One, little known reason to start playing hockey in the summer

Starting something new is never easy, but oh is it ever so rewarding

You were a beginner once, you learned how to walk, how to talk and do everything you know how to do today. So lets begin with why you are here in the first place. You always had the hockey itch, but never had the chance to start playing the game. Probably, because your parents, for whatever reason, were not able to give you the opportunity to play. After all isn’t it why you chose to come here?

Imagine balancing on two sharp knives at the bottoms of your feet while trying to move, receive passes on your stick and shoot the puck to score a goal. Hockey is this scary thing if you have never done it before, there is lots to learn and it can seem daunting at first. At this point most people check out, but guess what?! When you start anything new, it is difficult at first, it is uncomfortable.

Remember what it was like when you tried playing golf, or riding a bike? There was nothing but failure at first, and then one day you achieved a small victory, you got the a ball in the air instead of always duffing it, you balanced the bike for a few  seconds without touching the ground. Then something magical happened, you started getting better, quickly, and what you did was much more fun.

You wanted to get back out there, and do it again and get better. The more you improved your skills the more fun you had. Kids understand this really well, you start them in baseball and they can’t catch, or bat, but they don’t give up they keep coming to play, because it is fun and the more they come the more fun it is.

Well, hockey is no different than any new thing in life, thousands of adults learn how to skate every year, some start when they are 20, some when they are 60, or even older. They don’t do it because they are going to make it to the NHL or a pro league in Europe, they do it because they finally found the courage to say yes, I can do this, yes I will do this. They wanted to play hockey for a long time,ever since being a kid, just like you.

Now when they get on the ice it is a victory and the moment they score their very first goal it is a celebration of will. The will to defy expectations of others, their own. You are not supposed to do anything that is out of your character, if you did not play hockey as a kid, you should not bother starting now.

Except they chose differently, they live and breathe hockey not just when their favorite team makes the playoffs but all year round. So what is the difference between you and them? Why can they do it and you give yourself permission not to? Where is your will?

Ok, now let me tell you why you should start playing hockey in the summer. All things being equal and you have found the will to start learning to play, it is best to do it in the summer, because it is a little known fact that ice times in the summer are much, much, better. There are no kids playing minor hockey, so you can show up earlier to the rink in your flip flops, do the sessions and still have time to go out with your team to the local drinking establishment.

Being part of a team is what makes hockey, like no other sport, so special. The bonds you forge with your teammates last a lifetime and the best part of the whole hockey experience is the things you do after the game. Win or lose, the dressing room is where the real magic of playing on a hockey team happens. Of course finishing the program in the summer, allows you to play as a team in a league in the winter and get the whole hockey season in.

Now I would not expect you to do anything on your own, especially hockey. Hockey is much more fun when you play with people you know. Challenge them to step out of their comfort zone and learn to play the game with you this summer.