Hockey Chat:  Knowing what to count on from your line mates also helps them to know what to count on from you.  You’ve probably seen guys that work great together and always seem to be in the right place.  That’s because the treat their linemate as an extension of themselves by being where they are needed and making the play happen knowing that others will be there too. 

Hockey Chat:  The game of hockey takes both aggressive work and smooth moves.  To be too aggressive all the time will get you in the penalty box.  Trying to be too smooth and passive all the time will just plain land you on your backside when you get into a battle.  There are plays that call for the moves and plays that take extra hustle.  It’s important to be ready for both.

After routing Oklahoma University for its second straight national title, USC coach Pete Carroll was asked when preparation for the next season would begin. Carroll replied:

“It’s already going. We live this thing. If you’re competing, then you’re always competing. That’s just part of it ... I have people tell me, ‘Just relax.’ Don’t tell me to relax. I’m having a ... ball. We get to do this for six months, be on top of the college football world. We’ll likely have a great chance at being the No. 1 team coming into next year. Shoot, that’s awesome, awesome stuff.”

When you are playing a sport, teammates are the most important people with you on the court or field. Sometimes it’s hard to love them, and it can be even harder to stand up for what you believe in when you are around them. The devil is always around, wearing a disguise, making it harder for you to stand up for your beliefs. He can even be wearing the same jersey as you.

I learned this lesson during my basketball season. I was the newbie, the one no one knew. On the day of tryouts I only knew one other girl. Yes, I saw the others in the hall, but I didn’t talk to them. It was hard to start a new season with only a couple real friends.

Eight years ago, I started the simple discipline of picking a one-word theme for the upcoming year. That’s right—one word—not a phrase or statement, just a single word. And to this point, it has been nothing short of life changing. Through this exercise, God has stretched me spiritually, physically, and emotionally. This exercise cannot be approached  alfheartedly. Satan will come out in full force. This is truly a discipline for those who want to press in and see God do great things through them.

It’s for those who want to live life to the fullest—no retreat, no regrets. It’s also a process of teaching, correcting, and molding, for when we are soft in the Creator’s hands, He can form us into His vessel!

Is it possible that one man could have changed Mike Tyson’s problem-filled boxing career? Tyson believes his former trainer, mentor, and legal guardian Cus D’Amato, who died before he won the title in 1986, would have changed things. Tyson said, “It would have been totally different. Cus once told me, ‘You’re the kind of person who has to get hurt to learn.’ I didn’t understand he was talking about life…in the fight of life I am a pug, a palooka [a second-rate prize fighter].”

Hockey Chat:  As a team we share in the hustle and bumps in order share in goals and victory.  Some of us are apparently better than others, but none of us are perfect and we all blow the play or miss the shot sometimes.  But we hustle and try for our goal again and again.  Forget who blew the play and missed that shot and press on toward the goal we all came out for.

When I was 9 years old, I got a new pair of shoes and immediately wanted to race everyone in my neighborhood because I thought they would help me run faster. On one particular day, I dusted everyone who dared to step to the starting line, except one person . . . my own mother! “On your marks…Get set…Go!” I ran as fast as I could, and I even had a small lead. But when I decided to turn back and smile at my friends, my mom blew right past me! Can you imagine how embarrassed I was to get beat in a foot race by my own mom? That was also the day I found out Mom had run track in college at the University of the Pacific. (I joke that she should’ve been disqualified for having an unfair advantage!)

As coaches, we have a rule on our hockey team. If you get hurt during play, you must do your utmost to stay involved in the play or get yourself to the bench. We expect this not because we are hard-nosed or don’t care about the well-being of our players, but because we expect our athletes to persevere and work through adversity.