Category Archives: Hockey

Interview With Legendary NH Hockey Coach, Dick Dodds

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In honor of completing my 5th year of hockey class today, an interview with my Coach:

Hockey puck commemorating Coach Dick Dodds' recognition as a New Hampshire Legend of Hockey on October 28, 2012.

Dick Dodds was recognized as a Legend of New Hampshire Hockey on October 28, 2012.

CCM: You’ve recently been inducted into the NH Hockey Hall of Fame for your 30+ successful years coaching the Hanover High Boys Hockey program. Isn’t coaching adults hopeless by comparison?

Coach Dodds: “Oh, good god, no! Hockey is incredibly popular with adults. You might want to double check the stats, but I think adult beginner is the fastest growing segment of the US hockey population.”

CCM: How long have you coached the adult Learn-to-Play program at Campion Rink?

Coach Dodds: “Oh, 9 or 10 years? I still remember the names of the first players…”

CCM: What made you decide to start a beginner hockey program for adults?

Coach Dodds: “The demand was already there to start a program. Hockey is so much fun and it’s a fantastic workout. I just wanted to continue to spread passion for the sport.”

Coach Dick Dodds explains an on-ice hockey drill for the Learn-to-Play group at Campion Rink, NH

Learn-to-Play Hockey classes at Campion Rink are popular with a wide range of adults.

CCM: What would you say to an adult who’s considering hockey, but still unsure?

Coach Dodds: “GO FOR IT! …But do it the right way. You do need a certain level of skating proficiency. Don’t come to the Intermediate class if you’re still learning to skate. Check out one of our Learn-to-skate*** programs first.”

CCM: What do you love most about playing hockey?

Coach Dodds: “I love the speed of the game and the sounds of the game… a crisp pass going tape to tape… the clang of the crossbar…”

CCM: What do you love most about coaching hockey?

Coach Dodds: “Too many joys to limit it to one: Putting together a good practice plan…watching as concepts click in a player’s mind…watching as players develop.”

Coach Dodds explains an on-ice hockey drill for the adult Learn-to-Play group.

Coaches Dodds & Pollard share their love of hockey with beginners in the Upper Valley.

***The next Learn-to-Skate, Learn-to-Play and Intermediate Hockey sessions at Campion Rink run from January 3 to March 28, 2013. Find out more and sign up online!

Cast Off & Back to Boot Camp

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If you don’t follow my felt hats on Facebook, you likely missed some good news last week:  my dreaded wrist cast is a thing of the past and I’ve been cleared for hockey boot camp (with a brace) – Hooray! Hooray!

Carrie Cahill Mulligan retakes the ice at hockey boot camp just 3 days after removing her short-arm cast.

Practicing hockey stops & starts at Campion Rink’s Boot Camp 2012.

The friendly resident at DHMC offered me the removed cast as a souvenier, but I was happy to see that veritable thumb-prison go — I only wore it for 3 weeks, but that’s still a long time to be without the opposable thumb on one’s dominant hand.  

Besides, my plain purple short-arm cast wasn’t near as snazzy as some of the ones at Dartmouth-Hitchcock:

A glittery blue dragon with orange wings against a bright yellow fiberglass foot cast.

Love the glitter on this dragon foot cast!

Intricate Harley-Davidson artwork "tattoo" on an orange fiberglass full-leg cast.

How about a faux-tattoo full-leg cast for the Harley fans out there?

Wicked-sick full-leg cast of yellow and black fiberglass, imitating a Bruins ice hockey sock.

Wicked Killah: full-leg cast of black & yellow fiberglass, a Bruins hockey sock replica!

Have you ever worn a cast? Did you decorate it or leave it plain?

Cast On – My Turn

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Ever heard the phrase, “If you’re going to be stupid, you’d better be tough”? (It’s a little nugget of hockey wisdom I’ve gleaned from my time at the rink…)

Documenting my first-ever cast: fiberglass, purple, with black liner (to hide dirt).

“It doesn’t really hurt much…”

The day before this year’s Sunapee Fair, I fell off my bike & landed on my right wrist. It hurt, but wasn’t killing me. I took some ibuprofen & rubbed arnica gel on a newly-formed ganglion cyst on the back of my wrist.

Andy knows how frustrating a cast can be, especially in summer.

The 10-day fair was surprisingly busy for being so hot. I stayed up late every night embroidering new designs. My wrist continued to ache, and seemed weaker. I celebrated my birthday and bemoaned the aches of aging.

Finally, facing a dozen custom embroidery orders and my wrist still bothering me, I asked my doctor to remove the bump. She referred me to an orthopedic specialist, who ordered x-rays. I rolled my eyes, thinking, “THIS is why health care costs so much. All these unnecessary tests!”

New Hampshire felt hat maker, Carrie Cahill Mulligan & her purple short-arm cast.

Behold! The dreaded cast.

However, the x-rays came back and there it was: a hairline, non-displaced radial styloid fracture. Simply put, my wrist was broken!

So that’s the bad news. Plus the fact that any & all knitting, sewing & embroidery is postponed until my cast is removed. The good news, though? It’s not a very serious break, and since I waited 3 weeks already, I’ll only have the cast 3 weeks more.

Carrie Cahill Mulligan postpones custom hat orders while wearing her new purple cast.

Which is perfect timing, since adult pre-season on-ice hockey conditioning boot camp starts up just 3 days after that…

How did that old hockey saying go?