Season Coming Up Fast

Believe it or not, my season starts in a little over two weeks! This summer really has flown by, but it's been great to be with family and friends for a little while. I'm so excited for the season to start, but I'm also a little nervous. I'm going to be one of the go-to guys on the team next year, which is something I relish, but it's also a lot of responsibility. I'm up to the challenge. It's definitely a good nervous feeling. And I don't know if I would actually call it nervousness. Maybe it's more of an anxious feeling, to get back on the ice and get things rolling. I have high expectations for this year, and I don't think I'm the only one. My coach has challenged me to take some big steps and become a physical force on the ice, like he knows I can be. I want to be a shut-down defenseman, but also a weapon on the offensive side of the ice with my shot.

Although some people may think I'm taking the easy way out by staying and playing at the Tier III level with a coach I know and like, I have news for you: I am not staying in Boise because it's the easiest option. I know the level of perfection that the coaches in Boise demand, and I know the standard at which they hold all of their players. This season is not going to be easy, and in no way am I expecting it to be easy. I'm ready to work even harder than I did last year to keep improving and accomplish my goals, and I'm excited to take on new challenges that any new season holds and be a difference-maker and leader this year. Last year, I was the wide-eyed rookie who looked up to all the wily vets. When they turned up their level of play, I had no choice but to do the same. I know I'll be in a whole different role this year as one of those wily vets, and I'm ready to grasp it and make the most of it because in a blink, this season will be over. I don't want to look back and say I could've done more.

So, some people might guffaw at my choice to stay and play in the Western States Hockey League. But again, it comes down to what I think is the right move for me. It really doesn't matter what other people think because I'm the only one who can decide what's right for me. We are going to have a very good team. I think it's a good sign that teams in the NAHL that we were trying to scrimmage next season don't want to play us, probably because they'd be too embarrassed when a team in the WSHL--what league is that?--beats them.

I've really enjoyed this summer; I've been up in Wisconsin for the past few weeks, water skiing with the Min-Aqua Bats, but I've also continued to work hard off the ice, in the weight room, and on the ice to stay in shape for this season. I pretty much work out every day and skate whenever I can, although I think it is good to give myself a little break during the summer, seeing as pretty soon I will be on the ice 2-3 hours a day, 6 days a week. Don't get me wrong, though. Hockey is always on my mind. I'm always thinking about what I can do to get ready for this season, whether it's going on runs, doing agility footwork, getting on the ice, or going to the gym at the local high school here. There are some pro guys and quite a few junior players up here always looking for ice as well, so it's been fun to get out and skate with them. Those skates are hard work, but a blast. It's so cool to practice with NHL players! I'm excited to get the ball rolling here pretty soon. These next two weeks are going to go by fast, and I'll be back in Boise before I know it!

Visit to St. Olaf College

I'm up in Wisconsin now with my family, and it has been great. I love it up here at the lake. The boat rides, water ski shows, family outings, and life in the Northwoods in general never gets old. I really do get the best of both worlds: Vail, Colorado and Minocqua, Wisconsin. I'd say I'm pretty lucky. So you'd probably ask why I left this lakeside paradise to go to stiflingly hot Minneapolis for a day...I went on a campus visit at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities. I've been looking at a lot of colleges, trying to open up some more options for myself, and what I like about St. Olaf is that it's an Ivy League caliber Division III hockey school in the midwest. It's a short drive from the Twin Cities, it's in a small, lively college town, and the campus is beautiful. It has great academic programs, particularly in math and the sciences, and it's easily accessible for my family and friends to watch me play.

My mom, sister, and I sat through a few presentations and question/answer sessions with faculty and students and then we went on the campus tour with a student guide. It was great to see the campus and hear people talk about the school because the previous time I visited the school, everyone was on Easter Break, and there was no one around and no campus tours taking place. I liked it a lot, and I could easily see myself going to school there.

After the campus tour was over, I met with the hockey coach and sat down to have lunch with him, my sister, my mom, and the admissions advisor in charge of students applying from Colorado. It was a great talk, where I learned a lot about the school and the hockey program that I didn't learn on the tour. Plus, the food in the school's cafeteria was great, which, as you know, is a big plus for me because that is where I will be spending a lot of my time. There and the ice rink. And of course the library too...I could tell that the coach was being very honest with me; he wasn't trying to sugarcoat anything, but he told me what kind of player they're looking for and the kind of commitment it takes to be a student-athlete at St. Olaf. He told us that 90% of the players they recruit come out of juniors; that's just the nature of college hockey today. The players they get out of juniors are more mature hockey players and people and more physically ready to compete at the college hockey level. He also said that what he finds is kids coming out of juniors are usually really driven to do well in school once they get there because they've been out of school for so long. I think I'm right in that boat. I find myself missing school sometimes. They seemed to really like me, though. He said he thinks I would fit in very well at St. Olaf--academically and athletically--and he believes they can turn me into a shut down defenseman with my size and my athletic ability. It really was a great talk, and I can't remember everything that was said during the lunch, but I got an overall feeling that I would really like it at St. Olaf. Here's a fun fact: after the season, I completed my St. Olaf application, making me the first applicant for the incoming freshman class of 2012. They were impressed by my promptness, self awareness of my on and off-ice talents, and my willingness to take a visit, all things that will help me as I move forward in this process.

So Official

My blog is now copyrighted under a Creative Commons license! It's amazing to me how easy it was. It took me about 5 minutes of research and less than 5 minutes to do it. Not only is this writing really helping me learn about myself and hockey, but it's also teaching me about the inner workings of the blogosphere, an ever expanding, crazy world. I've been really thinking about copyrighting this blog somehow, but it took me a while to actually do it because I thought it would take much longer than it did. Recently someone seriously suggested I copyright my material in case I decide to make a book or something like that in the future. I have read that anything you write online is technically protected once it's written, but a copyright makes things look much more official and could help sort out any problems with people stealing your work. Couldn't hurt!