Changes Throughout the Year

Looking back on all of my past posts, this year has FLOWN by. It seemed like I wrote my first post only a few weeks ago! Dang, this year has really gone by quick. I remember talking about my new (now old) hockey team in September, and then just recently blogging about how fun the past season was! The same thing has happened with photography; I remember talking about finding out about steel wool photography, and now I'm on to bigger and better things! I have actually changed a ton this year, and it's somewhat evident when looking through all of my posts. A few things have really changed, and I guess I'll talk about them throughout this final blog post!

One main thing about me that has changed is my enjoyment of photography. At the beginning of the year when I first started photography, I enjoyed it, although it wasn't really a passion to me, just a hobby. Nowadays I really have established a passion for photography and I believe it has shown through my blog posts. I have really learned A LOT more about photography this year and it has also shown through my posts. Ranging from learning new techniques, to knowing which cameras and/or lenses to buy, to even learning about settings on my current camera have helped me become a much greater photographer than I was in September. Surprisingly, writing about new learned techniques and similar things has really helped me. Now I can refer back to my previous blog posts and reread how to do certain things and remember which lens was good for a certain type of shot. My previous posts have also shown how simpleminded I was about cameras, and I now know much more about what I'm talking about. This blog has really helped my liking of photography become more of a passion.

One of my latest photos

Another main change this school year has been how much I have improved in hockey. At the beginning of the school year I was not doing very well, but by the end of the season I was much more skilled and had more physicality and speed. I ended up with fifty three points, which was the third best on the team. My understanding of the game has tremendously changed although it's not clearly stated throughout my blog posts. Another large change is how much stronger I have become, both mentally and physically. In the later months of 2014, I would be knocked down easily and hitting me would be a piece of cake. Throughout Nationals, I was strong and very few opponents were able to take me down. This is the same for my mental toughness; I've learned to work through pain and I won't be intimidated easily. This has helped me a ton and it has changed me quite a bit. I have found success this year and I'm glad I could share my accomplishments with all of you.

A photo of me after I scored in Nationals
Creds to the Nationals Photographers

This whole year has been a blast, and I'm very glad I could share my experiences with all of you. I hope to keep blogging so I can keep you updated, but if not, then I guess this is farewell. I loved teaching all of you new things, and hopefully it helped throughout the year. Thanks again for reading my posts! I'll try to keep you updated!

Desert Cup AAA Invitational

Hey so I have some exciting news! It's another hockey post, and I'm super stoked about it! So recently I got some really cool news from my dad. So I was just sitting around the house after school, not really wanting to do homework, and then my dad suddenly called, "Hey, Alec!". I was confused, because he seemed really excited; it was only Tuesday, so I wasn't sure how he could possibly be happy. He asked me to come upstairs to look at the computer. I did as I was told, and went upstairs. Immediately I became happier than ever before. As I looked at the screen, I saw an email from some Canadian guy. But this wasn't any Canadian dude; this guy was the main tournament director of the Desert Cup AAA Invitational. This tournament is one that invites elite players from across the U.S. and parts of Canada. As soon as I read the words 'Desert Cup', I was so happy I couldn't help but smile and yelp in joy. This tournament would have tons of scouts, and all of the players going would be at the highest level. Here's a description of the tournament...


This tournament is being held in the middle of the desert in the heart of Las Vegas. Surprisingly, there are quite a few good tournaments that are played in LV. This one, the Desert Cup, is one of a few AAA tournaments played in the state. There are many cool aspects to this tournament, and I'm very excited to be able to play in it this year. This tournament runs from July 6-11, and it includes five teams: Team Ontario, Team Can-Am, Team Canada, Team USA and Team Toronto. These teams are created from kids from across the US and Canada. Another cool aspect is that the team stays in the same hotel, which happens to be the Luxor, one of the infamous hotels of Las Vegas. This would be a sick portion of the tournament while being away from the rink. Yet another cool aspect would be the player mentors, which obviously mentor each player and talk about how they can get better and stuff like that. Each and every coach and player mentor has a huge hockey background which is pretty cool as well. One of the last aspects that I enjoy is the gear we get... We all get jerseys, socks, shells, hats and tee shirts with the tournament logo on them. So there are a ton of cool things that will be going on at this tournament.

Team USA's (my teams') jerseys this year... Creds to Desert Cup Invitational

A few of my good friends/teammates went to this tournament last year, and it seemed like they enjoyed it a ton. They were all on the same team (Team USA), and each one of them said it was wayyyy fun. Their team was so good that they ended up winning the tournament, with one of my friends, Mason Mannek, scoring the game-winning-goal. Mason got the championship MVP award as well. So hopefully they'll come back to play in the tournament this year, because that'd be incredibly fun to win a tournament of this level. So basically, this is going to be a blast of a tournament; from the high level of playing, to the mentors, to the hotel and to the gear we get, this will be a ton of fun and I can't wait for July.

My teammates' team who won it last year.
Creds again to Desert Cup Invitational

A Dope Weekend: Part 1

Yoooo. 'Sup guys! So about two weeks ago, the beginning of break began; well at least for me it did. I got out of school early on Thursday and missed all of Friday, all for a sweet trip to the city of Los Angeles. This trip was a two-for-one deal because we went for a tournament, and when we didn't have games, we went to the beach which was minutes away. We ended up staying ten minutes away from Manhattan Beach, which was incredible. So I'm going to split this trip up into two posts: one for hockey, and the other for photography. Both of these went really well during this trip, but I'd have to say the hockey went wayyyy better than the photography.

So this tournament series was called 'Tinsel Town', and it took place in El Segundo, right outside of Los Angeles. I played in this tournament last year, and we had won it pretty handily even though it was a AA tournament. The location was very cool, playing at the N.H.L. L.A. Kings' practice arena. The Los Angeles Jr. Kings host the tournament, which is a solid organization which is always at the top section of the national rankings. So this year, we played three teams: the Anaheim Jr. Ducks AA, the L.A. Jr Kings AA, and the Southern California Titans AA. This year was a blast, so I'll tell you how each game went down.

One of the most fun tournaments to play in...
Thanks for the image Jr. Kings Hockey

Game numero uno:
Going into this game was VERY nerve-racking. A team from Utah, facing the Anaheim Jr. Ducks?? The plane ride over was definitely not the most soothing, even though I got to miss some school. Once we were in L.A., I got even more nervous. I'm one of the team leaders, so I needed to perform at a high level each and every game. The rink was nothing new, I had been there before, so it wasn't scary seeing the massive practice facility center owned by a professional hockey team. The pre-game warmup was quiet and very serious. Soon enough we got onto the ice and started to play. I was so tense, I literally couldn't catch a pass. The game started, and it was a close game for around ten minutes; then, we scored. It was exhilarating, and we all felt amazing. After that goal, we kept on putting them in. When the final buzzer sounded, it was 6-1 and the Utah Jr. Grizzlies were 1-0. I had a decent game, with two assists. Although the next game was a little closer...

Game numero dos:
This game was much closer, and it was against the home team. We played the Jr. Kings AA, and they were better than the Ducks. At the end of the first period it was 1-0 us. This game was very back-and-forth, and by the end of two periods, it was 2-2. In the third, the Kings scored first, making it 3-2, and putting lots of pressure on our team. Luckily, my teammate scored with five minutes left in the game (I assisted the goal by the way) to tie it 3-3. The game ended with the same score. Now for the next game...

Game numero tres:
This game was against the So. Cal. Titans, a team I have never faced before. So this game, I had no idea what to expect. Word on the street was that they weren't very good at all, but I couldn't take that for granted. We came out strong, yet by the end of the first it was only 1-0. By the end of the second, it turned to be 3-0. We finally finished the game with a 4-0 win. I had a decent game; I had two stupid penalties but I also had a goal and an assist. So after this win we had made it to the championships which were against the Jr. Ducks.

Game numero quatro:
The championship game... This was not as nerve-racking as the first time against this team, but it was still a little bit just because it was the championship. The first period was quite close, ending with a 1-0 lead for us. Throughout the second period we opened up a can and scored three more. In the third period, we ended up scoring an additional two to end the game 6-0. And there you have it! A championship won in Los Angeles! This was a great tournament, and I hope we go back next year. This was only the hockey segment of it; we haven't started with the photog portion....

An Experience of a Life Time

Yo so since I've done two photog posts in a row, it's time for a hockey post! So recently, the Utah Jr. Grizzlies U14 AA made the trek off to Blaine, Minnesota (near Minneapolis-St. Paul). This tournament was a showcase for a various amount of NAHL (North American Hockey League) scouts who were looking for new talent for the upcoming seasons. This tournament was played at the Schwan Super Rink. This was not one rink, this was a massive complex with 8 separate rinks. There were hundreds of kids playing in the tournament, all of different ages and there were teams from across the nation. We played 4 teams: San Jose Jr. Sharks '00 U14 AAA, HC (Hockey Club) Dallas '00 U14 AAA, Esmark Stars '00 U14 AAA and West Coast Renegades '00 U14 AAA. So I guess I'll just go over each game and sort of analyze it.

The NAHL Showcase Tourney in Blaine, MN

Game 1:
One word: stress. We knew it was a AAA tournament (highest level of hockey) and we knew it'd be an uphill fight from the start. The first game didn't go so well because of all of our stress. We played the San Jose Jr. Sharks U14 '00 AAA and they acted like their team mascot. They were ferocious, and played incredible defense as well as offense. They used their speed like crazy and their passing was crazy compared to anything in Utah. The Shark's strategies were different from Utah and they were veryyy effective. This was an overall good team, although we didn't test the goalie very well. I played pretty well but couldn't get anything going. Final score: 8-1

Game 2:
The next game our team was completely different. We came out very hard against HC Dallas U14 '00 AAA and we really should've won. It was 1-1 for the longest time, and then 2-2 closely after. HC Dallas had a few good players, but otherwise were quite average. I'm not gonna lie, they had some pretty dope jerseys. In the last 5 minutes in the game, they scored to make it 3-2. We pulled our goalie to try and tie it back up and failed, and they scored again to make the end score 4-2. I played pretty well with a goal to tie it up 1-1. I felt like I had good speed and read the ice well too. Final score: 4-2

Game 3:
There really isn't too much to talk about in this game. The Esmark Stars U14 '00 AAA were the best kids from around Pittsburgh and Cleveland and it showed. They were very fast and had incredible mitts. They set up in the offensive zone very well and moved the puck like crazy. To put this game into a one sentence summary, it'd be "We got wrecked". I played okay but wasn't moving my feet very well so... Final score: 10-1

Game 4:
The final game we played was against the West Coast Renegades U14 '00 AAA. This team is also from Utah, (and isn't good at all to be honest). We played okay against them, scoring 3 goals and letting up 2 in the last 2 minutes. Our speed was okay, but we really played down to their level. But, a win is a win right? I played alright with an assist. Final score: 3-2

So this weekend was a lot of fun. It was a great experience and fun to play at the highest level of hockey. I hope to do it again soon.

Photo taken by Mr. Anderson (father of Ammon Anderson)

Hockey Skatin' on in

All children dread the month of August. We all know it's because of one thing: school. If you're a true hockey player, you'll be ecstatic for the 8th month of the year. This of course means hockey season starts! There's absolutely nothing greater than a start of a new season. You meet new teammates (which of course means making new friends), possibly meeting a new coach, learning new things and much more.

My favorite part of the new season is improving your game, both physically and mentally. As the year goes on, you improve your strength during dry land, practice and even in games. It's quite easy to see your improvements because with my team, we do testing during three parts of the season: the beginning, the middle and the end. It's an assortment of physical tests that include agility, endurance, and much more. So as the year goes on, it's inspiring to see how much you and other teammates have improved during the year. Not only does a hockey player develop physically, but he or she usually develops mentally as well. As easy as hockey seems, it's really not at all. There are multiple strategies  to hockey, and each and every one of them is quite challenging to accomplish. So as you get older, you must be able to play your position and be situationally aware at all times. You have to be able to be in the right place at the right time. So with the excitement of the beginning of the season, I'm quite excited to start improving on my game both mentally and physically.

So far the Utah Jr. Grizzlies have played in one tournament. It was in Colorado and it was called the Early Bird Tournament and it was hosted by the Arapahoe Warriors. We didn't place in the tournament and ended up going 1-3. For the first tournament, we truly weren't too bad. Our next tournament is in Boise, Idaho in less than 48 hours. We will be playing teams from across the West Coast and I'm quite excited to play.

So far my team has played seven games, four of which were tournament play. We have won four of our seven games. This year I currently have eight points, with two of them being goals and six being assists. For a right wing, this isn't bad for seven games, but I could do better. The highest point maker(s) so far this year has been Tomas Macunias and Zach Jerome with eleven points each. They're my line mates and we've created a total of thirty points in seven games. I hope my team does well this weekend. Hopefully I can help out as well.

Utah Jr. Grizzlies AA/AAA 2014-15 Season

My hobbies in 482 words

Hello fellow bloggers, my name is Alec (with a C, not an X). I live in Park City, Utah and I’m an avid hockey player and photographer. For my very first blog post I thought I might as well do an intro post. I’m 14 years old and I’m lovin’ life. The things I live for include hockey, school, family, friends, photography and of course girls.

Utah Jr. Grizzlies Bantam AAA State Champions

I play for the Utah Jr. Grizzlies Bantam U15 AA/AAA hockey team.  I've played for this competitive team for two years, and before that I played for the Team Northwest Regulators AA for three years. From these past 5 years, I have accomplished quite a few things. I'm sorry for boasting, but it's a true statement. In the past 5 years, I've been assistant captain 3 times and captain 1 time. During the summer before last, I traveled across the country to play with different teams for different tournaments. In April I traveled to Chicago twice with the Arizona Bobcats 2000 AAA team for the Chi-Town Shuffle and the North American Prospect Showcase. Later, in around June, I journeyed to Boston to play with OneHockey. OneHockey is an organization that recruits players from across the U.S. and Canada. They gather players and put them randomly on different teams and create tournaments specifically for scouting. Although it's tough to communicate with kids you've just met a day ago, it's a great way to get scouted. For instance, there were three kids from Quebec and they didn't speak any English at all. So unless you spoke fluent French, it was quite difficult to communicate on and off the ice. So after this tournament I headed off to Philadelphia for another OneHockey tournament. Finally in August, I went back to Boston for my last OneHockey tournament. This was a great experience, but it would never top my experience in the regular season. My past season (2013-14) my team was incredible. We won the state championship and that made us eligible to go to the national championships in Newark, New Jersey. We went in April, and lost 3-4 against the national champions. It was an incredible experience, and I truly hope to do it again.

Taken with my iPhone 5s with a magnifying glass

Other than hockey, I also really enjoy photography. I started taking photos around a year ago. I bought myself a Canon T3 (I realize it's not the nicest camera) and also bought a few other lenses. I love taking nature pictures because I live in Park City, Utah, so how could I not? I especially like taking pictures of water reflections or water droplets. Although I am still an amateur, I have created an Instagram with a videographer. It's named Next Level Media and we can do any type of photography or videography jobs.

Taken with my Canon T3