Sports
"Success is a journey not a destination."
~Author Unknown
I
t always seems as though kids follow their example when it comes to hobbies, especially sports. Sports are a huge part of my family life and really keep us altogether with everyone’s busy schedules. My sisters and I all took part in the typical kids sports. We had are phases in soccer, rugby and even gymnastics. The sports that stuck the most were those were on ice. We all were figure skaters to start with, until Frances broke out in her tomboy phase and
took on hockey. I followed and then Jennifer right after and soon we were spending all of are evening in the local hockey rink. Hockey has been a huge part of my life every since I was little, and has even been a big factor in where I am now. I made the choice to continue hockey in College, now I find myself in another country with hockey being one of the biggest parts of my life. Hockey is the reason I have such a close group of friends and motivation to do well in school and make something of myself!
Sports have played a role in connecting me to the environment. Why else would i stand outside in the fall rain to toss around a rugby or kick a soccer ball. When some people can't bare to even step outside on a rainy cold day, most athletes put the wheater outside to perform and practice.
Soccer was one of the first sports the girls in our family took part in. Most kids in Mississuag were doing it, so did the McPhails. Jennifer and i joined the coed "Carebears" team. However the most intriguing about the sport was the orange slices at halftime, the dandlelions that were sonstantly picked constantly, and hanging off the goal post no matter wh
ere the play was. My young soccer career quickly game to a halt when some kid with a mullet launched a ball at my little nogin.
Gymnastics was the next activity Jenny and i took a go at. We certainly weren't the most flexible kids in the class, and had no desire to be. We were most interestd in jumping in the foam pit and carwheeling until we got dizy. Though it was mostly fun and games, i thank my parents today for making me do it, cause i think it gave me some sort of cordination and balance.
In elementary school and highschool i was one of those kids that tried out every sport that was offer. Elementary school i tried basketball, volleyball, badminton, etc.. Being brave enough to embarass myself in all these sports was largely due to my "tom boy" stage that i like to believe every girl goes through. In highschool it took a bit more skill to participate in sports so i narrowed down my seasons to basketball and rugby. Basketball was always something i just had to take part in. I first became obssessed with it when i discovered who Michael Jordan was, which i have Space Jam to thank for that one. As a kid my Grandpa made me a home made basketball net were i woul
d stand for hours on end underhanding a bouncing ball into the net. Highschool was my really only formal experience with Basketball, were i spent most of the time on the bench. Basketball just wasn't that fun of a sport for me anymore. but glad i went through it. When i tell people i played Rugby, no one really believes me cause i'm not a tough kid at all. I joined the highschool Rugby team my junior year in highschool, thinking i would be successful as my oldest sister, Frances. I was very mistaken and while she was a succesfull aggressive forward in the game, i took the role of full back. This allowed me to be the last player on the field, only having to tackle when a player got through the whole team. Whenver a ball game my way i would kick it right back into play up the field. Like most trends of the sports i have tried it came to a quick end the day i decided to jump into the play. I guess i thought i would be a good idea to tackle the largest girl on the other team, and she took my shoulder with her. This ended my rugby and all spring sports career and began my shoulder dislocation problem.
The next two sports are really what have kept me going through out most of my life. The sports on the ice were what i found the most passion for. My mother was once a figure skating champion and still is a figure skating coach. She basically taught me everything i know about skating today, and would not be the hockey player i am without her. She was the first one to teach me how to skate but eventually had to hand me off to another coach so i would take it a bit more seriously. My mother spend hours with my sisters and i working on anything to do with figure skating cause we all loved it so much. She bend over backwards making sure are customes were perfect, ususally making them all herself. Also so we had the right resources to get better and move forward with the sport. We all probably would still be figure skating if my dad didn't put the idea of hockey in my oldest sisters head. My dad made the most of my sisters tomboy stage, getting her involved with hockey. She was a natural a soon inf
luence me to give it a try.I soon went through my tomboy stage shortly after starting hockey. So with a name like Alex and a short little boy cut, no one new i was the only girl on my first hockey team. I didn't know much about the game at the time, but as my coach would say, "we look like a bunch of grapes" all chasing for the puck. I followed the boys for the first year, then finally got into girls hockey and found my place. This is were i built my first strong friendships with three other girls. The four of us together were always the smallest ones on the team and cause of this were called the "dwarf" line for many years. Evenutally my family moved back to Ontario were my sisters and i still contiued to play hockey. It wasn't easy leaving the girls i had been playing with for so long, but without the move to a more developed hockey world in Ontario i would never be were i am today. I made the transition into my new team and group of girl being one of the older ones in the division. However did not stay in my hometown for hockey after the second year because i had to move around if i wanted to accomplish my goal of playing hockey post secondary. My senior year i joing the Toronto Aeros follwoing in the footsteps of my sister. This was an association that had a high reputation of sending girls to post secondary hockey. After a tough but successful year i finished my minor hockey career with a commitment to Elmira College.