JMS Hockey

Opinion piece from the Strib: ‘The State of Hockey” is a moniker you hear a lot in Minnesota this time of year. With the high school hockey tournaments around the corner, NHL season back in full swing and, of course, the Olympics just wrapping up, hockey is in prime time. From all reports, we are just crazy about hockey in this state. And I understand why — hockey is a great game. The sport requires speed, skill, smarts, endurance and a certain level of toughness not found in many other sports. Nothing better than watching two evenly matched teams battle it out on the ice. If there’s some brutal checking or a fight … even better. I get where the prima donna attitudes of the hockey players I grew up with came from. It may even be necessary if one wishes to play. I respect the drive it takes to become a high-level player. As a competitive athlete my entire life — I just completed my 12th American Birkebeiner, and added to the list of more than 100 endurance marathons in various sports — I understand training and commitment at a very deep level. But at the youth levels, the “State of Hockey” is a really, really sick state indeed. Continued here: http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/246970061.html