was not the most talented. Sure we had some really talented players but none of the superstars who could score at will. In those days “the heart” lived in a solid stay-at-home defence. And if a guy got through that them, Whipper was there.
Two season and two championships. Les Bartley figured out what the right job was for each player. Then he made each man responsible to his teammates.
Another championship on the road in ’02 against another “better-on-paper” team.
And then it was ’03 in Rochester. That was probably the best game I have ever witnessed and, in 11 years, I have seen some pretty good ones. The defence did it again- stopping guys, fast breaks down the floor and scoring a few. I know that it was likely the toughest game Whipper ever played. On that night his heart was broken. His very best, long time fan was no longer with us. And so to heal that hurt, he played for that fan and inspired his team.
In ’05, the true “heart” of my Rock struggled with life itself. But that struggle inspired the five who remained from that very first game. Another ring and another celebration. Great joy. And then the very next day- that heart left us.
It has been as if he took something with him. And the five have become just one. First a free agent signing by a team with a young defence that needed an anchor. Then there were differences of opinion and a trade that was very unpopular with the fans. At the end of last season, the one who was most like that heart retired at the age of 42; old for a lacrosse player and ready to start the next phase of his career. A change of style and another retirement. And only Whipper remains- the goaltender most in the know would want on their team in the BIG game.
So now my Rock is one of the teams with tons of talent on paper- lots of speed, great conditioning, a BIG scorer, a couple of creative shooters, a new captain who can fly, some solid defensive veterans, considerable skill in the faceoff circle. We have a young man who has worked like a Trojan to come back from a knee injury that would have ended a lesser man’s career. At times this team is brilliant. But on for a quarter or a half. And at other times they look like a reasonably talented junior team could beat them soundly.
Some of these guys just flat out quit. Checks aren’t finished. Passes are sloppy. Bad decisions are made. And there are the excuses.
There are guys who are working as hard as ever; no quit and no excuses. But it must be awfully hard for those guys when they see teammates flat out quit.
And for a guy like Bob Watson it must be harder still. He was a member of all five of those championship teams with all those hearts.
And as is often the case, just writing this has made clear in my head, at least, what I can do to help. It is a small thing but….I will not quit. I will encourage and cheer. I will go to all those away arenas and proudly wear my 2002 championship #32 jersey. I will be as honest as I can when the guys ask. And I will not quit.
And…Just maybe….their hearts will heal. It won’t happen overnight. This team’s “heart” has been unwell for a long time. It will take it time to heal. Some changes will be necessary. I won’t like them all but…I will not quit.
And…Just maybe…with enough encouragement and love….just maybe…..