A Junior Hockey Journey: The Honeymoon Phase

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Monday, June 29, 2015:

An egg and some milk away were among the worst choices I made that summer. Two hours into dryland, both made reappearances, watered down, though still chunky.

It was June heat with an encroaching July sun. We ran from the clock tower to the Norfolk Fairgrounds. We ran laps around the horse track. Egg and milk had their spectacle and then we jogged our return to the tower. We completed sets of sit-ups, pushups, jump squats, suitcases, and planks. We posed for newspaper pictures and for the new Vikings instagram and website. We met our Assistant Coach/ Team Owner. The owner, our head coach’s brother, would ultimately relinquish his duties as assistant coach before the start of the season, becoming GM for another team within our division, the Komoka Dragons.

It seemed like a good combination. One brother was advertised as a former NCAA D1 player, the other a former competitor in the OHL. It would later be revealed that both these titles, while true, were misinformation. Our initial head coach played 43 total games at Wayne State before transferring to Ryerson University. His brother, our Team Owner, played four total games in the OHL before sustaining a career-ending leg injury.

No Viking had bothered to check their credibility. It was only in August, following political upheaval within the team, staff, players, and town, that anyone began uncovering the truth behind the setup of the Norfolk Vikings Junior ‘A’ program. The result has been a disastrous series of actions that will leave an inaugural season as the only season for a Junior A hockey team.

After the head coach finally declared the workout session over, we all tumbled into a nearby Wendy’s for food, starting a tradition that would permeate the rest summer. We headed our separate ways to our own hotels, having agreed to meet back at the clock tower refreshed and ready to explore the county. At 5pm we all set out in the Michigander’s gray Chevrolet Suburban.

–Jeff Gu