Looking Back on My Hockey Career

[dogwoodmaple 366]

I still remember the first time my dad put a hockey stick in my hand.  It seemed like it was the day my entire world changed and absolutely paved the way for my current situation here as a professional hockey player in the VHL.  Coming from the American South, there weren't many hockey leagues near us and even fewer kids at school who longed to be a professional hockey player.  I gave baseball and football a shot, but hockey was the only thing that I kept coming back to.  Something about the combination of speed, balance, and skill always appealed to me and just clicked from an early age.  I was never the biggest or strongest kid, so having a sport that could somewhat balance out those deficiencies was fantastic as a young kid.  Of course, the elephant in the room is that growing up in Georgia we have a complete and utter lack of ice.  That meant my dad had to get creative when it came to practice and drills and he was more than willing to step up in a major way.  First thing he did was take a garden hose and completely soak our back yard anytime it was predicted to get below freezing.  Now, this didn't do much for skating but it got me used to the cold and the feel of the ice, which gave me a level of comfort that many of my fellow competitors didn't have.   He was also willing to pay for private training and lessons from retired hockey players who had moved South for better weather. We would start at the crack of dawn at the arena some 40 miles away and work hard for a couple of hours before school every day.  It helped not only with my on-ice skills and abilities, but also with my conditioning, level of dedication, and drive to be great.  That's what so many people don't realize about this sport.  Yes, you have to be talented. Yes, you have to be fit.  But above all else and probably more than any other sport, you have to have the drive and love of the game to continue to work day in and day out.  There are truly no days off in this sport.  It's also why you can excel in hockey while not being the biggest, fastest, or the strongest.  If you have the determination and drive of Gretzky, that will make up for not having the physical measurables.  In football, that's not the case.  You have to be a certain size to be successful almost every single time, but hockey truly brings out the best in people.  You cannot skate by, pun intended, just on raw physical prowess or physicality.  You have to have that history of early mornings at the arena, tired legs after practice, and a support system around you willing to help get you through the day to day grind that is professional hockey.  I'm blessed to have this opportunity and I cannot wait to get on the ice with Davos to start this second chapter in my VHL career.  I have no doubt that all the sacrifices we made as a family are well worth it for me right now.  And I guarantee my dad will be sitting at center ice and will be one of the first fans in the stands when the gates open every single game, just like he's always been.

 

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