He Made it Out of the Ghetto

[UghSike 198]

Born in the bowels of New Jersey, UghSike was introduced to hockey at a very young age. He would spend a lot of time with his uncle, who, unfortunately, was a Philadelphia Flyers fan. There wasn't a very strong hockey presence locally, but there was a pond where, if you weren't poor, and owned ice skates, you could play pick-up games in the winter. Luckily, the water wasn't too deep because most player's who owned skates were eager to play on ice. Eager to the point where they didn't care if it was solid enough or safe enough. Also, more accessible to players with feet and a stick, there was an inline/foot court. This is where most games took place. Even in the dead heat of the summer, sweaty mudflap mullets would glisten and drip in the sun as the locals gathered for a pick up game in the blistering heat.Imagine the level of dedication that goes into wearing jeans and work boots just to play hockey in the summer. I mean, these folks weren't skilled by any means. But they had one thing that really mattered. Passion! Couple that passion with a 12-pack of Natural Ice and there's no telling what can happen! Of course, none of these die-hard hockey enthusiasts ever made it to the "Big Show". Nope. Most of them ended up working in factories, on farms, or in rehab. Except for one.....

  UghSike would only have to walk 2 blocks away to get to the local park and watch the hillbillies play hockey the best they could. Most of these players were missing teeth like a stereotypical ice hockey player, but it wasn't from taking pucks and punches to the face as much as it was from a lack of dental care. Of course, there were other athletic options at the park. Tennis, Basketball, Fishing, and Horseshoe's to name a few, but hockey was the sport that spoke to UghSike. He enjoyed the fast pace of the game most of all. Mullets flapped in the breeze as players ran as fast as they could in work boots, clumsily shooting a street hockey ball with such inaccuracies that they'd oftentimes end up in the pond behind the rink.


  On his 8th birthday, UghSike received his first hockey stick. It was one of those coveted Mylec sticks with the blade fastened to the shaft with a single screw. He couldn't wait to join the action! Teams were reluctant to let him play. His stick was usually the last to be picked from the pile during pick-ups. He assumed it was because he wasn't drunk enough to be skillful at the local level. Nevertheless, he gave it his all whenever he was lucky enough to touch the ball. Most of the time he would hope nobody was at the rink. That way he had a chance to work on his stick-handling skills without someone taking the ball from him only to blast it over the fence and into the pond. This continued for the next few years until the city tore down the rink. Something had to be done! UghSike would be lost without the ability to play hockey. This was when he invented "Ghetto Hockey.". No nets, no pads, no rink. Just him and his brother and their friends in the basement. The goalie wearing an oven mitt as a catcher with a broom for a stick. Making pucks out of rolls of electrical tape or crushed tin cans. Not many will experience this level of elite hockey, and UghSike was full of gratitude to have been a part of it. His "Ghetto Hockey" career would continue for another 5 seasons until there was a new inline rink built in the next town over. There was also an ice rink now, but it's been turned into a chicken processing plant because the city couldn't keep up with the water bill. The outdoor rink wasn't maintained very well so people stopped going there. There were cracks in the surface with tall weeds growing out of them, the runners were coming loose from the boards, along with many other issues. I think one of the goals and the bleachers were stolen by crackheads for scrap metal. However, this wasn't the end for UghSike. He found another rink underneath of an overpass in the big city. They accepted all kinds. Players on foot, players on roller blades, players on roller skates, and even a couple of rare and elusive players on those push scooters. Just recently, he found his way out of the 'hood and into a bright future in the VHL. He's stated in a rare interview that he's "Looking forward to gaining as much TPE as possible and making an impact in the league.". Let's wish him luck. He finally made it out of the ghetto!

Edited January 10 by UghSike
Initial post was under 800 words.

[Spartan 3,997]

4 minutes ago, UghSike said:

bowels of New Jersey

What do you have against New Jersey smh

[jacobcarson877 2,069]

Awesome stuff! Can't wait to see what comes next!

[UghSike 198]

24 minutes ago, Spartan said:

What do you have against New Jersey smh

Nothing now that I don't live there any longer.

[Noodle Enjoyer 165]

Let's go fellow Saskatoonian!

[Banackock 7,642]

41 minutes ago, UghSike said:

 

MOST BAD ASS PADS IN THE GHETTO 

[Spartan 3,997]

16 minutes ago, UghSike said:

Nothing now that I don't live there any longer.

Depends on the city you moved away from