Busy Busy Busy

Lately I've been trying to find enough hours in the day.  The days really seem to just fly by.  I've been really busy with work, hockey, training, reading (I've set a goal for myself to read TIME Magazine in its entirety every week and read as many books as I can), writing (on this blog, and I'm also the corresponding secretary of the Min-Aqua Bats, in charge of keeping everyone in touch over the winter, so I'm the editor, publisher, author, and CEO of the Min-Aqua Bat Mile, a satirical newsletter that I'm going to try to get out every month), applying to colleges, and having fun (I went to Oregon for the first time the other day with my roommate to go to a shooting range with some friends we met, and we recently had a team bowling night...$6.50 for four games and shoes!).  It's almost overwhelming.  But I'm not complaining; I know it's much better than the alternative:  being a lazy slouch, looking for something to do all day before practice.

Speaking of practice...that has been a little frustrating recently.  We definitely need to step up our level because practice is where we get better, and if we don't prepare ourselves the right way during the week, we'll fail the test on the weekend, and that's no fun.  I like coming to the rink every day to work as hard as I can to get better because that's when it's the most fun, that's when I know that I did all I could that day to become better.  But it's frustrating when I leave feeling like I didn't play very well, like I could've pushed myself just a little bit harder to make the right decision or make a good pass or stand up at the blue line.  And it's even more frustrating when I can look at other people on the team and know that they didn't play very well either--especially frustrating when I can tell they don't care they didn't play very well.  We have to hold each other accountable, and everyone has to pull their own weight.  I'm going to try to be better in the next few practices at showing people how willing I am to work my bag off every day because it seems like some people on our team just aren't willing to do that, and it's holding us all back.  That's frustrating for people like me who want to get better every day.  As a captain on the team, I think I need to start singling people out and getting mad in the locker room because my method of nice guy motivation isn't working so far.  Some people on our team are so inconsistent from drill to drill and from practice to practice, and that needs to change if we are going to accomplish anything as a team.

I know part of being a high-level athlete is having up's and down's.  Everyone has their bad days and good days and those days are just accentuated at such a high level.  Bad days become worse when someone else who is having a really good day beats you in a drill.  That's just the way it goes.  But having those bad days should drive you to work harder and be better the next day.  That's what it does for me.  By having those bad days, I challenge myself to come out a different player the next day so I  can keep climbing the staircase to becoming better.  In the words of one of the horrible bosses in the movie Horrible Bosses, "You can't win a marathon without putting band-aids on your nipples!"  I don't really know how that is at all relevant, but it seems to fit.  Some people just don't get it, though.  Some people are just OK with flatlining and not getting any better, just being mediocre.  Those people on our team need to rethink their priorities and either change their work habits or go home and do something else with their lives because being a hockey player is not for the faint of heart.  And I know our coaches are constantly looking for the best players they can find, so those players better be careful.  They could be gone before they know it.

Anyway, sorry for ranting, but I'm just not OK with being mediocre.  I never have been...We're on our way up to McCall tomorrow night to play against the Ogden Mustangs this weekend.  It's going to be a good test for us...it seems like it's the first time this season we haven't played either Park City or Seattle even though I know we played Southern Oregon once too, but that seems like a long time ago.  I'm excited.  It's going to be another fun weekend, and we have to come ready to play.