With the risk of injuries present in almost every sport, serious and life threatening injuries staring us down every time we lace up to play, why do we still do it? Why would we risk out bodies for sports? To me, the answer is very simple.
I personally have suffered injuries playing hockey that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I blocked a slap shot with the inside of my left ankle in a playoff game last year, and it shattered the bottom of my Tibia. After surgery to put the pieces back together, one of my tendons was shifted to the wrong side, and placed against a sharp piece of bone. The first step I took on my left foot after the surgery severed the tendon more than 40%. I lost an entire summer to physiotherapy and reconstructive surgery that year and was essentially a couch potato for 2 months.
Even after that, even after one of the most agonizing injuries of my life, I still lace up for every game, every practice, every pick up game, every public skate, and every pond hockey game with some friends. Why do I do this? Why do I put myself through such pain for a sport that many live without? To me, it's all about the saying "No pain, no gain." If you can't go 120% every time you step on the ice and be prepared to lay down your body for the team's sake, you don't know hockey.
I've said it a thousand times and ill say it again; hockey is a lifestyle, not a sport. The men you enter a change room with leave your brothers, your family that you put your body on the line for with no questions asked. I lead my team in blocked shots per game this year with an average of 13. That's 13 times every game something could go horribly wrong, something could brake, something could snap, and I could get hurt, but I still do it.
Each injury is a battle scar, and it heals over time. A broken leg lasts a couple months, where as the memory of lifting the cup, the 35 pound trophy that every hockey player dreams of holding over their head ever since they were 3 years old, that memory is immortal. History is dictated by the victor of every battle, and if you have to block a few shots, take a few punches, or break few bones to leave your legacy in this world, then you do it. Zero questions asked.
So why take these risks? Why should I risk my health for a sport? Because it's what is expected of me. Because if a broken bone is the difference between glory and failure, ill take the trip to the hospital any day of the week.
I personally have suffered injuries playing hockey that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I blocked a slap shot with the inside of my left ankle in a playoff game last year, and it shattered the bottom of my Tibia. After surgery to put the pieces back together, one of my tendons was shifted to the wrong side, and placed against a sharp piece of bone. The first step I took on my left foot after the surgery severed the tendon more than 40%. I lost an entire summer to physiotherapy and reconstructive surgery that year and was essentially a couch potato for 2 months.
Even after that, even after one of the most agonizing injuries of my life, I still lace up for every game, every practice, every pick up game, every public skate, and every pond hockey game with some friends. Why do I do this? Why do I put myself through such pain for a sport that many live without? To me, it's all about the saying "No pain, no gain." If you can't go 120% every time you step on the ice and be prepared to lay down your body for the team's sake, you don't know hockey.
I've said it a thousand times and ill say it again; hockey is a lifestyle, not a sport. The men you enter a change room with leave your brothers, your family that you put your body on the line for with no questions asked. I lead my team in blocked shots per game this year with an average of 13. That's 13 times every game something could go horribly wrong, something could brake, something could snap, and I could get hurt, but I still do it.
Each injury is a battle scar, and it heals over time. A broken leg lasts a couple months, where as the memory of lifting the cup, the 35 pound trophy that every hockey player dreams of holding over their head ever since they were 3 years old, that memory is immortal. History is dictated by the victor of every battle, and if you have to block a few shots, take a few punches, or break few bones to leave your legacy in this world, then you do it. Zero questions asked.
So why take these risks? Why should I risk my health for a sport? Because it's what is expected of me. Because if a broken bone is the difference between glory and failure, ill take the trip to the hospital any day of the week.
