I pretty much take it for granted that most people view sport and performance in a holistic way. Namely that athletic pursuits are about a whole lot more than wins and losses, and statistics. We learn life lessons in sports. Yes, we learn what it feels like to win and to lose, but we also have opportunities to learn that most achievement in life comes from some mystical combination of hard work and luck. The sports that have most captured my interest, as an athlete, have been boardsailing and hockey. Living in Colorado, boardsailing has been relegated to the category of something I used to love...it was about waiting for perfect storms to blow across Lake Erie...and knowing what 30 knot and 40 knot winds looked like on the water...it was a huge adrenaline rush...and about being with friends that were as passionate about it as I was. Anyway, that is the past...the life lesson being that many gifts from the universe can be pretty rare...pretty transient. They are there for a season perhaps...and then gone. With hockey, I still get to play, and to learn about the game and about life. Last night we played against a team that was kind of short on skill but big on smack. This team represented the proverbial "like to dish it out but not big on taking it". After some pretty mild contact (for hockey) the player I hit said, "Keep that up and you
will get hurt". Now, that
is part of the game....for better or for worse. In the past I might have responded with some equally dumb remark. But, these days, I say nothing...make eye contact...stand my ground...and then play even harder. I like the version of me that takes that approach to hockey...and to life.
