W

One letter that epitomises each and every player's desire in a game. But in the corny words of Highlander, 'there can be only one' in the end. I started to think about this letter yesterday evening and I realised how obtaining that in a column on the stats sheet is not just about playing well during the 60 minutes. Getting a W in essence requires thorough preparation which is something that my previous team didn't seem to understand.

The key ingredients to W are: result, earning and caring. You cannot obtain a W without doing these things before a game. In essence the preparation for a game starts from Tuesday night when we get off the ice at training. After that it is up to each and every player to prepare for the games individually. The unfortunate thing of playing at this level is that there really aren't other chances for training. Everything after a team training is up to you and it pains me to say that a lot of guys don't understand that. Though the vast majority of the more experienced players come prepared to game days, there are still individuals who drag the team down, because they are not prepared and they have not carried anything from trainings to the locker room on a game day.

Result, earning and caring. Three simple things you need to do before you can ever dream of a W. To obtain that W you also need Wisdom. In hockey the key to wisdom is relatively simple and I suppose you can apply it to other aspects of life as well. The key to wisdom is setting yourself a goal for tomorrow. If your goal is to win and play a good game and all your actions leading up to the game serves that goal and that you will be a good player then you will accomplish your results, earning and caring. It is after that when you can really talk about winning.

In the end, we play this game because we love it and we don't enjoy being in the losing end of a game, but if we are, then you need to bring it back to the drawing board and work on the things that let you down and make sure that every player is playing for the same goals, rather than for an individual. The old saying of the name on the front of the shirt is more important than the one on the back has never had a more prominent ring to it.

Fun

Through this blog I've explored, at lenght, the finer points of hockey and why we do it. I suppose in a way the attitude I have towards hockey is the same I take for every aspect of my life, whether it is work, family or friends. To me hockey is about dedication and the game has taught me the ethic for work and my ambitions. What keeps me doing it, though? What makes me doing three sets of 15 reps of power cleans or squats, what makes me get up in the mornings and make me want to go to work or pull a late night with training? All in all it is fun and the fulfilment that I get out of doing things.

I think at the moment the most enjoyable player to watch and a great role model for younger players is Alexander Ovechkin of Washington Capitals. What ever your opinion on the guy is, you have to admit that he brings the fun element to the game. It's something I want to replicate when I'm on the ice or in the office. I want to have fun and make things count.

Last year my season, like said on this blog on many occasions, was ruined by a nagging knee injury. Hockey was no longer fun and going to the rink felt like a chore, training felt like a chore and along with that, everything felt like I was stuck in really thick porridge (for lack of a better expression). Human beings crave the feeling of belonging and success to be truly effective. Last season I had none of that through my leisure activities and that fed into a lot of things in my personal life as well.

However, when you find a spark for things and fight through a slump, you find the great things you first fell in love with. For me the turning point first came when I could skate pain free for the first time in over two years. It was at that moment in September last year when I realised that if I train hard to strenghten my legs, I would have a great season. I have started to find a lot of things I've been missing in my game and I know exactly what I need to improve on. At the moment, despite the shoddy weather and general misery of the British isles, I am possibly living the best stages of my life so far. And it is all because I am having fun again and I really feel that the professional approach I have taken to training and the mantra I have going when I get to the rink is really helping me push myself to new directions.

On a side note: A while back I mentioned about a Facebook group set up to support me in through the season and spur me on to train hard for a pro try out. I take the group as a source for inspiration and those people who have joined (some 67 so far) I think deserve to know what my plans are. I have decided that on the training part I am going to go hell for leather. Whether that will give me the physical strenght to go for it, remains to be seen, but I would rather give it a shot than live the rest of my life wondering what could've been. Life and hockey is about seizing opportunities and making the most out of those opportunities that present themselves through hard work.

When you train this hard, its more than just a sport.