It's A Rink Life:
The scores, drama, gear, and culture of the weekly Grind

Pickering "Staff Hockey"

On Monday nights I play shinny at Pickering. It’s technically ‘staff hockey’, meant for teachers at the school. I’m neighbours with one of them (who hasn’t actually been out this year due to injury), so I’m an outsider of sorts. It’s great, it’s free and the hockey is decent. It’s not all good though.

The teachers are an annoying bunch. All they talk about it school stuff in the dressing rooms. I make a point of trying to sit in the room with the other ‘outsiders’ (it’s about half teachers, half outsiders) to avoid them. Worse still are the students/ex-students that show up every now and again. More often than not they’re the typical private school-type kids: cocky, annoying, and presumably wealthy.

Still, I’m not gonna pass up free hockey. Lucky for them it’s non-contact though…