Good End to the Season...But Could Have Been Better

[Ozzy Batty 275]

What an interesting season in Bratislava. I came there as a young and naïve skater who hoped to carve my name on the championship trophy. But it was not to be, at least this season. We had our ups and downs. We improved overall as a team as we practiced late into the night and we came together as a group of young men as we spent countless hours in front of the TV as we honed our skills in a wide variety of video games. We laughed, beat the lockers and practiced our cursing. We grew not only as players but as young men as well.

 

I tried not to show my disappointment as my season seemed to match our success as a team. I just didnt seem to have put the puzzle together correctly. I was slow on the ice and seemed to be just a second late with most every pass, with every shot. I spent extra time on the ice, endless hours watching our match film as I tried to make myself worthy of being on this team. 

 

Slowly I started to see some improvement. I started to get a little faster. I started to be able to make decisions just that much quicker. I started to feel like I deserved to be there. It felt good to see that I was actually a benefit to the team. But I had to hide my excitement because the team did not seem to be able to get past that final hurdle to win games. How can I feel good about my getting better when we are still losing games? I felt so guilty when I smiled because I got an assist, or even better a goal. 

 

We had missed the play-offs. It was not the outcome we wanted as a team. We had 2 matches let, a home and away series with Stockholm.  Yes, they are in last place with only 3 victories, but we know how games can go. So we wanted to give our best. The first game Stockholm came to Bratislava. We walked away with the win, 6-2. That felt great, but getting 2 assists felt so good. We then traveled to Stockholm to face off for 1 last time this season. Once again we won, 4-2. I skated around the ice one last time to celebrate my scoring 2 goals. I still cannot believe it!

 

I hate that we missed the playoffs. But we are excited for next season and know that we are on a mission, to become the best players we can be and to be a part of the best team there is...ours!

 

Word Count: 443

Week Claimed: 23 Jul 2023