Ryuji's Determination

[der meister 2,937]

               "Angry" is an adjective that can frequently be applied to Mexico City Kings' defenseman Ryuji Sakamoto. Having spoken to some of his teachers back in his native Japan, that word came up regularly, along with things like "insolent", "sullen", and "trouble-maker". For Sakamoto, it's a reputation that's been hard to shake, and one that is somewhat deserved. As an embedded reporter, as his shadow, I, too, have seen a fair amount of anger from the young, blond-haired blueliner. But I've also seen other traits from Sakamoto, traits that don't get the kind of play that one would hope. As someone who has been following his every move for the past two months, I would include the word "angry" when describing him. I'd also include "dedicated", "determined", and, believe it or not, "kind-hearted". In fact, I'd say that a lot of his anger stems from his dedication and determination; he doesn't take disappointment particularly well, at least when it comes to himself.

 

               I showed Sakamoto the VHLM league leader stats this morning, wondering how he would react to seeing his name atop the Shots Blocked category by a healthy margin of 16, along with being in the top 10 for both hits and defensive scoring. Without saying a word, he grabbed my phone from my hand and swapped over to the Standings page, where it shows the Mexico City Kings in the middle of the Western Conference rankings.

 

               "None of that stuff matters until this one gets fixed," he said, handing my phone back to me. Even as he walked away, heading toward the team's breakfast spread while on the road to face the Las Vegas Aces later this evening, I could feel the anger radiating out from him. I've come to know him well enough that I know that anger isn't at his teammates, but at himself, for not being able to do more to help the Kings climb the standings ladder.

 

               When he returns to my table with a plateful of scrambled eggs and a glass of chocolate milk, he continues his thought. "Sixty blocked shots in, what, 13 games? Yeah, that's cool, I guess. But if I had 70? Maybe we have another win or two. What about 75? Or 100?" He grows sullen, and I know he's thinking back to any number of goals scored against his team while he was on the ice, and what he could have done differently. Silently I wonder if he should have been a goaltender, but I think he enjoys body checking too much to have been satisfied. Besides, he would only put additional pressure on himself in that role, playing the full 60 minutes every game.

 

               "Do you think you're holding yourself to too high of a standard?" I ask, genuinely curious to hear his response.

 

               He takes a few bites of egg and downs half the chocolate milk before answering. "We're a team, you know? We all believe in each other. There's no one in the locker room who isn't giving it their best. But I know there's more that I can do, and each little bit I push myself to do more, the better we are as a team."

 

Man, I don't know what else to do sometimes.