Back to Scheduling

When N transitioned to the big city hockey program, I was willing to help out if needed, but in the end, I realized that they have their act together and my services (or lack thereof) weren't needed. In this regard, I was looking forward to just being a spectator at my son's games. The biggest plus was not having to coach, which was tough for a hockey neophyte as myself surrounded by real men on ice.

The season has had its share of ups and downs, but one thing that I've noticed is that they seem to be a little short on games. Throughout the season there have been assorted cancelations or weekends with one or no games altogether. The general feeling is that they haven't had that many games. At least that's the impression. I was looking at the girls program and they have upwards of 50% more games, though my methods are hardly scientific.

Now it's not the scheduler's fault, because he has enough to deal with doing all the other teams. Believe me, I feel his pain. He did his job by getting the required number of games for the season, and if anything, his job is aggravated by the shifting landscape of the division. Kudos to him (the scheduler) for doing a good job. The only problem is, if there was a desire to have more games, it falls on someone else. Who, I don't know, but whatever be the case, it hasn't happened.

Now there's about a month left in the season, which seems like a lot, but it actually isn't. This is hockey, which for some goes year-round. The way I see it, there are maybe around 5-6 games left to go, and then the states, so N's team will be sputtering into the playoffs with little in the way of preparation, i.e., games. In fact, there were no games planned for the weekend right before states. That's not an ideal situation. If anything, you want games against teams that will kick your butt, or at least challenge you enough to reach deep within, to get your physically and mentally prepared for the tournament. Having no games in the week before is just not a good thing.

Enter yours truly. I didn't want to be the annoying parent (too late?) who sticks his nose into other people's business, nor did I want to be one of those people who thinks he's helping but is in fact being a pain the arse, but I figured that since I'm both of those things, I'd at least offer to help and maybe get some games at the end of the season. Since I used to be a scheduler, I know the drill, so after getting the requisite blessing from the coach and manager, I went in search of games and found a few. It's definitely a bit of a pain when you have to get approval from other people before you confirm a game with the opposing team, but it's not so bad when it only involves one or two teams.

Either way, I did it and now they have a few more games on the books. Truth be told, I would have done it earlier in the season when we had so many gaps to fill, but I also didn't want to step on any toes. I guess, in the end, the season is what it is, and I shouldn't worry too much about it. Just go with the flow and let things happen as they may... yeah right, like that's going to happen. Fortunately, I don't have much, if any, choice in the matter.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Paul L. Dineen for the pic.