Priorities

In my previous blog, I talked about belonging to the specific community of the Mount Royal Cougars Mens Hockey team, and in a larger part, Mount Royal University athletics.  In that previous blog I talked about some goals, objectives and possible outcomes.  I think that those can relate very well to priorities.  A priority can be defined as "the state or quality of being earlier in time, or occurrence." It can also mean "the right to precede others in order, rank or privilege." Priorities can often be thought of as the things you need to get done in the immediate future, in order of greatest importance, to least importance.  However, when relating this to my community, the hockey team I tend to think of it as goals we need to achieve in the near future in order to be successful.  

Talking with fellow members of my community and it is clear exactly what our communities main priority is right now.  I asked a handful of members, however if I had asked every single one, the answer would all be the same.  Our priority right now is to keep improving day in and day out as a group and stay focussed on the task at hand. That task being the playoffs.  We finished second overall in the league and earned ourselves a bye for the first round of playoffs, right into the league semi-finals.  This weekend will be a much needed rest time from game action for us.  We will practice and continue to adjust our systems and continue our preparation for our peak in the playoffs.  

All players, coaches and those involved with our community are all committed to excellence, and know that a legitimate chance at a championship doesn't come around just everyday.  That's why we are all on the same page and committed to battle through whatever it takes to reach that goal.  Every one of us is driven by a certain set of values that have been pushed in our minds for the entire year.  The main values I would say that drive us as a community are hard work, motivation, dedication and most importantly passion.  I think that our passion for this priority is unmatched.  Every single one of us loves coming to the rink every day and looking to improve and take that next step in order to do what we need to do.  We love being around each other and again, would and will do anything it takes for the guy beside us.  At this point in the season, winning isn't an option, its a must, and our only priority in sight.  

My Community Group-Mount Royal Cougars Mens Hockey Team

The Community that I currently belong to that I believe has the biggest impact on my life right now, is the Cougars Mens Hockey team here at Mount Royal University.  This is a community of 26 players, 3 coaches, a trainer and an equipment manager.  All in all, with our daily operations our community then consists of 31 people.  If I wanted to broaden the community I could put our team under one heading under the community of Mount Royal University Athletic Department, but for the majority of this blog I will keep it specifically to our hockey team.  For a couple examples however, I will stretch it to the entire department.

Everything I do in a day to day basis revolves around hockey.  Whether its scheduling my classes around practice and game times, working out in the gym, doing spin classes or just knowing when I need to get to bed early and knowing when I have the opportunity to stay up late and have some fun, it's all based around hockey.  Everyday from 3:30-5:00 pm we have practice.  In order to be an efficient and winning team, we must show up daily with a fresh mind, willing to work hard and block out any other distractions.  Sometimes it can be tough with projects, midterms and other school activities to block it out, but in order to perform it's necessary.

Talking with teammates and coaches and it is clear in everyones mind what our goals and successes are.  To date on the season we are in second place, three points out of first place which is a good accomplishment.  Having a successful season so far is something to be proud of, but something we work every single day to improve upon.  Our goal for the season is to win a championship in our league, the ACAC, and it is a completely attainable goal.  If we were an average team we would not set such a goal, but we know we have everything it takes to win, so anything short of that and we will be disappointed.  We are also in the top 3 teams in the league in every major statistical category and that is another one of our successes and something we are proud of, and are hoping to continue to improve upon.

As far as opportunities are concerned I think there is one huge one that our team and school is looking to achieve.  Mount Royal, as we all know, has recently become a University and has now applied to be apart of the CIS league as far as athletics are concerned.  You must be a University to compete in this league and it is something that will hopefully happen for our school within the next 1-4 years.  If/When this happens, it will be an exciting day for us as players, coaches, and a community as a whole.  In regards to facilities, our team has been lucky enough to have just been built a new dressing room at the Flames Community Arenas, just 5 minutes from school.  Our old room was far from special and just three weeks ago we moved into the new dressing room and everyone involved could not be more ecstatic about it.  We are also blessed to have a fantastic recreation facility at our school to work out at, in which we also have a locker room there for our gym clothes, school stuff, etc.

In conclusion, it takes a lot of people to build such a great program that I am lucky enough to be a part of here at Mount Royal.  From the head athletic director of the school, to our coach of our hockey team and to all the supporting cast, everyone has done a fantastic job about something they are all obviously passionate about and giving the Cougar athletes something to be proud of.   We have an amazing group of 26 players, with a ton of experience and leadership.  These two qualities are ones I believe to be vital to the success of us as a team, and a community.  With the leaders we have, we have managed to become 26 very good friends, which is a lot different then just being 26 guys who play hockey together.  We go on road trips together, school together, hang out as a team on many occasions and these are the types of things that I believe make us such a successful team, or community.  If we weren't close OFF the ice, there is no way we would have the success we have ON the ice.  We all play for the guy  next to us and are committed to making our program and building our community to be the best we can be !

When it comes down to it, we strive for excellence in every aspect of our lives.  That is our goal for our team. Be the best we can be on the ice, off the ice, and in the classroom and this will  help us be a better team, and better individuals in the long run.