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Deep Dive #1 - learning the game
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DylTheThrillRegistered Member
My whole life I was bigger, stronger, faster than any other player on the ice. I guess you could say the game came pretty easily to me. My father was a defensive end in the NFL and my mom was an Olympic level swimmer, athleticism is something I can completely attribute to my genes and my parents hard work. Coming into the league this year, taking the next step I was sure I would be able to step in no problem and make a difference maker. Boy oh boy was I in for a rude awakening.
I laughed at people when they told me I needed to work harder, spend time in the gym and work to be better every day if I wanted to succeed in the SMjHL. But why? I was so naive in my first year. Early on, I was slotted to start at second line Center, whatever, pretty simple, but it was far from it. I was horrible in the first part of the season. I was big, slow, made bad decisions and didn’t have any clue where to play due to my lack of care / time put into learning the system. Pretty quickly I got on the coaches bad side. I was supposed to be a game breaker, but there I was not many points, double digit minus player and horrible in my own zone. Luckily the coach is amazing. I was pulled into their office and had everything clearly laid out for me. I needed to put in effort, I needed to get in the gym, I needed to watch video, the game wasn’t going to come easy at that next level. Then something was said to me that I had never heard in my career. “We’re moving you down to the third line”. I was heart broken. I found that fire within myself. I was embarrassed, I felt like I was letting the team down. I buckled down and got to work. Late nights, early mornings, getting in the gym, getting to the video sessions, spending some one on one time with the skills coach and getting active. You’d never guess what happened. The game came back to me, I was making a positive difference, making the most of the time I was given. I tried to be a better team mate, a better person, and someone I’m proud to be. The chemistry came back, the team started winning a few more games, and I began producing! I ended up finishing my season with 22-22 in 66 games. After my slow start, I was pretty happy with that. And I was proud to be finding my spot on my new team. Currently I’m in the middle of my first ever playoff series in the SMJHL I have 3 goals in 4 games and I’m not slowing down any time soon. I have the fire, the desire and the will to be the best version of myself. I think my personal growth has been my personal biggest success of my season. Go Mutes! (517 words)
chetibRegistered Posting Freak |
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