This is Cool...Can't Wait Until February

Even these guys wear the "STOP" patch!:

This is Funny (the link) and True - Where do you fit in?

This guy, Justin Bourne, is a good, funny, interesting writer. One of the things I like about his blog is that he is just removed from being a hockey player. The guy used to play for University of Alaska-Anchorage, which means that I worked the ice for a number of his games in college (which I feel some type of personal connection to him, whether there is one or not).

See his latest post [HERE].

The game is a changing. The way you prepare as an official is changing. What to do???? Hope you keep up? ( you can wish in one hand and crap in the other...see which one fills up first). You can take two weeks off and then quit.

Or...

You can "Bring It". Imagine if you had an off ice workout plan that was hockey-referee specific. Imagine if you had one that created more power. Imagine if you had an off ice workout that made you faster. Imagine if you had a workout that could do some of the following:

"I have lost 13 pounds and have been eating very healthy and dring lost of water and no pop. So far so good. My wife is glad I am sticking to it and is amazed that I can."

"I got my skating times to top 25% at the camp, shaved what I believe to be nearly ½ a second of my 40yard forward sprint (down to under 5!) got my backward time down as well and added 1.5 laps to the hell-on-ice “3:00 drill.”"

"I am down almost 2.5 inches in the waist and over 6 pounds in 3 weeks!"

"I have lost 1.5 inches off my waist, yet I have still gained 4 pounds overall. This is exactly what I set out to do. While a majority of people may be looking to lose weight, I am actually hoping to gain weight through muscle mass and gaining definition and strength. So far, so good.
It also goes without saying that my strength gains have been incredible. "

I am looking for you if want this stuff. Serious inquiries only. Check this out:

I've Been Spotting More Lean and Mean Refs Out There

This says it all:

Get You Faster. Period.

This is one example of the video analysis we will do with you. See the videos below:

In fact, we offer this analysis FREE of CHARGE!

What do I need to get started?

1. Video Camera: This service is being provided 100% online. Thus, the only way that I can see your swing is using video. (If you are looking at purchasing a new video camera, I would highly recommend any of the Sony HD video cameras.)

2. Camera Set Up: Ideally, we get a shot of you coming at the camera from the FRONT, a shot of you going away from the camera from the BACK, and a shot from the side.

3. Video of Skating: Take a couple of shots (a) skating forwards, (b) skating backwards.

4. Send Swings: Once you have video taped your swings, send them to info@ultimateofficials.com. You should receive an email from me within 48 hours confirming I have received your information. You may be asked to fill out a short survey. If you are, please fill it out quickly and thoroughly.

5. Coaching Tips/Training Tips: I will edit and produce a video clip, much like the ones you see here, and a workout plan will be included. There will be specific information on exercises to make your stride more powerful, quicker, faster "first-step speed", and with greater agility.

(NOTE: These training tips are not included in the video. These are techniques I have learned from teaching hundreds of skaters over 15 years, and I only save those for the hockey referees who are SERIOUS).

Why I Love the C+ Guys with Heart

Infatuation may be too strong of a word when it comes to my admiration of Chris Chelios as a player. Why do I like him so much? Why did I like Wes Walz so much? Why do I like Owen Nolan so much?

Because they have heart.

I get asked by people all the time "who is the type of hockey referee you are looking to work with?" I tell them, it is certainly not the hot-shots. I can't stand those guys. You know who I am talking about...they have ALL the answers, they know-it-all, they are UN-coachable (I saw a lot of those dudes in the JODP -- uggh, just because you're working junior games don't mean jack squat).

I am looking for the guys who are the C+ skill level and play WAYYYY above their talent by using heart. Chris Chelios may have been a "straight A" player at one point in his career, but he has worked his ass off to continue to play well into his 40's.

I seriously doubt Wes Walz scored high on any battery of tests, but there was no one who could touch him when it came to heart power. I see the same in Owen Nolan now.

And, I saw a lot of that this past weekend in the Ultimate Officials Training Camp during the MN Blades tourney. I see that every week in the guys who are busting some serious butt at the treadmill sessions and in the morning skates, and in the training times when NOBODY IS WATCHING (yikes...that's the key to developing more heart power).

Here's my boy:

It Was 5 Years Ago Now...

That I lost my mother to cancer. She was 56 years old. Too young.

It was that fall, 2oo4, when a good friend of mine, Brian Thul, who had lost his father to cancer the year before, and I decided to play a golf game and take all of our bets and donate them to the American Cancer Society.

There were six golfers that year:

Brian Thul*
Jeff Beckers*
Brian Johnson
Brad Albers
Lisa Albers
myself*

And we donated $240 to ACS. In about 9 hours, 55 people will tee off for the 6th Annual Zebra Open - Take a Swing at Cancer. Over the years we have raised over $8,500. That's awesome. I am proud to run this tournament and I can't wait to see all of my good friends at the golf course.

Hockey people are the best kind of people in the world. And hockey referees are the best of the hockey people. I am glad to call them all friends.

(*) Have been present at every single Zebra Open

Here's a commercial from last year: