To be honest, I actually spend more time in the cramped, filthy penalty box with a bloody nose and a few missing teeth than on the ice! Nevertheless, I believe hockey is like life.


Throughout my five years of playing hockey and twelve years of experiencing the ups and downs of life, I have come to see how hockey can be similar to life. For example, I have learned that working hard on and off the ice and always practicing with full effort makes you a much more skilled player, which increases your chances of earning a spot on a AAA team. This is similar to life because getting a good education and being diligent and hardworking allows you to have more opportunities to excel.


I have also witnessed situations where hockey players who do not deserve to be selected for a certain team make it because they have “connections.” In other words, they have parents who either donate lots of money to the hockey organization or are former hockey players or current hockey coaches who can significantly help the team. I have realized from this that life isn’t always fair. For example, there are certainly people in the world who have never “tasted bitterness” or worked hard, but nevertheless have high-paying jobs and live in fancy homes because their parents are rich or know important people. It doesn’t seem right that there are many people out there who are working two jobs yet barely getting by, while others are gliding through life and not knowing how privileged they are.


Having played with various teammates over the years, I have painfully learned that some teammates may be annoying, but you have to suck it up and deal with them in order to succeed as a team. This is very common in life; co-workers may be difficult to work with, but in order to accomplish a certain task, cooperation is essential. We don’t have to like everyone, but we need to be able to get along.


I have learned the hard way that if you slack off or anger the coach in any way, the consequences can be severe; you will find yourself running extra laps or even worse, getting benched. At the workplace, if you irritate your boss or don’t complete your assignments, he/she might lower your salary, make you work extra shifts, or even fire you. Even if you feel that you are 100% right, or that your coach/boss did something wrong, I have come to realize that you should never talk back to them unless you don’t mind earning a spot on their “naughty roster.”


The most important thing that I have learned from hockey is that even though you might hate waking up at 5:00 a.m. to go to a game in Massachusetts, having practice at 9:00 p.m. on a school night, or even playing five games in less than 48 hours during a tournament, you realize that you wouldn’t give up the game for anything, or trade your teammates for anyone….except for Wayne Gretzky. The reason why is simple; hockey is my passion, and my teammates are my family away from home.


One day, 70 years from now, when I look back on my days of playing hockey in bitterly cold ice rinks (with smelly locker rooms), what can I hope to I say that I have taken with me from the experience? I know that I will be able to say that by being diligent, dedicated, and hardworking, I accomplished a lot in life, both on and off the ice.


I believe hockey is life.