The Best Version of You

I believe that any one person is good enough and talented enough to accomplish anything with hard work. From a young age we are taught the practice makes perfect, we are taught that if you work towards something and at something you are more likely to achieve it. Everyone is good enough to do anything. The smallest player on the football team is good enough to get the Division I scholarship if they work hard. The clumsiest person is able to become fast and quick if they work hard enough. When trying to become a college athlete many aspects come in to play. When you’re recruited by a college coach they will look at every aspect of your life and analyze why you are a good fit for their team. They will look at your skills, they will call your coaches, they will make sure that you are a good student, teammate, friend, and person. You might think to yourself those things don’t make an athlete. You can "play" any sport. I can say that I play hockey but what does it really mean to be a "hockey player". College coaches are not looking for a person that plays hockey they are looking for a "hockey player". A hockey player isn’t just talent on the ice, they are talent in the classroom, as a person, as a friend, as a teammate and is a person that is striving to be better and make the team better. They encompass the passion, sacrifice and love of hockey into every aspect of their being.

Looking back on when I was getting recruited I was the complete package except for one area. I had skills and talent to play at any division one school I had the character, the work ethic and the drive to take me anywhere I wanted to go. I had the family that was there to support me and I had the want to be a division one hockey player. I encompassed excellence into every aspect except for one. I worked everyday to get better and to improve on every aspect of my game. I worked with my team and for my team. The area that I lacked and that subsequently holds me back to this day is in the classroom. Many people say that when you are at the highest level, college coaches will overlook your poor grades because of your talent and because of your hard work and skills. This is not true. To be a complete package you need to have all aspects together. Now when looking back at my grades, they weren't to bad. However, to be considered for small amount of spots on a top division one team they weren't where they needed to be. To accomplish the dreams and go to places that I wanted to go they should have been higher. My biggest mistake and my biggest regret is not realizing that my skills were not all that matters. If I had put a little extra time into my academic career in high school and maybe took away a little bit of time from my training or if I learn to manage my time better I cannot imagine where I would be right now. If I had realized that all aspects of my life were just as important to a college coach, I cannot imaging the things that I could have accomplished. For those of you that are looking to be college athletes and for those of you who wish to have a chance of playing hockey in college my message to you is to make sure that every aspect of your life it best the it can be. I am not saying that you need to be perfect, but strive for your best. I am smart and if I had put as much effort into my school as I did in to hockey and my team things would’ve been a lot different. I think a really important part of growing up and being a college athlete and a high school athlete is time management.

College athletes endure an extreme amount of stress daily. From morning practice, to class, to ensuring passing and excelling grades in each class, many athletes can find this very taxing mentally. This is why college coaches are so specific on the character of athletes they bring in, and are so on top of their athletes about how they are doing mentally, and physically with the changes that come with adjusting to college play. I think that often times high school is looked at as the end all be all of achieving a successful college career. High school should be the building blocks of your routines and foundation for how you will conduct yourself in college.

I didn’t live up to my full potential. I look back on my high school career with nothing but amazing memories. I realize now however, that if I have worked a little harder to be a hockey player and not just someone that plays hockey I would’ve achieved my goal of playing division 1 college hockey. What I’m trying to say is that in every aspect of your life whether you play soccer or whether you are a horseback rider or whether you like to paint and create art, put every ounce of your being into what you love. All aspects of you are important and in order to be the best version of yourself you have to understand and work to improve every aspect of your being.

I wrote the above paragraphs a little over three years ago. I believe what I say to be true in it simplest form. However each path that we go down will lead us to something amazing. If I hadn’t played division III college hockey I would have never had the opportunity to play six years of college hockey, and more then likely would have never touched a game of professional hockey. All we can do each day is strive to be the best version of ourselves and understand that we are on the right path. I have a faith that things in my life will work out better then I ever could have imagined and I am living that reality to this day.