February, 2005 - Nr. 2
From the Locker-room
Prepped For Playoffs
I started a great new season last year with my team by going on an exciting and adventurous trip to Europe, playing in Italy and Germany.
Then as we came back to our league we had all the highs and lows of being a team and being together so much. Be it injuries, big wins, big losses or players leaving or being traded as well as new players joining our tight knit family, we’ve been through a lot together.
The effort and togetherness, the tweaks and changes, all lead to one thing: The Playoffs.
Now is where the real season begins and where everything really matters. Every thing you do through the playoffs has a big part in performance, the focus has to be there, you have to want to win. As our coach says: "We want to enjoy the ride, you will always look back on your junior hockey days, and our goal is to win our very last game"
If we win our last game that means we win a National championship and have gone on an amazing and hard journey to get there. With this in everyone’s mind we all take a specific role so we can get there.
Scorers score, checkers check, every one must do their job in order for us to have the best possible team we can have. I personally like to keep encouraging everyone and keep the focus on the task at hand.
This is also a time where leaders take a huge role in creating a playoff team. Our biggest leaders are our coaches who constantly demand the best from each and every player. Through the coaches leadership that then filters down through each player we all take a part of it and use it to further our game.
As they say there is no "I" in TEAM, and this I have witnessed by being on losing teams as well as winning teams. Right now I am on a winning team with amazing components I have never seen before; so now -more than ever- becoming a solid unit is the most important tool heading into the playoffs. There have been less skilled teams that have carried on to great accomplishments because of one reason: They were a team. And it all starts from leadership, on and off the ice. I hope to bring this to my team as we begin our new season that really has meaning.
Things change, attitude, focus, preparation, all this has great importance when you start your journey into and through the playoffs. I am very confident with what we can do, as I witness it first hand nearly every day.
I am also prepared and looking forward to making history with the Oakville Blades in my last year of Junior Hockey. Big players play in big games. Every game in the playoffs is a big game, and every player on our team is a big player. I am looking forward to the journey, the ride will most likely not be a smooth one, but that is what makes hockey so much fun: It is the challenge... Bring it on!!
Darren McKague
