Veteran Presence - Jim Bob

[jRuutu 2,477]

 

Becoming a veteran player in VHL is a big thing, all of a sudden eyes are on you to get things done. Nobody is going to say that you are going to learn from the mistakes, there is no learning from mistakes as a veteran player, that is the difference between a veteran and a young player, veteran player makes so few mistakes that it's almost impressive. All the little things are just right starting from making the sure length of each shift is short to making sure pucks are getting deep into the opposite team's zone every time instead of turning them over at the blue line.

 

Veteran player understands the game, every move and decision serves a purpose. The most important thing however is the effort level, veteran player never gives up on a play, a veteran player sets the tempo and standard for younger players on the ice, if a veteran player does not backcheck or leave everything on the ice, that will give younger players free pass to cheat and when that happens you are in trouble.

 

Off the ice veteran players are valuable assets, they are the ones who are model professionals that offer guidance to younger players simply by showing the younger players how a professional does things day to day. The veteran players are also the link between the coach and players, if there is something that the coach wants to make sure is getting done or does not happen, sometimes the coach might ask the captains or a trusted veteran player to keep an eye on things.

 

If I think about myself as a veteran player, I'd say I'm a player who leads by example, I show up and do my little part as well as possible every day. I'm on time and try to say the right things to the media. On the ice I try to play hard and lift the energy levels of my teammates by delivering a big hit, sometimes I might even drop the gloves to spark some momentum. That is my role and job as a veteran player, I don't have to be the most skilled player necessarily, but what I need to be is someone who gives 100% effort and 100% commitment towards following the gameplan that coaches have drawn to us.

 

In a way the transition from being a young player in VHL to a veteran player that I'm now has been somewhat easy to me, I have always been a player who puts a lot of value to teamwork and effort. Some players require more attention from the veteran players than others, but that just shows how important it is to have the older players around next to the younger ones, everybody is different.