Thinking back on my time with Milton High hockey brings up a lot of stuff. It feels like ages ago, but some of it is still super clear.
Getting Started
I remember deciding I wanted to try out. It wasn’t easy. The tryouts themselves were intense. Lots of skating drills, back and forth, trying to show you had speed and could handle the puck under pressure. I was pretty nervous, honestly. Just focused on staying upright and not messing up too bad. Seeing the older guys, the returning players, they looked so confident. Making that first cut felt like a huge win.
The Daily Grind
Once I was on the team, the real work started. Practices were usually early mornings before school or right after. Winters meant getting to the rink when it was still dark out. That cold air hitting you when you walked into the arena, I’ll never forget that smell.
Our coach was old school. Drills were repetitive but necessary. We did a ton of:
- Skating drills: suicides, laps, crossovers until our legs burned.
- Puck handling: stickhandling through cones, keeping our heads up.
- Shooting: endless shots on goal from different angles.
- Breakout drills and systems work: trying to get the plays just right.
Conditioning was brutal sometimes. We’d finish a hard skate and then have dry-land training. Running stairs at the rink or doing push-ups until we couldn’t lift our arms. It was tough, really tough. There were days I just wanted to skip practice, but you couldn’t let the team down. Everyone was going through the same thing.
Putting it Together
Scrimmages were where we tried to make sense of all the drills. Trying to run the plays we practiced, communicate on the ice. Sometimes it clicked, other times it was just a mess. Coach would yell, stop the play, make us redo it. Frustrating at the time, but that’s how we learned.
We spent a lot of time on special teams too. Power plays and penalty kills. Drawing stuff up on the whiteboard, walking through it, then trying it on the ice at full speed. Getting scored on during a PK drill meant more skating, usually. That was good motivation to get it right.
Looking Back
Playing wasn’t just about the skills, though. It was about showing up every day, pushing yourself even when you were tired, and working together. We learned how to win, sure, but we also learned how to lose and pick ourselves back up for the next game. You build strong bonds going through that kind of stuff together. It wasn’t always fun, especially those super hard practices or tough losses, but looking back, I wouldn’t trade that experience. It taught me a lot about discipline and teamwork, stuff that sticks with you long after you hang up the skates.
