With pond hockey season approaching fast, millions of memories are poised to be made. Goals will be scored, tournaments will be won, kegs will be emptied, and stories will be shouted from Anchorage to Plaster Rock. Sadly, I can’t be there to document all of them. As much as I wish I could watch the finals on frozen Lake Nokomis before grabbing a Molson at Winterlude, that kind of travel just doesn’t lend itself to a working father. Plus I like my wife.

So I need you folks to step up and record these events on my behalf. If you’re playing in or attending a tournament, there are hundreds of stories to be told. Keep a mental list going, and when you get back to reality that next week, jot them down and send them to me.

“But I’m not a writer,” you’ll say. Well neither am I.

We’re all husbands and wives and dads and moms and has-beens and hacks and superstars from the Class of ’93. But we’re also pond hockey participants, and that’s the sole prerequisite for getting your story posted on this site. I don’t care about your grammar or writing style or spelling. I care about your experiences. That’s it.

There’s no way I can come up with a list of everything you might see and experience pondside. But here are the types of things I want to read about:

• Crazy come-from-behind wins.
• Old guys with leather helmets.
• Teams that closed the bar, then had the first game the next morning (include the score of said game).
• Raucous crowds.
• Beer tents.
• Celebrity appearances.
• Players who forgot a skate, but remembered the 30-pack.

Here are the things I don’t care about:

• Grammar
• Spelling
• Length
• Style
• Transitive verb usage

My goal for this is to help others view the pond hockey tournament experience from the eyes of people who have lived it. Pond hockey is growing, and growing fast, but its participants still represent a small faction of the hockey community. By telling your story to the thousands of visitors to this site, you’re helping people who have never been to a pond hockey tournament inch closer towards participation. The more participants, the larger the events grow, and the more that sprout up. That’s how sports grow, and this is an opportunity to help with that.

So this is my official request for pond hockey tournament stories. This site was started by one person, but has grown into a community. Let’s harness the collective experiences and tell our stories.

If you’d like to submit a story, e-mail me at joe@backyard-hockey.com. Every story I receive will be published, along with any images you include. E-mail me with any questions, or post in the comments below!

Team Elvis photo courtesy of Mike Sales.