Article February 11, 2002 Issue

A HOCKEY DAD'S PRAYERS

David Els

From the fourth grade on, I loved contact sports, particularly football. I was also very fortunate to have coaches who taught the importance of the mental preparation for the game and the effect of this preparation on its outcome—not necessarily on the score, but on the quality of the experience.

One important life-lesson for me was that any attempt to get psyched up to a mental state of intensity and aggression before the game actually resulted in weakening my performance instead of enhancing it.

Years later when we moved to the small New England community of Amesbury, Massachusetts, our son, then seven, started playing organized hockey. Soon after, I was asked to serve on the town's hockey board, overseeing youth hockey teams from ages 5 to 14. Since I had never played hockey and had just moved to town, I was quite surprised. After attending my first meeting, it was clear to me (if not to the other board members) that my primary role was to serve as a mediator and peacemaker.

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