Fear not your best friend fear
Eagerly waiting for the sound of the final bell ending the game, I limped back to the locker room ashamed of failing my teammates once again. With my jersey drooping below my knees, I dreaded every second of ice time starring at a swarming pool of merciless giants. Receiving the puck gave you the opportunity to score, but for me it meant running into a wall. Running into other players sent me flying through the air before gasping for air and landing dazed on the verge of unconsciousness. The condemnation of failing to contribute to my team or participating in the physical aspect of hockey reminded me I was in a dark world of self-loathing because I couldn't accept this fact.
My domination of easily breezing by my neighbors in street hockey and always ranked at the top of stat sheets for scoring in recreational hockey, abruptly ended when I joined my first competitive travel hockey team. My first game exemplified the setbacks my fear imposed on my team when I frighteningly moved out of the way of an enormous player to grant him a free pass to the net in which he scored the game winning goal. Shamefully looking at me as if I were an ally of the other team, I became alienated after my team after they began the tradition of …show more content…
Now a lethal weapon of speed, I strategically position myself where I can easily maneuver through traffic to steal the puck or dump and chase it to outskate everyone for a scoring opportunity. From this season on I no longer allow people’s reactions to determine my actions after realizing success isn’t dependent on how well you fit in with the expected criteria, it’s how well you utilize your strengths in your darkest moments. While I evolved from the worst player to the team’s leading scorer on the ice, off the ice I learned to never give up on a skill despite being placed in an unfavorable
Eagerly waiting for the sound of the final bell ending the game, I limped back to the locker room ashamed of failing my teammates once again. With my jersey drooping below my knees, I dreaded every second of ice time starring at a swarming pool of merciless giants. Receiving the puck gave you the opportunity to score, but for me it meant running into a wall. Running into other players sent me flying through the air before gasping for air and landing dazed on the verge of unconsciousness. The condemnation of failing to contribute to my team or participating in the physical aspect of hockey reminded me I was in a dark world of self-loathing because I couldn't accept this fact.
My domination of easily breezing by my neighbors in street hockey and always ranked at the top of stat sheets for scoring in recreational hockey, abruptly ended when I joined my first competitive travel hockey team. My first game exemplified the setbacks my fear imposed on my team when I frighteningly moved out of the way of an enormous player to grant him a free pass to the net in which he scored the game winning goal. Shamefully looking at me as if I were an ally of the other team, I became alienated after my team after they began the tradition of …show more content…
Now a lethal weapon of speed, I strategically position myself where I can easily maneuver through traffic to steal the puck or dump and chase it to outskate everyone for a scoring opportunity. From this season on I no longer allow people’s reactions to determine my actions after realizing success isn’t dependent on how well you fit in with the expected criteria, it’s how well you utilize your strengths in your darkest moments. While I evolved from the worst player to the team’s leading scorer on the ice, off the ice I learned to never give up on a skill despite being placed in an unfavorable