My father promised me that I could play hockey ever since I was 8 when I first skated on ice, no one would have known where this promise has led me.
It all begins in Melbourne, Australia in the beginning of February 2013. I am travelling to my first ever hockey clinic at the O'Brien Group Arena (one of the only 2 rinks in my state). I never played hockey before, the only knowledge of skill I had was skating which I had been doing since I was 8. So we arrive and I am nervous as hell, I'm trying out a new sport which Australia isn't recognised for. Imagine a small 13-year-old kid walking into a hockey change room by himself, struggling to figure out how I put on hockey pads. I didn't have a jersey or any socks. I looked like a complete duster, to say the least. My first practice could have gone better, to summarise, I fell on my butt about 37 times, lost control of the puck each time someone passed it to me, and I was shooting muffins on net. To cap it off I fell right on my tailbone midway through the practice, which I couldn't sit on for a week. I was embarrassed, I was ready to give up as soon as the Zamboni doors opened.
However, I decided I was going to stick with it, and see where I would end up.
So fast forwards a few weeks and I can raise the puck and stickhandle a little. Keep fast forwarding a few months and I'm skating backwards, crossing over, making progress with each practice. Keep fast forwarding and I'm deking out players, sniping on goalies, winning races and having FUN!.
So now let's now skip to the beginning of 2015. It's a Saturday morning practice. The new coach that has been on the ice with us for the past 6 weeks is talking to my dad when I walk outside. This is where my real journey began. The coach asked my dad how my grades were. Let's just say I wasn't the class clown. So one thing leads to another and within 6 months I'm leaving Australia to go to Canada to pursue my dream...
TO RECIEVE AN NCAA SCHOLARSHIP
And here I am now, doing what I need to do to get to the next level and getting one step closer to my dream.
And here I am now, doing what I need to do to get to the next level and getting one step closer to my dream.
