Role Models

Every person has a role model. A person who has influenced them the most in their lives. For some of the pro players, it has been their childhood idols that they have looked up to and that have inspired them on with their professional careers. For me on a hockey level there have been and there are players I look up to. Saku Koivu, Mikko Koivu, Alex Ovechkin, Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St.Louis, Jarome Iginla, Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri to mention just a few of the players that I look up to and would love to trade places or skills with.

However I would have to say that the greatest role models I have is my family, my mum, dad and my brother. My mum and dad instilled me with the work ethic and how to deal with a variety of things. I don't think anyone could've gotten a better up bringing than me and my brother. My dad was not only a great influence and support for sports but for showing me what it means to be a man and provide for a family. During my days of playing in Holland, he was always able to give me pointers on improving my game and I'm sure that if it wasn't for his advice and recommendations I wouldn't have found the spark to push myself at this stage of my playing 'career'.

My mum instilled me with awareness and gave me so much self confidence. Yeah when it comes to sport, or hockey, I think my mum is more concerned about me walking away from the game unscratched, but its hockey, I have to get my nose dirty at times. In hockey terms she taught me to keep my head up during games. Outside of the rink, she taught me how to keep myself healthy and how to provide myself a meal. Ofcourse the list could go on and on for both my parents.

My brother has really been the ying to my yang, if I must use that corny and overused term. He has helped me put alot of things into perspective at times and has taught me a great deal of soul searching and what I want to do and accomplish. I cherish the time I get to spend with him as he completelly makes me forget all the crap that I have in my mind and I can laugh my head off at dumb things.

Then there is my wife. Though people often wrongly call women, or wives the ball and chain, I have nothing but good things to say about mine. She is understanding of the choices I make and understands me probably better than I do. She's always there to pick me up when I'm having a bad day and is able to take my mind off things when I want to focus on the game. I think before a game she notices when I'm over thinking things so she takes my mind off of the game and get's me doing something else.

This post isn't intended as a family tribute or a thank you, but it is a tribute to my role models and to the people who make all of my playing possible. It is these people that help me keep things in focus and play the game with a smile on my face. If it wasn't for them I probably would've hung up the skates ages ago. Every person needs an understanding and supporting background to achieve anything. I would go as far to say that I have been blessed with a foundation of people I know I can rely on when I need them. I should think that everything I do on the ice is possible because of the people I mentioned above.

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.