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.