Member Blog: Kyle Skinner

 

Kyle wears jersey #7 for the Funky Monkey's out of the ASHL Satellite League in Hamilton, ON

Submitted by Kyle Skinner

During the summer that I turned seventeen years old I made a very difficult decision.  At the time it didn't seem to matter much, but I was growing and changing and in hindsight it is something that I truly regret.  I decided that I was going to quit playing hockey and concentrate on baseball as my main sport, along with working, girls, video games... essentially anything that wasn't school.  The decision seemed logical to me, as I was a much better baseball player than a hockey goalie.  I loved tending the net, it was a deeply rooted passion.

I had never played a game out of net, never stick-handled a puck and hadn't skated in players skates since I was four.  Yet I had loved goal-tending, loved hockey and had a deep understanding of the desires that drove people to play the game.

Yet I still chose to walk away.

It would be six years before I realized the impact this had on me.  A friend of mine called me up one night and told me he would be at Parkdale Arena, watching his girlfriends little brother play hockey.  We had made plans for afterwards, but then I found myself driving to the area during the time that I knew his game was being played, and I parked in the lot and headed into the arena to join my friend as a spectator.  I walked into the lobby and it was exactly as I remembered it.  A rush of emotions hit me and I was moved to the point that I had to sit down and take it all in.  I sat in the lobby, the familiar sights, sounds and smells encircling me, and I nearly teared up.  I never actually went through the door to the ice surface that night, and to this day my friend does not know that I was there.  I couldn't bring myself to do it, as I was experiencing the deepest feeling of regret that I had ever known.

Fast forward and it is now five years since that emotion laden night.

Two years ago some co-workers started playing pick-up, and on a whim one Sunday afternoon I went out and bought all brand new equipment to join them, this time as a skater.  I was well aware that my talents would be limited, but my desire to be a part of something I so desperately missed ruled out.  I sit here typing these words and game time is in ninety minutes.  I live an exciting and often stress-filled life, but for one hour every Sunday nothing else in the world matters except this game I love which now once again intoxicates my thoughts and clenches me within its grasp.


For his contribution, Kyle's name will be entered into a draw for a free SIRIUS satellite StarMate 4 receiver plus one year of free programming. 

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