It started when I was a little kid. In mid to late december the first lakes would start freezing here and as soon as the ice looked strong enough to carry a couple of people and their hockey sticks we’d go out and play until dawn. When I started playing in a “real” team the thing that made me love hockey so much was not only the game itself, but all the things that came with it. Even the little icy clouds your breath would freeze into in a late winter’s night. Now that I’m somewhat of an adult I sometimes felt I totally forgot where my passion and spirit for the game was coming from. Practices more and more seemed like time killers and there had been more than one time when I though about stopping to play. Two days ago we had this year’s second game. We went through some tactics and our swedish coach showed us some flipcharts on where to stay and which moves we’d have to make. On the last sheet of paper however there was neither some sweet sounding paroles nor a miniature hockey field. He had only drawn a big heart. For the rest of my life I will remember what he said about us and the game. “It’s your heart that drove you to play hockey, it’s not your skating, passing or shooting I want to see out there, it’s your heart you have to show”. That very night was the first time in months if not years that I put my skates on solely for one purpose: for the love of the game.I believe.