We’ve all been there before. Your mom or dad comes into your room at 5:15 on a Saturday morning to wake you up for hockey practice, and in that moment, you want nothing more than to go back to sleep for several more hours.
You beg and plead to skip practice this week but are instantly shut down with remarks such as, “If you miss practice, you’ll have to miss your game too!” and there is no way you’re missing the best part of your week.
Let’s be honest, whose idea was it to schedule a 6AM hockey practice? Weekend mornings are for sleeping in, eating breakfast in bed and watching cartoons.
Eventually, you get out of bed, throw your jacket and shoes on, dragging your hockey bag behind you because you haven’t yet found the energy to carry it properly.
The feeling of dread quickly begins to fade as you pull into the rink. The sight of fresh ice greets you because you’re the first time slot of the day; the sights and sounds of the arena are enough to make it all worthwhile.
You share laughs with your teammates because everything is funny when you’re this groggy.
When you take that first step onto the ice, it doesn’t matter what time it is or what else you could be doing at this hour, because your love for the game is enough to trump all.
By the time practice is wrapping up, your coaches will have to drag you off the ice because you’re having so much fun and going back home to crawl into bed doesn’t even sound good anymore.
Hockey is a powerful sport.