Stop Being Such a Teddy Bear

I know I said I was ready to practice this week, but I had a bad practice today. My legs didn't have it, and my brain wasn't there. I didn't feel good. I was just inconsistent, and I didn't feel like I practiced well at all. I'm glad I got that bad practice out of me because now I'm going to really focus the rest of this week on practicing well. After practice, Coach told us we can't take a mental break in the 9 days we still have before we play in Minnesota. We need to stay focused even though right now 9 days might seem like a lot. But I think it will go by fast.

Coach told me today that he thinks I've come a long way from where I was when I came here. He said now I know what I can do positionally, now I understand the game much better, but he would like to see me be a more gritty player, mentally and physically. He wants me to "stop being such a teddy bear." I need to use my size more. At times, I play physical and I get mean, but that part of my game needs to be more consistent as well. I definitely feel like I play better when I'm throwing bodies around and hitting people. It just makes me play a lot more confidently. So I'm really going to work on not being so soft this week and next. I want to show people what kind of player I can be when I play with mental and physical toughness all the time, when I play like I should with the size that I have.