I’ve been playing hockey since I was 6 years old, so when
I decided to take a year off from the sport, it wasn’t an
easy choice. My original plan was to join the newspaper and then
come out for the hockey team my sophomore year ““ but we all
know plans don’t work out exactly as they are originally laid
out.
So, I joined the staff of the Daily Bruin. Instead of doing
ladders and Russian circles ““ skating drills you’ve
probably never heard of ““ I became the hockey beat writer.
Hell, I figured if I wasn’t going to play for them, I might
as well write for them. Seamless transition, right?
In a way, yes. I already knew a lot about hockey, and I was very
confident I could write good stories about our hockey team here at
UCLA. The first game I covered was a 7-6 loss to Washington in a
shootout. Then, the weird part came: I entered the locker room not
as a player, but as a reporter.
I had never been a big talker in the locker room, and now I was
forced to walk around a locker room full of undressing hockey
players, exhausted from a 60-minute hockey game. And I’m
standing there with a notepad and pen.
Let’s just say I felt out of place.
But I managed ““ I asked the questions, and I wrote the
stories. My editors were pleased one of their writers actually knew
something about this strange sport that involved long sticks and
frozen water, especially someone born and raised in Los
Angeles.
I enjoyed writing stories and not having to wake up at 6:30 in
the morning twice a week for hockey practice in El Segundo. But the
guys on the team soon found out I actually played hockey.
“You should come out for the team in the winter,”
sophomore defenseman Nick Hertz said after the Washington game.
“What position do you play?”
“Defense,” I responded.
“Oh “¦ never mind,” Hertz said jokingly. Nick
likes his playing time.
By the start of winter quarter, I made the decision to start
playing again. I already knew many of the players pretty well by
this point, but now I had a new obstacle to overcome: getting into
shape.
You see, I hadn’t skated in about six months, and I did a
whole lot of sitting around during winter break. Put two and two
together and you’ve got one out-of-shape hockey player turned
reporter turned hockey player again.
My first practice wasn’t even that strenuous, but by the
end of it, I was completely spent. I was skating again, though, and
that’s what I felt I should be doing.
I kept skating, and I started to get back in shape. Soon, I was
suiting up for games, the first being a 13-5 win over Stanford on
Jan. 23.
“So, are you going to write an article on the game?”
victorious freshman goaltender Adam Kubalksi asked after the game
with a grin on his face.
Yeah, I bet. I’m sure the objectivity level of my stories
would just skyrocket.
But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. After all, I
could have quoted myself in my articles and praised the play of
newcomer Taylor Brown. What a shame.
But my decision to play was reaffirmed when we went up to
Berkeley and beat the Golden Bears 2-1. This was, by far, the high
point of the season, and I was there to experience it. The win gave
us (yes, us) hope for the playoffs, but unfortunately, we lost 2-1
to Cal in our next game, squashing our (yes, our) playoff hopes for
good.
So what did playing the last half of the season mean? It meant I
won’t have to be a rookie next year. That’s a pretty
underrated advantage. Some other naïve freshman will have to
bring the pucks to every practice next time around.
All kidding aside though, playing this season gave me an
opportunity to enter a tight-knit group with a bunch of great
guys who all love playing the same sport I do. We’re not
losing anyone to graduation, and with good new recruits on the way,
we expect to make a serious playoff run next year.
See? I was able to quote myself after all.
Brown has gone to the penalty box and feels shame. E-mail
him at [email protected].