My favorite part of the day is always going to hockey. The atmosphere is always so happy and we can always just be ourselves. I love knowing that if I’m having a bad day I’ll always leave the rink feeling a lot better. I know this is cliche, but I’ve learned that when you’re a part of a team, what you do directly affects your teammates. Whether it’s the attitude you bring to practice, the effort you put in during the offseason, or the way you treat the coaches, everyone notices. Be a good teammate!
If you’ve ever played a sport, you know that somewhere down the road they ask, “Why do you play?” Personally, it’s always been so hard to put my answer into words. It’s hard to describe that perfect glove save or that breakaway you stopped and hearing everyone cheer for you in relief. It’s hard to describe taking that first stride on the ice before a game with the cold breeze hitting your face and the stands filled behind you. You truly can’t put into words about being on one of the best teams ever!
As a senior, my goal is to honestly just give this season my all and skate off the ice for the last time with no regrets. I’ve played through a lot of seasons and I feel like I’ve always looked back on things that I could’ve improved on or done differently. As a team I really hope we can make it to our ultimate goal, the state tournament. Our coaches have talked a lot about the pyramid we have to climb to get there, and I think we have it in us.
The thing I really like about our coaching staff is that they all of something unique about them that brings out certain elements of our game. Coach Malecek is constantly challenging our endurance during practice. It’s so crucial, especially towards the end of a game, to be better conditioned than your opponent and I think we owe a lot of that to Coach Mal (short shifts!!). The thing I like about Coach Lunderby is that he keeps us on edge during practice. But at the same time, he really listens to any problems we might have on the ice or just in general and it shows that he truly wants the best for us. I’m really excited to have Coach Preisler with us this year! So far he’s done a really good job working with the goalies and finding areas we can improve in. Lastly, Coach Johnson has put an incredible amount of time into this team and it really shows. Sometimes it feels like the team is her full-time job! It’s really awesome having a coach that will make you love the game. Overall, our team has been blessed with outstanding coaches and I’m really grateful for that.
I’m so excited for the season to get rolling and make more memories with the best team ever!