This essay was the winner in a contest of over 25 area hockey players put together by South Coast Sport and Consignment. The $500 will go towards the Noble’s hockey tuition for next year’s season.
What do I think about my teammates? I love them! It is not just a group of kids you play with three times a week. It is not just a time where you play with them today and not talk to them tomorrow. Listen, I am no pro, I play Bantam A hockey for the South Coast Panthers. The last two years I have been here have been a paradise.
People say the name on the front of the jersey is a lot more important than the one on the back. Once you realize that you will realize how selfish you were when you didn’t. I back that statement up. But don’t forget the name on the back. Not just of your jersey, but the ones on your friends backs too. When you pull on that jersey, it represents you, your team, your friends, your coach and parents. Just remember when your dogging it back checking, remember your doing a dis-service for your teammates, coaches and etc.
I don’t use the term team too often. I think of it as a family. There is not just a group of kids, they are your brothers. Every time they fall, you help them up. Doesn’t matter if you are tired, or dying of thirst. Or if you have a fresh set of legs. I don’t know if other kids feel the same way, but at the drop of a hat I would die for my ‘brothers’.
A true teammate is a person who has that character that everyone likes on an off the ice. I know that your brothers may make mistakes or on and off the ice. That does not mean you hold a grudge and brush them off like the ice on the bottom of your skates after a practice. Playing together is one thing, but if you want to really know who you’re playing with, you have to bond with together. Go out, sleep over each other’s houses, and shoot them a text. Teammate-ship starts at bonding on and off the ice.
I know for a fact, if you play hockey there are times where you throw a cheap shot. If someone is chirping or the ref calls a call that doesn’t sound right, the people who chirp, and shove their words right back in their faces. Prove them wrong on the ice. I’m currently 6’ 1” 250 lbs, everyone judges me right away. For the first 5 years of playing hockey I had to take my birth certificate to every game. I realized when people talk smack; your teammates got your back. And you know what? You have theirs.
Hockey is one of the toughest sports to play. If you are really big, like me, people tend to underestimate you. If you’re small, don’t let them get to you. People who play dirty and talk smack are jealous. They have something to prove. You just need to keep playing your game. Remember to bond with your teammates on and off the ice. Trust me, the brothers on the ice around you will make you play better. Just works as hard as you can, have your teammates back. Because the team isn’t just a group of kids, it’s a brotherhood.