Time to Get Away

One big difference between pro and rec sports is that rec athletes often know the exact day that their season is over. Especially for hockey players such as myself who generally only play shinny a few times a week, our seasons begin and end at almost the exact same time every single season. I knew in September that March 31 would be the last skate of the season. And three weeks from Wednesday, hockey will be done.

In my last blog I mentioned the strange feeling I get when the realization that the season is almost over sets in. This year for some reason, the relief seems to be the dominant feeling.

It’s been a strange season. At times I’ve felt on top of the world and at others I’ve felt like I couldn’t stop a beach ball. I think it’s the inconsistency that has plagued me all season that has left me frustrated more than anything else. Strangely, it seems to coincide with what has been happening to me off the ice.

Hockey is the one time in the week when everything else that is happening is no longer relevant. During that hour, the only thing that matters, the only thing on my mind, is stopping that puck. It isn’t as though I’m thinking of other things while the puck is coming at me, but for whatever reason when things aren’t going so well, that seems to have translated to a degree on the ice.

For that reason, I suppose I’m somewhat relieved that hockey is winding down since it leaves me with one less thing to worry about.

Even someone like me who would, and has, dropped everything just to play needs time away. I feel that time coming just as I do every year, and even though I would be content to play all year every year, I welcome the time away. As hard as it is to believe, I’m not getting any younger and it seems every year I get banged up just a little bit more than the year before and need that month or two before baseball just a little bit more each year.

On top of that, this is my last semester of undergrad which means this will be my last summer in North Bay, at least for a while. I want it to get here soon so I can enjoy it before moving on to whatever life deals me next.

So forgive me when I say that I hope March 31 comes sooner rather than later.

-matt