I've always loved this picture of Ken Dryden in the heady days of the 1970's when the Montreal Canadiens were seemingly unbeatable ... the stories of their on ice achievements fill volumes of hockey lore ... One can talk about what a great Goal Tender Dryden was, but his greatness was achieved by a combination of his skill and prowess between the pipes, AND the presence on the ice of a TEAM of other equally skilled players in the various positions scattered across the ice ... Dryden didn't win those Stanley Cups alone ... the WHOLE team did ...
For a number of reasons, I have found myself thinking about that simple fact: the importance of working together as a team, over the last few hours ...
The first stirring came last night as I went to a Wheat Kings game in Brandon with Ms H and her best friend. The girls had gotten free tickets through the School Patrols programme ... nice scam for the Wheaties' organization - give out a free ten dollar ticket to the kid, so parents have to buy a 17 dollar ticket to accompany then AND bring a wad of cash to pay for the popcorn, lemonade, mini donuts and other assorted crap that HAS to be bought ... okay, the mini-donuts were for me ... after weeks of exercising and watching what I eat with notable success, I NEEDED - I JUST HAD TO HAVE a treat, and a half a dozen mini-donuts did it !!!
BUT, all of that not withstanding ... the game itself was good. The Wheaties out shot the Kootney Ice, and won 2 to 1 ... there was a couple of fights (it's NOT hockey without a fight or three?? Right), and the game play was clean and impressive.
The thing I noticed though was the cat calls from around me in the stands ... The loudest and most vocal critics of the boys on the ice (and they are BOYS - they are between 16 and 20 years of age!!) were beer swilling, overweight, middle aged guys who probably couldn't skate the length of the ice without getting winded !! They seemed to have forgotten that this ain't no beer saturated rec league - some of these boys WILL make the NHL, something the yelling yahoos have clearly never achieved ...
Yet here they were screaming out with all kinds of unsolicited advice for the players ... and the more beer they swilled the worse it got !! Even Ms H and best bud M were turning and looking at these "Men" (I use the term loosely) and laughing ... the word "loser" popped up periodically in their giggle fits ...
Then this morning I read a post over at a new blog I've discovered recently called "The World: Through the eyes of Me" that reminded me not only of my experience last night, but the experiences I've had coaching Soccer, both here in Minnedosa and back home in Stratford ...
When I coached soccer my rule to the boys was simply this: "Have Fun." It is after all, only a game and it really isn't about whether you win or lose, it's about playing the game fairly, it's about learning to play together as a team, and it is about learning to have fun. I told the boys at the beginning of the season that hot-doggers would be benched and that they OWED their team-mates the chance to play equally.
The funny thing was that consistently my teams won ... BUT, more importantly they learned to play together as a TEAM, rather than as a bunch of individuals on the field ... they learned to play fairly ... and they had fun ... AND now, years after the fact when I bump into many of the boys they want to talk to me about life stuff ... I have been fortunate to have become a friend and mentor to them after a few short weeks on the soccer pitch ...
Looking back I know the answer to the WHY? of why this happened. I approached the opportunity to coach as a blessing of sorts ... in a world that takes sports WAY too seriously, and renders the playing of games an event of epic world changing proportions when in fact it remains SIMPLY A GAME, it was an amazing opportunity to sit on the sidelines with a group of teen aged boys and say to them - "trust me, it's only a game ... now, go and have fun."
Leanne at "The world: through the eyes of me" strikes a similar chord as she notes the immature behaviour of two dad's at the soccer game of six year old girls ... Some one needs to keep the mantra alive - "IT'S ONLY A GAME!!"
To the drunken louts who scream at the teenagers playing better hockey then they themselves have EVER been able to play - "IT'S ONLY A GAME!!!"
To everyone who sits in their armchair WATCHING games and harshly criticizes the players remember - "IT'S ONLY A GAME!!!!"
Even watching players like Dryden, Lafleur, and the rest who take the game to a whole new level of play, it remains to be said loudly - "IT'S ONLY A GAME!!!!!"
Parents owe it to their kids to take games like hockey, soccer, and baseball a little less seriously and remember that the life lesson to be taught is not winning at all cost, but playing the game fairly, and playing it with the REST of your team WHILE you have FUN !!!!
Unfortunately, for too many this is a life lesson that is met only with a befuddled "Huh???" ... and that response explains a lot ...
In the meantime - Way to Go Wheaties !!! Thanks for a GOOD game last night - you did well!!
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