Andrew and Teammates get angry with "puck hog"

The players are between the ages of 7-9. A few of the players have left for Bintaro,…probably where Andrew will head next. There are a few reasons why this would occur. 1) Coach has NO interest in learning more about the way to coach the kids. I gave him a "SEAN SKINNER" video link for him, and he appears to have no interest in what is his paid job. Well, it shows. Figure skating coach first,…..crap they put me in as a hockey coach at 6am. Oh well, guess I'll go teach the little guys something. 2) Because of the certain "puck hog", the boys are starting to get a little tired of it. They pass to this young boy, but he won't pass back unless he has NO other options and he's stuck. Then the pass is usually a crappy outlet pass that is only in the vicinity of "hey I passed it to you…not my fault you couldn't get it"….Truly, a selfish little player. Today, 2 people (including myself) got on this boys little case. Talked about how hockey is a TEAM sport. I don't think he cares. 3) Bintaro Jaya Xchange Ice Rink is more for hockey players as opposed to T.A. Sky Rink which is geared heavily toward figure skaters. 4) A few of Andrew's buddies are already switching over to Bintaro. 5) Slightly bigger rink. NHL size rink. 6) Less people even on the crowded days. Andrew spent this morning after practice getting ready for some Pre-Ceremony dance routine with a few of his other hockey buddies.

Post by Giovanni Barricelli.

Andrew at Bintaro Jaya Xchange Ice Rink

Andrew(and so far 4 of his other buddies) have signed up for Malaysian Ice Hockey Coach Gary Tan. Gary will have a late spring camp in Bintaro Jaya Xchange from May 2nd to May 4th.

This will be the first TRUE instruction he's had since putting on skates back in September. Gary's had experience internationally, including Canada. So, there is a lot of expectation on his behalf. I believe, if the boys can get a good coach to come over and run a camp 3-4x a year, we will start to see progress in their GAME.

Gary Tan: Captain of Malaysia Nat'l Ice Hockey Team

Post by Giovanni Barricelli.

Andrew Practiced With Teammates As Part Of Ceremony

Andrew practiced this past Wednesday as part of a Ceremony for the "World Cup"…wtf??? They are going to skate on ice,…let me see if I have this straight?…skate around the ice with a Brazilian flag in futbol/soccer shirts to help spread the joy of the upcoming World Cup…..Who thought of this shit? Worse yet, Andrew was originally not included in this ceremony because the coach didn't think I'd like it. He is correct,…however, you can't isolate a child like that. Andrew being isolated like that sets a wrong message. So, as stupid as this is, he must be involved with his buddies,…his teammates. A few of the parents have gathered a hockey coach for a ONE week camp in Bintaro. Oh,…you bet Andrew will attend. It will be a 5 day camp. 4 on ice, 1 off ice. A combination of cost and visa issues for Nat is making our Czech trip this July a slight issue. We hope to get that resolved. I'd love to send both of them to Prague. In the meantime, we have decided to upgrade Andrew's gear. (Helmet upgrade to Bauer 5100medium…his enormous head) I went to Singapore and brought this one back. icewarehouse.com we got a few things too: (Bauer: Vapor APX2 11" gloves black/red…like Jonathan Toews, 2 pair of ice hockey socks (wine,black), new set of shoulder pads, elbow pads and shin guards: Vapor X100), and since we don't get good cloth ice hockey stick tape here,…ordered Black Renfrew tape. hockeymonkey.com (Warrior Covert DT2 11" hockey gloves…different feel from Bauer, Firststar Overtime Cool-Skin Contour Jr. Long Slv compression shirt, Shock Doctor 270 Basix Yth Compression hockey Jock w/Flex Cup, 3 Blackhawks hockey socks (home, road, third), NY Rangers hockey socks home, Elite Pro S700 Waxed Molded Tip laces 4 pair black 4 pair white. Got them in 96" for I have 8 pair (different brand) coming from China at 84". Why so many laces? OMG, it is nearly impossible to find hockey laces here. Now I ordered 3 toys for Andrew….a) Bauer Vapor XR4 inline hockey skates. His beginner inline skates are trashed and he loves to inline skate here at Taman Rasuna….b) Graf Supra G35 Jr. Ice Hockey Skates with the T-Blade system and the regular blade/runner also…Trying out this new T-blade and the reason for Graf? Good skate especially for those with flat feet. This is the skinny on Graf…we shall see. and finally c)Easton Mako Jr. Ice hockey skates. 4.5 (a size larger for Xmas) hearing great things about Easton from all the reviews so we want to see out of Bauer Supreme, Bauer Vapor ,Graf, and Easton which he likes best. btw…he rarely, rarely uses the Bauer Supreme skates. Those ware the used ones we got the first week here. Still in amazing condition, I bet they haven't been worn 40 times between the two owners of the skates.) I haven't purchased from hockeygiant.com yet. I am asking my friend from San Francisco to help me out on orders. Especially a very nice GRIT wheeled tower hockey bag. We really want that bad boy!!!!. I'll keep you all informed. Oh,…Blackhawks play St.Louis today. I'm off to go watch the game. Let's go Hawks!!!

Andrew Marking Up The Hallways

I was unfortunate and unable to go to Andrews practice this Sunday for I was abroad. However, this week, I got to play a little hallway hockey with Andrew. He's tearing up the hallway with black smudge marks from the tape. He watched Sean Skinners tape on puck handling and stick handling. So, he was out practicing his maneuvers. As an eight year old he needs to focus a bit more, but you can see the effort and the desire there. He TRULY needs good hockey coaching which he is unable to get here in Jakarta. But, we will try our best with what we have available to us. I heard Andrew scored again. He's starting to score with regularity now. That is good, however we still need him to gain focus on the important elements of the game. Maybe at this age, it is too young, however, I don't think it is. Because he has the desire, concentrating more on what he loves to do will be a bit easier than let's say……Math. hehehehe (well it's true. He hate's math). In a few weeks Andrew will be part of a little show that The Sky Rink is putting on. I don't know what the celebration is, but it has something to do with the "World Cup"…hmmmmm, skating representing the World Cup. This should be interesting. The only reason Andrew wishes to participate is because his friends are going to be there, as well. We are looking at buying Andrew some advanced equipment to help further develop his game. I would also like to buy some "training tools/equipment" for him, to help him when he is by himself. This is the only review I've written without a video or pics (because of my lack of attendance), but next week I should be back on track to writing more interesting material.

Bintaro vs Taman Anggrek. Andrew scores 2 ion 4-8 loss.

Post by Giovanni Barricelli.

Today was a special day. Andrew and his young buddies headed on over to Bintaro Ice Rink to face-off against a older group of boys. Included in that group was a 12 year old American kid who was dominating the ice. He scored 8 goals for his Bintaro team and they beat the boys from Taman Anggrek 8-4. In that loss however, Andrew and Raifa scored 2 goals a piece. It was quite apparent that without the 12 year old present, Team T.A. would have most likely flipped that score. They weren't a good match. What was pretty evident was just how much this T.A. team needs to grow. Other than Andrew  and Raifa,(and they only did it part time), no on wanted to put a body on the 12 year old American and he just dominated the ice. Also evident was the passing without looking, the lack of defensive effort, and the inability to use the backhand.


A few things I learned today.
1) Parents from Bintaro ARE NOT used to people yelling and cheering from the balcony. Many felt that we should be seen,…but not heard.

2) They have a nice little hockey shop next to the rink. It has skates, bags, helmets, shoulder pads, hockey pants, sticks, hockey tape (colored), 120cm laces….I needed laces even though they were 38cm too big,…I bought them. They have jerseys at 300,000 Rp per jersey. No numbers or names, but decent  jerseys with NHL logos. There was also some figure skating things there.

3) The drippy ceiling leaves pot holes on the ice.   I wonder if anyone else noticed that.

4) Everyone loves hockey.

Look at all the boys at Bintaro today

The lobby at Bintaro