Home Sweet Home

Optimist Ice Arena

Location: Jackson, MI


The next, and final, arena that I will be analyzing in my blog is the Optimist Ice Arena, which used to be home to the Jackson Generals.

I learned to skate and play ice hockey at Optimist Arena. I began skating there when I was three years old and never looked back. The facility was my home arena until I was 10 years old, when I began playing hockey out of The Summit in Lansing. That didn't stop me from skating at Optimist, however, as I continued to skate there during the summer and at sticks and pucks.

I played house hockey in the arena until I was 7, and then I began playing travel hockey for the Jackson Generals at the age of 8. I played there for two seasons and was fortunate enough to be voted captain by my teammates. I had a great time with the Generals, but I had an opportunity to play with the Lansing Pride, which I took advantage of. Before leaving to play in Lansing, I would spend at least 4 nights a week at the Optimist Ice Arena. The hockey community in Jackson was like a family when I was younger. There were tons of house and travels teams that skated out of there. On the weekends, the rink would be packed from 7am until 11pm at night with game after game. It was an awesome environment and it definitely helped fuel my passion for the game.

There are two rinks in the arena. The "South Rink" is the older one. It underwent renovations when I was younger which brought it up to par with the "North Arena." The south arena has a press box located above the benches and has seating on one side of the arena. The lighting is much darker in this arena for some reason, but the ice is always excellent. The quality of the ice is the best feature of Optimist Ice Arena. The staff keeps the arenas cold; therefore, the ice stays hard and doesn't get chopped up as fast. One cool feature of the South Rink is that it has a Zamboni door that rises straight up electrically. Most arenas have doors that must be opened by the rink staff manually, but this allows them to push a button like a garage door.

The "North Rink" is newer and has more seating available for fans. The locker rooms are not overly spacious but they get the job done. There are four locker rooms for each rink and there are private locker rooms for the local high school hockey teams of Jackson High and Lumen Christi. I'm not certain of the maximum seating capacity of the arena but there is definitely a significant amount of seating. I'm a firm believer that Optimist Ice Arena would be a good venue for a junior hockey team, particularly a NAHL or NAHL3 team. There is a strong hockey community in Jackson, and I believe that there would be enough support to fund the team, but that's besides the point.

I fell in love with the game at Optimist Ice Arena in Jackson and even though I left at a young age to
play elsewhere, I owe it to that building for shaping me into the player that I am today. I still occasionally skate there in the summer time, and it always brings me joy to see little kids hopping on the ice with big smiles because it brings me back on my childhood. I hope that they find the same love for hockey, or whatever else in their lives, as I did for the game. I think it is fitting that I end my blog on the arena that started it all for me. I want to thank all of my teammates, coaches, and arena staff members for helping me along the way; I would not have done it without you.

And this brings me to the conclusion of my blog, Within the Glass. I hope that you have enjoyed my reflections on the venues that I have played in during my hockey career. I have had tremendous joy in sharing these posts with you guys, and if any of you are considering writing a blog, I would highly recommend doing so. Write about anything, whether is very personal and intimate, or just something you're passionate or curious about. I think it is an important and helpful habit to get in to.

For the last time, I want to thank you for following my blog throughout this semester. Although I will not longer be adding posts to this blog, I am still writing blog posts for a website called Wiser Fans. You can check out this link and you will be able to see my posts about the NHL. Thanks again!

- Joshua Lammon

The Summit

The Summit

Location: Diamondale, MI
Seating Capacity: 1000

The next arena that I will be covering in my blog is The Summit Sports Complex, which used to be home to the Captial Centre Pride.

I played hockey with the Capital Centre Pride for over five years at The Summit. It became my home rink, even though I lived 45 minutes away from it. I became the player that I am today because of the coaches and teammates that I had during my time with the Pride.

The complex is a multipurpose facility. It houses two ice arenas, two indoor soccer fields, and a gymnastics gymnasium. It was very convenient for us because there is also a fitness center that is located upstairs, so we had easy access to a gym for training. We would also utilize the soccer fields and run sprints and other conditioning drills on them. There was also a Perani's in the building when I was growing up, which is a hockey player's candy store. They sold all types of equipment, and when I was younger I would go into the store and try out all of the new sticks that came in. Fellow hockey players can relate to this. It was all we could ask for as youth hockey players. We had all the amenities that we could possibly need to become elite hockey players.

One of the arenas is an Olympic-sized arena. This means that the dimensions are 200" x 100" instead of 200" x 85". While it may not seem like a lot, the 15ft makes all the difference in the world, especially when you're a little kid. There was so much more room to skate and make plays on that ice surface. The only downfall came when it was time for conditioning drills. Those were the worst because the ice was so large. That rink also has a curling court painted on the ice surface because the arena hosts curling tournaments throughout the winter. There are tall stands on one side of the arena and there are windows behind one of the zones for spectators to watch.

The other arena is an NHL-sized arena and the stands are much smaller. For whatever reason, this arena was always

much colder than the larger one, which made for uncomfortable morning practices. We would alternate on which arena that we would play on given the availability of them. Both arenas are very well lit and the ice is awesome. I still skate at The Summit in the summer with one of my old hockey coaches and the ice stays hard throughout the hot weather.

To be honest, The Summit is probably my favorite arena. Obviously I am a little biased because I played there for five years; however, it had all the essentials that I needed to develop. And even though it is a trek from my house, I enjoy making the trip from Jackson, MI to Lansing, MI. There is something about it that gives me a sense of nostalgia.

CCP

Thank you for your continued support of my blog. Please feel free to share with your friends and family!

- Joshua Lammon

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