The Hockey Dressing Room
People on the outside world cannot understand what happens in a hockey dressing room. The word chemistry is often used to describe what lurks behind the walls of a tight knit hockey room. If you talk to most players who win championships, they talk of the blood and guts, the second efforts, but most importantly they point out the chemistry in the room. From the day training camp starts, players are thrown together from all parts of the globe. Once the team is made, this is now your second family. You will bleed with these team-mates, you will win and you will lose with them, but most of all they will become your best buddies in the world. These are the guys you have to trust, not only on the ice but off the ice as well. When you’re flying up the ice and you hear a “heads up Stewy!”, and you quickly avoid a train coming at you, your buddies were there for you. When you are at the bar unable to walk, your buddies are the ones to make sure you get home ok. When your passed out on the couch, your buddies are the ones that will do stupid shit and then take pictures of it. You will taste the sweet flavor of victory, and you will cry tears together in defeat. You will go through hell and high water for the next 9 months and you will have a family that will take care of you. Away from home for the first time, you may feel homesick. Your boys will stick together and all of you will have some of the best times of your life. Stories about the broad you took home with you last night or whatever it is you’re telling in the dressing room, and when you walk out the door. What happens in a dressing room becomes a world of itself. If you respect this responsibility you will reap the benefits of a great year. Respecting the code of the locker room is more about life then it is about what happens on the ice. Cherish these times in the room, from sitting around having a chew after a game, or going out with your buddies, these are memories that will stay with you for a lifetime. Embrace these rules; respect your team-mates. When it’s all over, you will think back and smile at the golden moments of your youth. Then you will wake up your son or daughter and take him or her to practice. As you take a sip of your warm coffee, you can be gracious that you were there, and that you once played.
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The Hockey Story
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This pretty much says it all... The cockiest, dirtiest, most irresponsible group of athletes in the world. Will do anything just to be able to tell his teammates a great story in the dressing room. Live the dream until they are 35 then realize they never made it. Ladies love us, guys want to be us, we are the soul of the universe. You lace up the skates, put on the gloves, strap on the helmet, and walk on to the ice and nothing else matters. It doesn't matter that you failed a test, your girl is being a bitch, or that you got a ticket on the way there...you're world is absolutely perfect for the next couple hours. Here's to face-offs, goals, assists, overtime, living on the road, cold rinks, early mornings, breakaways, going top cheese, countless hours of practice, bag skates, puking, thousands of dollars, dangling d-men, end to end rushes, big hits, broken twigs, new skates, packing bombs, dropping the mittens, wheelin' broads, coaches, adding the letter "y" to the end of everyone's last name, the word "fuck", pick up, tape to tape sauce, let downs, miracles, and most of all - the game of Hockey. Why? Why do we skate back and forth night after night? Skating so hard we throw up. Skating so hard your heart beat rings in your head, while your lungs are grasping for air. Late nights, early mornings, Friday nights, Saturday evenings, broken bones, torn muscles and deep bruises. We skate through it all. Because we live off our adrenaline, because the game frees your spirit, because the party in the locker room is second to none, because you're invincible once you step on the ice, because one shot can make you smile all night, sniping the twine, top shelf where momma keeps the peanut butter or cookie jar or whatever she keeps up there, the rattling of the boards, the feel of the puck, and skates carving into the ice is a rhythm to live by, because it’s possible to skate fast enough to leave all your worries behind. Sweat is the cologne of our accomplishment. Why? Why would someone push themselves so hard the uneducated pussies always ask? HOUSE LEAGUE, A, AA, AAA, JR.B, JR.A, OHL, WHL, US COLLEGE, PRO, ANY LEAGUE, ANY PLACE…. It's never been for the fucking the money, it's not for the girls, and it's not for the fame. 'The Boys' play because we fucking love it ... If you are a hockey player and you are proud to be one, pass This shit on with pride mother fucker, and let everyone know the definition of a man.[/size]
The Ultimate Goal
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"My world exists in a place known only to those who have been here before. It is a place that allows me to escape the daily routine of life, to experience moments all my own, yet shared with others. My world exists on the ice, where I retain lifelong memories filled with the grandeur of battles past. It is here that life gives me opportunities to delve into a world only hockey players can appreciate. A world where anticipation is heavy with fear as I lace up my skates, knowing fate is in my hands with the stick that I taped. What would I do without this game in my life, or the place where dreams are made? What would I do without the dressing room, the smell of sweat-dried equipment, and the chatter of small talk as I prepare to go to war? What would I do without the cold crisp air burning my lungs as I skate hours on end, early mornings, late nights? What would I do without the travelling of great distances to take to the ice, or the sounds of pucks banging off battle-scarred boards? There is only one thing to do, and that would be to do it again, knowing that I wouldn't change it for anything. You see, each time I put on my jersey, I take pride in the very crest that means I am part of something special: A group of athletes willing to sacrifice individual achievements for The Ultimate Goal."
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