Sounds great Jerel. I'm one of those guys who gets to the games in time to watch the pregame warm ups too, the coach in me. I love watching teams practice, most recently took in an Ice Dogs practice in St. Catharines.

Back when I was a boy, back in the days when the Toronto Maple Leafs were a dominate team, 4 Stanley Cups between 62 & 67, the Leafs would hold open practices and fill Maple Leaf Gardens, 18,000 people.

Yeah I wasn't aware of that. It sure makes for a good promo to the kids as they are all snapping pictures with the players just a couple feet away on the other side of the glass.

In regards to your comment Ray I'm much the same way. I love to analyze in my mind what they are trying to accomplish with the different drills. The other thing I appreciate is when coaches can keep a practice going with everyone involved and not a whole bunch of guys standing around while just a few of the guys are actually doing something. Coaching ball was always fun for me because every pitch was a litttle game in itself. Do you take, do you hit and run, do you bunt, do you steal. I used to love playing the guessing game with other coaches. Talking about the strategies I've really taken an interest in watching curling when it gets to these bigger bonspiels. They have a great thinking sport too besides the skill.