Della Bella 1

Victor Della Bella

Mrs. Sheila Fielding
WRTC 103-0007
26 January 2018
What Ice Hockey Has Taught me

I always have loved ice hockey since I was a little boy. I remember playing ice

hockey video games and going to the local ice rink to skate. I realized I had a passion for the

sport and have been playing since I was eight years old. Throughout my career, I have won two

tournaments. I learned how to work together and never give up. By being able to work together

in a group one can accomplish anything he or she sets his or her mind to.

Ice hockey is a “game between two teams, each usually having six players, who

wear skates and compete on an ice rink. The object is to propel a vulcanized rubber disk, the

puck, past a goal line and into a net guarded by a goaltender, or goalie.” (“Ice Hockey”). “Ice

hockey is probably a descendant of bandy, a sport that developed in England in the late 18th

century but that is now played only in the Baltic countries, Sweden, and the countries of the

former USSR. Modern ice hockey is thought to have been started about 1855 on frozen Lake

Ontario by British soldiers stationed in Canada; people in Halifax, Nova Scotia, also claim that

ice hockey originated there.” (“Hockey, Ice”). Throughout my career I mostly played center. A

center is the player who generally plays in the middle of the ice. He/she takes draws against the

opposing center; a referee drops the puck between the two and each center tries to win the puck

to their team. As a center, I played a crucial role in winning draws; setting myself and my

teammates up with quality scoring chances. I also played a large role in the defensive zone,

clearing opposing players away from my goal and covering the opposing center.
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Although I had played ice hockey for many years before, I had not truly learned the

meaning or strength of working together until this moment. In the playoff qualifying games of

the Jersey Shore Ice Hockey Tournament my team lost each game we played. My teammates

and I felt beaten. Our whole team thought that we were certain to lose against the number one

seed in the tournament. Our coach spoke to us before the game and said “All those people out

there, they don’t believe in us. They (the other team) think they’re going to destroy us. Are we

going to let that happen?”

“No!” we all exclaimed.

“So, let’s get out there and prove that we deserve to be here” he said. The game was

about to begin and our goalie had not yet shown up. “Can you give us a few more minutes?” my

coach asked the referee. The officials (referees) refused and insisted on starting the game. We

couldn’t push off the game any longer. We had to play without a goaltender. Somehow, we did

not allow a goal, managing to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Our goalie showed up after

the first period, and received some harsh words from the team. We were now able to play more

on the offensive and were able to net three goals to win the game three to two. Winning the first

playoff game showed us all that we could compete with any of the teams in the tournament,

having beat the number one seed. Our team went on to win the championship game. We were

ecstatic and motivated to win the entire tournament. The team went on to win the tournament.

Even though we had an insignificant chance, we were still able to prevail. I learned to never

give up on anything, even when you think you don’t have a chance and to work together with

one another.
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After winning the Jersey Shore Ice Hockey Tournament the previous year, our team had

learned how to work together and win in the most difficult situations. This year however was

different. We were a better team and had developed chemistry with one another, having played

together for a full season. The team won the first two of our playoff qualifying games, but

ending up losing our third game. We had lost our confidence. After the game our captain, Doug

Rubin, said “I know everyone is disappointed right now. I am too. We need to show that this

will not affect the rest of the tournament. Good teams win games. Great teams win games and

rebound after they have lost. They do not let it impact their game.” That message stuck with

me. I did not want to allow a loss to impact how I performed on the ice. Instead of letting it

bring us down, we used it as motivation; to prove that we were the best team in the tournament.

We went on to win our first playoff game. Our victory showed us that although we had lost our

previous game, it would not prevent us from being victorious. Just as the year before, we had

won all our playoff games to become back to back champions. We never became overconfident

in ourselves nor expected to win like the year before; taking each game just as serious as the last.

I learned to never become overconfident in your abilities, never let your guard down and work

together. We took a negative experience and used it as motivation to improve.

January 25th 12:08 A.M.

This picture is meant to depict
teamwork. If we all come together as
one we can achieve our goals.
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To conclude, I learned that with teamwork and determination anything is possible. Never

become overconfident in your abilities, never let your guard down and work together. I view

myself as strong-minded individual who believes in these principles and has a strong work ethic.

I view the world as I would ice hockey. To be successful, you must give everything your all and

never give up.

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Works Cited

"Ice Hockey." Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Oct. 2017.

academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/ice-hockey/108494#29695.toc. Accessed 16

Jan. 2018

"Hockey, Ice." Encyclopedia. Issues & Controversies, Infobase Learning,

http://icof.infobaselearning.com/icofencyarticle.aspx?ID=10657. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.