Brendan Marner Junior Review

[MetalToday 266]

 

                I remember the day I started hockey like it was yesterday, I was so excited to play, I wanted to just play every game, and always hated the end horn that eventually came. I kept trying to play more and more, playing more games, playing mini stick hockey, and even getting my dad to make an outdoor rink in my back yard. Every game I would get better and better with passing, shooting, skating, everything.

                I continued to play as I got older and moved on from mini stick hockey to outdoor rinks, I couldn’t stop playing. My parents loved that I was an active kid, but they didn’t like that I was focusing on hockey and not schoolwork, so they threatened if my grades didn’t go up, I would need to take a break from hockey. This didn’t sit well with me, but I decided that it wasn’t going to end well if I did not compile, so I stopped going to the outdoor rink, to focus more on school. It clearly helped me bring up my grades however my hockey skills had a clear drop off, so when summer rolled around my mother gave me an opportunity to join a hockey camp, and I was happy to accept.

                This hockey camp would prove to be one of the best things to happen to my hockey career, I ended up learning to improve my hockey IQ and my skills in general. It was also one of the more difficult things I have done, workout after workout, and the lack of sleep killed me, but I knew the next hockey season would be amazing.

                Once the next season rolled around, that was when my competitive career began, I was sure that there would be ready, and I defiantly was. I became the captain and the top points guy, only to lose the top goal scoring spot to one other player. However, I wasn’t deterred, I was the top assist scorer by far, I’ve always wanted to be the helper, I don’t really care to be the face that can only score, I believe it to be more beneficial to give a crazy pass to give all my line mates a beauty of a chance to score. If you have 1 top goal scorer versus 5 top goal scorers, what do you think will happen? This proved right after my line were all in the top 10 in goal scorers that year.

                I continued my career by joining the camp every year, improving every year, playing hockey at any chance that I got. I was constantly asked to substitute to teams who needed the extra player and played a lot of outdoor hockey again. Since I was able to keep my grades up, my parents had no problem with how much I was playing, little did they know, where I was going to head in just a few years.

                However, my plans were almost ended after I got injured the season before going into the VHLM. After getting hit from behind into an opened door, I got my arm stuck between it, as my body flew through the door, breaking my arm. I ended up being hospitalized, and the other player who hit me was suspended as he only hit me because his team was losing. I was worried that my playing career would be over. I still loved the game, and I did not want to end there, so I let my body rest, and as soon as I was ready, I came back and trained day after day.

                By the VHLM season start, I wasn’t ready, however, I wasn’t willing to give up, so I trained more and more, to the point I was partly back to myself. I was much better before my broken arm, but I knew I would get back to my old self. 10 games into the season, the San Diego Marlins would also believe in me and would sign me to a 1-year deal, this was one of the best moments in my life, I was ready, I was determined, and I knew the next stop would be to win the cup and then move on to the VHL and obviously win that cup as well.