My family has always been a sports family. Ever since I can remember the entirety of my life outside of school has revolved around sports. Ever since I could walk I have had a burning desire to play hockey. Hours of running wildly around my house dressed in makeshift hockey equipment, finally convinced my parents to sign their 5 year old up for Timbits hockey. I enjoyed playing the game for many years, and still do to this day, but there came a point where it was no longer fun. It was at this point when I made a seemingly small decision that forever changed my life. For the early stages of my hockey career, I played just because I enjoyed the game. I played for the feeling I got when I skated down the ice and the rush of energy that flowed through my body when I scored a goal. When I played hockey I felt free as a bird, with no worries in the world. But I never had any desire to improve the level at which I played and see where I could go with the sport, I just wanted to play hockey. Around three or four years later I did …show more content…
attempt to move up to a higher level of play, as house league was getting too slow for me. At my first set of tryouts I was successful in making the team. I genuinely enjoyed that year in rep, the team was successful and played well. Now because multiple players better than I left to different hockey teams I was able to secure a spot for myself on the rep team two levels higher . The games were played at a much faster pace, but it was a speed that I could excel at. This following year of hockey was completely different than I had expected, and I had soon decided that this new level was not for me.
I found that the goal for the team was no longer the development of the players, but now to win at all costs. By the time the playoffs rolled around any part of me that wanted to continue disappeared, I was tired of the hardcore mentality of the team and wanted the season to end. A few months later, during tryouts for the following year, I decided to drop a level in search of a more relaxed season. I was hoping this next team would consist of players whose parents did not think their child was going to be the next Wayne Gretzky. But like the previous year it too was not what I had expected. I grew sick of the atmosphere of the hockey world, and as hard as it was for me to articulate how I felt, I wanted out. I lost the love of the game. It was at this point when my sporting career completely turned
around. Ironically, it was at a hockey game in some random arena on a cold winter's night where my dad discovered the National Cycling Centre Hamilton, a youth centre cycling club based in Ancaster, Ontario. When he told me of his findings I wasn’t totally opposed to what he was saying, but I did have some doubts. After much thinking I agreed to let my dad take me to check it out. Regardless, I still remained quite anxious about going. Walking into a room full of strangers, who are part of a world you know little about was hard for a shy 12 twelve year old boy. I mustered up the courage to hop on an indoor computrainer for a ten minute race against the other kids already enrolled in the developmental program. To my surprise I managed to win the race, and it was my first time on a road bike. For those 10 minutes my body hurt like hell but when I finished I felt amazing. At that moment I decided to pursue the sport of cycling and continue to ride for all summer. I loved it. I eventually decided to walk away from the Oakville Rangers organization and end my hockey career altogether. This decision was not an easy one to make but in hindsight I cannot see myself making any other decision but the one made. I continued to train and race on my bike, and a year later I even participated in my first of many triathlons. I am glad I played hockey. I meet new people and made some great memories, and I still enjoy the sport today. But a hockey player is no longer who I am. I now consider myself a triathlete who races his bike as well, a title I which I am proud to bear. I excel in my new sports, as I did in hockey, but now I have that drive to excel and push myself to improve because I am passionate about what I am doing. I am proud of who I am and who I have come to be. I have come to understand that this scenario I find myself in now would not be a reality if I wasn’t willing to try the new sports that I did, and if I wasn't open to change in my life. I shudder to think of what might have been if I hadn’t been open to spending those ten minutes on that computrainer. Putting myself in new places, and trying new things wasn’t always easy, but I am thankful that it turned out the way it did. Life has a funny way of working out. Those sometimes seemingly small decisions and few anxious moments can have a huge impact on the direction life’s journey takes us.
Originally born in Moscow, Russia, I came to the United States fourteen years ago with my parents along with my unrelated brother as their newly adopted children. Transitioning to a new country can be hard, but not knowing the language is even harder. For the first few years of my life, I struggled to speak, write and read any English. Since then, I have become acclimated to the American culture and state of mind and learned English proficiently, but, lost touch with my mother tongue because I spoke minimal Russian. I have always been proud to acknowledge and tell others that I am adopted from Mother Russia. However, over the past several years my curiosity and desire to learn about my native homeland have increased significantly. My interest in the Russian language reignited last year when I overheard a Russian and Kazakh having a conversation in Russian. I soon found myself listening to anyone anywhere, who spoke Russian.
Every time I play lacrosse I feel like I am a part of something greater than myself. Being a part of something greater than myself, being changed in my life forever has made me think and feel whenever I play lacrosse. When I was younger playing lacrosse was a learning experience. Playing with more skilled or less skilled girls in lacrosse and playing different positions except for one every game, practice and scrimmage all the time makes me get a different perspective. Playing lacrosse for quick sticks has changed my life forever.
I also decided to keep playing, as many people do quit, and I kept trying harder in Baseball, and instead of giving up; to push past that and to keep getting farther in the Sport. It changed what I do after school, it made me also think about what I like to do in my spare time, to what I should do in my spare time. Now, I do baseball whenever in my spare time, which helps me reach my overall goal in playing the sport. It used to be for fun, but now I am trying to go farther than just having fun in the sport. I have had to do many things to get where I am, but I do not want to be finished yet, I want to keep going throughout my life and keep succeeding. “Baseball is a good thing. Always was, always will be.” – Stephen
After four years of a new team every season, I went into my first practice of my fifth soccer season expecting the same to be true. Play on this team for one year and then be randomly placed on a different one the following year. Little did I know this team, especially the coaches, would leave a lasting impact on my life. I gained an invaluable support system that has stuck by my side for an upwards of nine years.
Each year I got better and advanced to higher levels teams. I even got the opportunity to train with one of the greatest goaltenders ever to play the game.
Friday night rolled around, it was the game we had all been working so hard for. Knowing we were seniors, we knew it would be the end of the journey.
All in all hockey has had a major impact on my life. Hockey has showed me the characteristics I need to be successful in life. To me this is only the beginning of the lesson as I know I will learn much more and create more memories thanks to
Hockey. A sport I have always loved ever since I was a kid. It was when my dad had taken me to an open ice skate when my hockey life began. I had my first pair of skates as a present when I was four years old. I never really knew of the sport at the time, but now I was able to expirence it. No one was present on the ice as I entered the rink. The cold of the ice ran down my back as I took my first steps on. The cold didn’t stop me though. As I stepped upon the ice, I had a feeling of relief. Hockey is what let me go fast. Always have I been the fastest kid in my class and hockey let me expand on what I loved to do. One stride at a time I went, until I was able to glide upon the ice. My blades of my skates sunk into the ice like a lion tearing at its prey. As the frost beat against my face, I soon realized that I was able to skate. Even though it was all fuzzy in my memory, I remember feeling all types of joy rush all throughout my body. It was the first sign of potential in hockey. It was a first omen.
I have throughout my whole life been playing sports. I still play basketball competitively and now it’s at the university level. Basketball though was not my first love when it came to playing sports. It has though become my true focus since junior high school. Coming from Canada everybody plays hockey. Its almost as if as soon as you learn to walk you learn how to skate. Whether it is at the recreation centre or at the shinny rink around the corner everyone plays. Eventually I abandoned hockey to play basketball which I have done so for the last twelve years of my life and hopefully a few more years into the future.
Everyone has different experiences that shape them into who they are as a person. Some are negative and some are positive, but that is how life goes. I first started participating in sports at the age of three years old, when my mother put me in gymnastics. Growing up an athlete I learned many life lessons and how to get over the hurdles life puts in front of you.
If I stopped playing, there would be a major hole in my life. To succeed you have to try. You can’t be afraid to fail. If you do fail, you have to try again. I know in the next stage of my life I will learn and experience a lot of new things.
To reach my goals, I’ve faced many challenges and have learned to be mentally tough. It’s one of the fastest and most physically demanding sports with extraordinary fitness and strength requirements. I learned to overcome pain, illness, injury, frustration and fatigue to put the game and the team before myself. I left home at an early age, living with host families, to pursue my goals and play high level hockey. Hamlet said, “We know what we are, but not what we may be”. Leaving home, I knew I could handle it but I never knew then that what challenged me would give me strength. I didn’t know then that living without my family, feeling alone at times and struggling to become self-reliant would help me become who I am
It broke my heart not having the same passion for a sport that I grew up loving. The reason why I didn’t was not so clear. I started learning the reason as my junior season had progressed. How do you get a kid not to quit something she so strongly hates. The anger and frustration clear as day, yet she still pushed and begged for me to come out.
Although, I am not an athletic individual when I became an older sister to two young boys my involvement in sports changed drastically. I started to attend their hockey, baseball and soccer games, sports became the primary conversation at the dinner table and sports television quickly became the main source of entertainment in my household. What started as a great activity to bring our family together, as I grew older it quickly started to make me want to distant myself from the athletic scene. The start of this distancing was due to a conversation that I witnessed my father and oldest brother having,
The ball was coming slightly wide towards me,I tried to take the catch and took the catch,but this catch changed my life. I was an active sports player since my childhood, I participated in different sport at different levels. I loved the things that included work related to my games, as I was the sports manager of my house for two years. The most favourite game of mine was CRICKET,my first love.