Anthony Himmelberger

Location:

West Boylston Town Rink

Navin Skating Arena

Teenager Photographed:

My sister

Photographer:

Anthony Himmelberger Visual Communications

Winter 2014

Final Project

For my final project, I photographed my sister playing hockey recreationally and competitively. To my sister and I, hockey isn’t just a game, it’s a way of life. Hockey is not only a great way of exercise, but it helps you learn teamwork, self-discipline, social proficiency, and many other helpful life skills.

Before going out to skate, my sister needs to put on her skates. For many people this may seem easy but tying skates does require a lot of finger strength. As a kid, your parents do it for you, but once you get as old as a teen you learn to do it by yourself.

Sometimes my sister comes out to the town rink to play hockey with her friends. Although most of them don’t play competitively, they still come out, skate around, and have fun.

Using old pieces of wood as a goal, my sister is practicing her slap shot. She lifts the stick off the ice to get some momentum to hit the puck. Coincidentally, right after this picture she hit me in the leg with the puck.

In this picture my sister is again, shooting on goal, this time using a wrist shot. In a wrist shot, she uses the power in her wrists and body to push the puck forward in a quick, effective shot.

In this picture she is taking a break after practicing skating up and down the ice with the puck. In the background you can see the church behind the skating rink.

In this picture my sister is waving to me and saying bye to the rink, since she is done for the day. In the background you can see all the Christmas Trees around the town common lit up at night.

After a long night of skating, it is important to take of your skates carefully and not ruin the blades by stepping on cement or other rough objects. Here, she’s putting on her skate protectors.

A few days later, my sister is now on a real rink, with her competitive youth hockey team. She is getting ready for an hour long practice by passing and shooting around.

As annoying as skating drills can be, they’re very helpful in getting you to work your legs. Here, she is skating to the line to get ready for some skating drills.

In this drill, my sister is skating around all the face-off dots to work on her turning abilities. It helps her use her edges and move quickly on the ice.

In this picture my sister is using cross overs to pick up speed. Cross overs are a good way to use all four sides of the blades.

In this drill, she is carrying the puck in a passing drill that ends with a 3-0 against the goalie. Although she is in focus, everything else is blurry- a good demonstration of the speed that this game is played at.

My sister is about to go in on the goalie after the passing drill. She is going to try and utilize the kind of shots she practiced at the town rink.

In this picture my sister is about to take a wrist shot, just like at the town rink. Using her momentum and speed, she is about to take her last shot on net- a good way to end practice.