The Easy Day
Eli 13.11 and I work out in the upstairs section of a hockey rink. It's a dedicated workout area, and that's where we do the workout I described a few weeks ago.I do 1/3 of what he does. Seriously. And I'm sore the next day.
Eli had been sick for a couple of days last week, and when we go to the rink, I expected him to go at less than full speed. Told him that, even. I figured we'd go at about 80%, have a nice dinner after, and go home.
He was warming up when an AHL player we know (who is the nicest, most courteous guy on the planet) walked upstairs.
Eli looked at me and got a huge smile on his face.
This fellow used to play for the Texas Stars, then signed with another organization last summer, but still comes to Austin to do his offseason work. We've seen him work out before, and he works hard. HARD.
So even though Eli had been sick, it was clear that this was going to be no 80% workout.
After skipping rope, I stretched out the tape measure for the standing broad jump, which is one of the favorite things we do now. Three jumps.
On my second jump, I jumped 7'2". Boom (for me, anyway, as an old man).
Eli threw down this sequence:
8'4"
8'4"
8'5"
Utterly ridiculous. I think Eli was jumping with the hope that he was being watched. He wasn't, but what an incentive--having an AHL guy working out within thirty feet of you.
Here's one of the super not-normal things he does: one-legged squats on a balance ball.
In other recent news, he may be training with the trainers who will forever be known as the "Oh, SHIT!" guys. It seems like a good fit.
They did an "evaluation" workout yesterday. Vertical leap measured at 27" (that was after he worked out--I'm guessing it's a little better than that when he's fresh). He jumped onto a 42" high platform from a standing start.
Plus, they interviewed him.
One of the trainers/coaches asked "What is your goal? What is your true goal?"
Eli said, "I want to be the best goalie and the best person that I can be."
Good answer.
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