Michael Johnson Journal #16

[fonziGG 1,065]

 

9/15/2019:

 

What. It. Do. Baby. Boo?

 

Yeah, I'm back with another journal entry here. I thought to myself, how can I keep this interesting for myself and for anyone who reads this (I'm betting nobody cause ngl I wouldn't read it either). So, I decided to go more in depth a bit to show my audience the ins and outs of an athlete. It's awesome to me but a lot of hard work. To show you my in-season schedule, I'll be explaining why I do what I do as well.

 

6 AM: It's time to wake up. I'm usually up this early so I can do some early meditation and yoga. I also get a hearty breakfast for the day because I know it's going to be a physically intense day. Usually I'll have eggs with some oats and a protein shake. Simple but effective and gives me the necessary carbs to get a jumpstart to the day. Also, it provides me quite a bit of protein in order for me to maintain my muscles.

 

7 AM: I'm in a very cold shower. Generally, I like to take my time in here so that I can numb my muscles and back. I've also heard that cold showers are great for fighting depression and, shockingly, improving ones immunity. Since Malmo gets so cold in the winter, it's very easy to get a cold in this time so I'd prefer to be doing everything I can possibly do to make sure I don't get sick. I don't want my team to feel I've let them down. Immediately after this, I get dressed and prepare my bag with all my equipment and pads. I also wear tights under my pads so I can keep warmer on the ice. This helps me keep focus a lot. Then I get myself to the practice facility.

 

8 AM: I'm getting ready to get on the ice immediately. In order for me to do that, I start doing some light stretching so my body is warmed up and prepared for the physicality of practice. I then get dressed and get onto the ice and have a meeting with the goalie coach where we discuss movements and improvements. This lasts about 2 hours.

 

11 AM: Full practice starts. Generally though, we start out with head coach talking us through the mistakes made in the last game. This is very much where it gets situational. I take shots. I eat the biscuit mostly.

 

1 PM: We review game footage and practice footage. We get to know our opponents more and more and understand how we can unlock their team. We generally do this with a meal that the team provides us. We're given very strict meal plans, so usually lunch and dinner are prepared.

 

4 PM: It's dinner time baby. We feasting together and spending the time together as a team. Lots of team bonding is here as well

 

5 PM: It's gym time. We're all in the gym with our trainers, training. It's great. More team bonding.

 

6 PM: It's time to shower and head home. Honestly, at this point, the day could be over for me. I get home, play with my dog named Charlie. I might have some popcorn and watch some Netflix. I also do laundry in the meantime so that I'm prepared for the next day. Depends, I'm waiting on Nike to send me more tights and compression socks. Somewhere in here, I call my parents and spend some time on FaceTime with them. They like to come visit me once a month usually so it feels like they're always here with me.

 

11 PM: It's bed time man. I'm usually knocked out by 11.

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this. I just wanted to give you a very general outlook on how the day is spent. Sometimes, I run in the morning to Starbucks for a quik coffee. I have cut that out since it was making me more heavy on the ice. Some more things I cut out of my life are chips, juice, McDonalds, video games and watching YouTube videos. The reason I quit McDonalds was obvious I feel. It's god awful for you. Like it's trash for your body. Same with chips and juice as well. I actually found myself losing energy due to the juice. I switched to Gatorade and it's made so many changes. 

 

The reason I quit watching YouTube videos was mostly distraction. Like after a while, it's clear that influencers out there are just trying to get clout through drama. So, who cares? Also, video games were a huge distraction. I'm heavily addicted to playing videos games, almost as if it takes over my life. I felt that with Call of Duty "Modern Warfare 2". I was very good at it though. Also, FIFA was a game very close to my heart. Like, I remember making top 40 in the world in that game. In fact, my first tournament in FIFA bought me a new set of pads and glove. I left my Xbox at home because I want to give my all into this. I didn't sacrifice friendships, relationships, experiences and High School for nothing. I want to be a success in the VHL and I'm willing to sacrifice everything to get it.

 

I wanted to end this off on a positive note. Recently, my play has garnered a lot of attention, in fact, I got 1st star of the game over the an all time great and future Hall of Famer goaltender, Kallis Kriketers. This has been my best game in a Malmo jersey and I hope I can keep it up this season. I put a personal goal of winning a Most Improved Player award but I have a feeling one of my other teammates is going to get it. Honestly, as long as it is one of us, I don't care.

 

Lets get some big wins and get #Thompson400 to become a viral hashtag (and also a thing).

 

Lets go Nighthawks!

Michael Johnson

 

1,013 words

For weeks 09/15 and 09/22

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claiming for 09/22