Summer "Down Time" in Colorado

So, I know I haven't been posting nearly enough lately, but, in my defense, I've been very busy. I've been camping with my dad, going on trail runs, mountain biking, getting a colonoscopy done (TMI?), celebrating my dad's 50th and Father's Day, hanging out with friends, playing a little golf, working, making movies, waterskiing, doing some Pilates, working out, and, of course, playing a little puck here and there. I have just a few side-hobbies, things I like doing to keep me busy. And, as you can see, I live in a place that offers a wide variety of outdoor and indoor activities to do just that: keep people busy. Not everyone has a mountain in their backyard that they can run up to get a quick workout in, or world-class camping sites within a 20 minute drive, or 13 golf courses in a 30 mile stretch of valley. (Granted, I haven't played much golf in the valley because it's so expensive, and I've only gone twice, but I have gone, so I can put it on my list of side-hobbies.) And I know for a fact that not every hockey player I'll be playing against next year has 8,000 feet of elevation to train in, so I've been trying to take advantage of that through a little cross-training, like mountain biking or trail running.

I've been using this summer to get as far away from hockey as possible, while still staying in good shape for hockey and still playing hockey as much as I can...if that makes any sense at all. And I think it definitely is healthy and normal for hockey players and coaches to try to get away from hockey for a little while in the summer, do some things you couldn't do during hockey season, and get the love back a little bit. Junior hockey has a long, grueling season, and it's definitely nice to come home and get some good, quality family time and some relaxation time in the summer. As I've said before, I think juniors is about trying to break kids down to see who is really cut out for the commitment of being a college hockey player. It's nice to have a little time away from hockey, even though I'm still always thinking about hockey: what I should be doing, what I could be doing, what I need to be doing, and what I am doing. But, obviously, summertime is a much less stressful time than in season, and it's nice to be able to stay busy, even when I'm not playing hockey every day.

So now's probably a good time to explain some of the side-hobbies I described above, like Pilates. Some of you are probably thinking, "Wait...Pilates? Is he serious?" Yeah, I'm serious. I've been doing it for the past 2 months or so, and it's been great. I sort of had the same misgivings about it when I first started, but I think it's really made my core a lot stronger and taught me how to tap into that source of energy before or even after my legs get tired. From what I hear, a lot of athletes are starting to do Pilates: David Beckham, Tiger Woods, and Kobe Bryant all include Pilates in their training regimens. I have gotten and still do get a lot of flak from my friends when I tell them I'm going to a Pilates class, but I could care less because I know it's going to help me; I can already feel it helping me. And, as for that colonoscopy, I don't really need to explain, but it wasn't anything serious. I have been doing a little movie-making with some friends as well to satisfy that little bit of "theater kid" that I still have in me.

I don't want you to get the wrong picture: that I'm getting lazy during the summer months, that I'm not putting in the work I need to in order to play at my best next season. I'm still working very hard. Whenever I get in the weight room, thinking about winning a national championship in Idaho next year is what drives me to work harder. Envisioning some of the things I want to accomplish next year really helps me push myself in the weight room and when I get on the ice. But, at the same time, summer is nice because there is that extra time to get away from the game at appropriate times.

And now I'm off to Wisconsin for 3 weeks on Thursday to see my mom, brother, sister, and grandparents. But don't fear! I'm bringing my hockey gear also. Don't get me wrong, though. When I'm up there, I'm going to be doing just a little water skiing as well!

10,000 Views

Wow! 10,000 all-time pageviews. That seems like a big number. I don't know if it actually is for a blog like this, but that's still pretty cool. I have one blog entry that has almost 2,000 views! That seems crazy to me. Anyway, I'd love to get more feedback from readers: how you like the blog, what I could do to make it better, and even just more comments or followers. I think you have to be a follower to comment, and from what I've heard, there are more than my 37 followers actually following me. So, let me know what you think! How could I improve my writing? Is there a particular post/posts that you like?

Plans for Next Year Set

Yesterday, I committed to going back to Boise to play for the Idaho Junior Steelheads. I've been talking with my family a lot about what is right for me. This whole juniors process is so stressful, as I'm sure you can imagine, because there is so much uncertainty in everything. Where am I going to be living next year? Who am I going to be playing for? Should I go to this tryout? Should I go to that tryout? What should I be doing right now in terms of looking at schools? Anyway, my decision came down to the fact that I want to go where I will have the best experience, get the best coaching, and have the most fun. I had fun in Idaho last year. And I can't say that I was having fun in Bismarck or New Mexico because I wasn't playing as much as I would've liked; I was unbelievably stressed because I felt like every mistake I made--even in practice--would lead to me sitting on the bench. When I got to Boise, I had a coach who actively worked with me, who told me something to improve upon every time I came to the bench, who helped me learn to think while I play, and who believed in my abilities. I've learned that having a great coach is much more important than playing at the highest level: the contacts he has, the things he can teach me, and the recommendations he can give for me when the time comes are all so important.

When I went to the Under Armour Hockey Showcase, I went to a seminar and heard that you should stay in the same spot until you stop developing. I haven't stopped developing and learning in Idaho, so why would I leave?

I'm so excited about the decision I've made. I'm going back to a place where I know what to expect, and where I know what I will get. I'm going to live with one of my best friends on the team last year. And I'm going to be a big part of a team whose ultimate goal is to win a national championship. After going to nationals last year, we all want to go back there and win it all, and I think we will have a good chance. From what I've heard, there is a good group of guys coming back from the team last year. It's going to be a really fun year, and we're going to have a good team.

When I called my coach to commit, he said he's ecstatic that I'm coming back; he's very excited to keep working with me, and he's looking for me to take a big step next year. The only thing holding me back is myself. I need to take a step next year and use one of my biggest assets: my size. He doesn't want me to be a dirty player; he just wants me to be a player who is harder to play against. I can be that player, but I just need to find that inside of me because I'm the only one who can bring that aggressive side of me out. He said he's been getting a lot of interest from professional teams asking him to come coach for them, so it's good to hear when kids want to come back.

Now that my plans are set, I can really start to focus on working out and preparing myself for next season. It's hard to focus when there are so many options, so many thoughts swirling in my head, causing stress. But now my plans are set, and all I have to do is prepare myself in the best way possible to have a great year next season. I can start setting goals for myself and really hit the weight room with a purpose to make those goals achievable. I want to win a national championship and be one of the best players in the country at the Tier III level. I want people to watch me play and say, "Who the hell is that kid?? And why is he playing Tier III?" I know I'm going back to Idaho for all the right reasons, and I am so excited!

Lesson From the Swedes

Last week, I had 8 Swedes staying at my house. They were on a road trip across the country and needed a place to stay, so my mom opened our home to them on their way through. One of them was on the BMHS hockey team with me in 10th grade, and we stayed in contact over the past few years; he let me know when they were coming through Vail. It was so much fun! Definitely one of the highlights of my summer. We did a lot of fun things in 3 days, like rafting, hiking, camping, and barbequeing. But that's not really the reason I'm writing this blog post. All 8 of them were on gap years, where they work and travel around the world all year. And at least half of them were going to take a second gap year next year. They said that it is overwhelmingly common for kids in Europe. After they graduate from high school, they go see the world, mature a little more before university, and they figure out what they really want to study once they go to university. It's a different culture over there. Here kids graduate from high school and go straight to college, even if they don't know exactly what they want to study. At least to me, it seems like it's sort of taboo to take a year or two off from school before college in the US, even though it's necessary for me to play juniors to accomplish my goal of being an impact player at the college level, even though I am completely driven to still go to college after this next year of juniors, and even though I really don't know exactly what I want to study when I get to college yet.

Recently, in TIME magazine, I read a statistic that says 85% of college graduates live with their parents after they graduate. I don't know how skewed that data is by how many are just living with their parents temporarily while they look for jobs, but that is still a lot of kids living at home after college. I don't want to be on the bad side of that statistic, and I don't think my parents want that either. That's why I need to start researching majors and possible careers now, before I get to college, so I will study something I want to study. I think a lot of kids in the US are rushed to grow up; they go to school, not knowing exactly what they want to study, and then before they know it, they've graduated with a degree in something they don't want to do for the rest of their life. Maybe I'm biased because I'm trying to justify my decision to take 2 years off before college, but I don't think it hurts to take time to really figure out what you're interested in before college, especially in this economy when jobs are so hard to come by for young college graduates. Some 19 year olds probably know exactly what they want to do with their life--and it's probably good for them to go straight to school--but I think the vast majority of 19 year olds are like me, and don't know what they want to do with their life; my dad just turned 50 (old!) and he says he still doesn't know what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But I do know this process is helping me grow up in a different way than college would've.

Albert Einstein said when someone asked him why he didn't remember his own phone number, "Why should I memorize something I can so easily get from a book?" He never memorized anything he could look up in less than 2 minutes. I know school teaches you how to think bigger, how to think about the big picture. But I also think school, generally, teaches you some things that are unnecessary to learn and memorize, like specific dates of treaties or conferences. It's good to know approximate dates, but I think it's unnecessary to put effort into remembering the exact date of the signing of the Treaty of Paris. I was talking to my mom the other day, telling her how much I think I've learned and matured in just the past year. I've learned how to handle failure, how to keep working hard when things aren't going my way, and I've learned how to talk to people. I couldn't talk to coaches before this year; I always waited for them to call me, and even then I always got nervous. A few weeks ago, I proactively called the head coach at Princeton, just to ask him for advice and talk to him about some decisions I have to make this summer. I don't think a lot of kids could do that. And I know I couldn't do that just a year ago. I haven't learned about Greek Moral Philosophy yet, but this year I did learn how to talk to people and be around people in a competitive environment, which, personally, I think is much more valuable than memorizing the fundamental theorem of calculus. I've learned that it's important to put yourself out there and not be afraid to talk to people because, believe it or not, like me, they are just people also.

Anyway, I expanded on a little lesson I learned from the Swedes, but the bottom line is that I'm happy I'm going through with this process and following my dream because it's helping me mature in other aspects of my life that I needed to mature in, and these are lessons that will only help me when I'm in school, and when I'm looking for a job after school.

Sacrifices

Before the Under Armour Hockey Showcase last weekend, I went to hang out in my friend's dorm room at Denver University. I walked into the dorm and smelled all the typical malodorous smells that you would associate with dorms: stale beer, BO, and a mix of stenches that remind me all too well of the smells that I would catch a whiff of on our long bus trips during last season. I walked into my friend's dorm room and smelled all the typical things that you would associate with dorm rooms: fresh beer, BO, and some weird stenches that I don't even know how to describe. All of our friends got together in the dorm room before they went out. Everyone started playing Mario Party (drinking version) and I was watching because I had to play hockey the next day. I drank water and went home early because I knew what I had to do to play at my best. I know I'm missing out on the "typical" college experience, with too much N64, too much homework, and too much stress on the old liver, but those are some of the sacrifices I decided to make when I went into this process. I decided that I would not be satisfied with just drinking beer every night. Not to take anything away from the "typical" college experience, but I want my college experience to be more meaningful than that. I know college teaches you how to learn and makes you more mature, but college will always be there, and I know I only had one chance in my life to do what I'm doing. Therefore, I have no regrets; sometimes it is just hard to convince myself. But in the end, I know I made the right decision. N64 will always be there as well, and I'm pretty sure beer will always be there too. But how many people can say they've played junior hockey and gone on to college hockey?

I recently talked to my coach in Idaho, and we had a very good conversation. He said everyone needs to have a balance of three aspects in their life: academics, athletics, and religion. I think part of the reason why I get frustrated is because I'm not pushing myself academically right now. But I know that I will get to college. And I know that once I get to college, I will be more mature and have more of an idea about what I want to do with my life. And plus, I'm learning a lot more unique things in my life than most kids in college. My coach also told me that, usually, companies look to hire kids who played sports in college because they know the kind of kids they are, the lessons they've learned, and the sacrifices they've had to make en route to accomplishing their goals as a college athlete. Anyway, it was a very good conversation, one that made me feel a lot better after I felt like I had failed at the Under Armour Hockey Showcase. He told me he knows what kind of player I am and, most importantly, what kind of person I am, and he said he knows I have a very bright future.