Alright folks, gather ’round the digital campfire. So, I tried wrapping my head around that CJ Lergner fella’s training. You know, the hockey guy? Seen some buzz online, buncha folks claiming his methods are magic beans for your game. Thought, why not give it a real shot myself? Not just skim some tweets, actually do the damn thing. Buckle up.
Started simple, stupid simple actually. Woke up Tuesday feeling ambitious. Grabbed my gear – skates, stick, puck – figured I’d just mimic some basic stuff I heard he does. Yeah, naive. Went down to the local rink early morning, practically empty. Just me and the Zamboni guy nodding at each other.
The Plan (Or Lack Thereof)
First goal? Puck handling drills. Remembered something about close quarters control. Set up a couple cones maybe three feet apart. Figured, “Right, let’s skate tight circles around these bad boys while stickhandling.” Easy, right? Wrong. Felt like Bambi learning to walk again. Puck kept hopping off my blade like it was possessed. Tried forcing it faster, ended up tripping over my own feet and nearly kissing the boards. Zamboni guy definitely saw that. Face was burning more from embarrassment than exertion.
- Tried stickhandling stationary first. Puck felt slippery, like trying to hold onto a wet bar of soap.
- Added movement – disaster. Couldn’t keep my head up without losing the puck instantly. Felt glued to the ice staring at my feet.
- Switched to just skating edges around the cones without the puck. Legs felt like they forgot how to bend! Burning after maybe five minutes.
Real talk? Utterly humbling. Felt like I’d never laced up skates before. Packed it in after like 30 miserable minutes. Drove home grumpy as hell.
The Rebuild & Actually Trying to Understand
Okay, bruised ego. Next day, swallowed the pride. Didn’t hit the ice. Instead, parked my butt on the sofa and actually watched his stuff properly. Not just highlights, not clips. Full drills, explanations, the boring bits I skipped before. Watched how he moved his feet – tiny, quick steps, not big glides. How he kept his hands way out front. How his head barely moved when he stickhandled. Details.
Took notes like I was back in school. Key things I scribbled:
- Feet gotta be moving ALL the time, small adjustments. Not gliding waiting for the puck.
- Hands need space. Don’t choke up on the stick.
- Soft hands. Forget trying to whack the puck hard. Gentle taps, keeping it glued.
Felt like I discovered fire.
Round Two: Actually Trying to Do It Right
Back to the rink Thursday. Less ego this time. Started stupid slow. Ignored the puck completely at first. Just focused on my feet. Skated around the cones, pushing edges, tiny shuffles left and right, trying to feel loose and quick. Forget looking pretty, just trying to feel those little pushes with the inside and outside edges. Legs still screaming, but felt more… connected?
Finally, brought the puck back. Didn’t try circles yet. Just stood stationary, hands way out front like he showed, and tapped the puck softly side-to-side. Focused on keeping my head dead level, eyes forward. Felt awkward as heck. Kept it going slow. One slow tap left, one slow tap right. Then gradually a bit faster. Still losing it sometimes, but less panic.
Started adding very slow forward movement. Not skating fast, just creeping. Tiny pushes with my feet, tiny taps with the stick. Head up for a second, down quick to glance at the puck. Rinse and repeat. Took forever just to get from one blue line to the other. Probably looked ridiculous. Didn’t care. Focusing on those little movements felt completely different.
The Payoff (Small But Real)
Friday morning, back at it. Same setup. Started the slow creep again. This time? Felt a bit smoother. Those tiny foot adjustments started feeling natural, keeping me balanced without thinking hard. Puck wasn’t running away screaming. Actually started connecting a few quick touches while moving slowly forward. Kept my hands extended, kept the movements soft and close.
Ballsy move – went back to the cones. Tiny space. But now, instead of trying to force big glides, I did exactly what Lergner preached: quick little steps. Shuffle left, tap puck. Shuffle right, tap puck. Not clean yet, still clumsy, but holy crap, I actually managed to weave through a few times without tripping or launching the puck into orbit. Tried it backwards – even messier, but same principle: tiny adjustments with my feet meant I wasn’t fighting the puck as hard.
Finished soaked in sweat. Legs felt like jelly but in a good way. Felt different. Not suddenly a pro, but less of a garbage truck fire on skates. Could feel the potential. It clicked why Lergner drills this stuff so hard – it’s the foundation. If your feet are stuck or your hands are wood, forget the fancy moves.
So yeah, learned my lesson. Tried it the lazy way first, got my butt kicked. Took the time to actually watch, learn, and drill the basics stupid slow. It sucked at first, felt like starting over. But slowly, painfully slow, some little lights flickered on. Gonna keep grinding at these fundamentals before I dare touch anything fancier. Trust me, if I can feel a difference, you probably can too. Just gotta ditch the ego and do the damn work.