Starting next week, I will be playing hockey 2-3 times per week. Then, a month later, I will be teaching a class or two (don’t know how many yet) in the evenings. Shortly after that, I will be resuming refereeing adult and youth ice hockey. All this while carrying a full time job, wife, continuous learning, working out, and other responsibilities. I have been asked by many people how or why I continue to push myself that hard, and all I can say is that I enjoy it.
Sitting idle really is the most boring thing to me. Since I was young, I have always tried to better myself. To build upon a good year by surpassing it with a better next year really is something I have grown to embrace. This goes for everything from work to play. As I have gotten older though, I have found that physically, trying to do things better every year may not be the most achievable. I am not as quick as I once was. Part of bettering yourself is getting out there and honing your skills. Playing hockey once a week has not made me a better player. I was playing better when I was playing 2-3 times a week on a regular basis. Just like I will be a better college instructor when I am teaching more than once a week. Just like I will be a better referee when I ref more than once a week in the fall/winter/spring.
I realize that as I get older, my skills in net are going to diminish. I am concentrating on bettering myself right now and for the immediate future. We all should be looking to make ourselves a little bit better every day. It could be anything from physical to mental. It could be a skill-set or a way of acting. This is why I push myself and why I am going to be pushing myself hard starting this month. No more sitting idle.