So I know I can talk a lot about the things you can lose at
a moment’s notice. Today is all about what you can make out of it and the
opportunities it can present.
As soon as the decision was made that I wouldn’t be skating
any more I had to look at my options. I could quit and leave the league
altogether but that just wasn’t an option in my head. We all know how addictive
this game is and how your team become your second family. At this point I think
I needed them more than ever so leaving just wasn’t going to happen for me. So
what about NSOing? Well, I had NSO’d a lot over my time on skates and continued
to after stopping but it didn’t quite cut it for me. I needed that competition,
that drive to win and to feel a part of a team. So that left bench staffing.
Could I do that? Did I have the knowledge? The skills? Would people even like
me?!
Anxieties aside, it
was the obvious choice for me. So about six months after the injury I benched
my first game – a mixed opener for DRR. I had three of my teamies with me which
was actually really nice as we kind of supported each other through our first
games together. I remember having a team talk before the game started and thinking
“god, I hope I look like I know what I’m talking about!!” and just being a bag
of nerves. Then the first whistle blew and it all disappeared. I suddenly had a
job to do so I just kind of got on with it. It all passed in a blur but we
managed to take the win which felt nothing short of amazing. I found it really
emotional as I thought I would never experience that win, because I couldn’t
skate anymore, so when I did it really blew me away. That first
game really was
the start of a new chapter for me and I went from strength to strength. A
recent highlight was being able to line up for an all star England team. I felt
totally out of my depth working with the likes of Kitty Decapitate and Stefanie
Mainey but it was such an incredible game to be a part of.
The stand-out high point for me was being voted in as line
up for my league’s A-team. I worked for a long time to get there and it really
felt incredible to be recognised by my home league as being worthy of working
at that level. I will be forever thankful for the opportunities that they have
offered me and will never forget the support I received during the most
difficult of times. The girls on that team truly are my heroes and every day I
hope to be considered good enough to continue to work with them again, in any
context. I’ve continued to work with mixed teams of varying levels but I don’t
think anything will ever match that feeling of belonging I got from that
season.
The point is that life doesn’t always go the way you’d
planned or hoped for but in going wrong, it often presents us with
opportunities we might never have encountered otherwise. Next time something
goes wrong, don’t call it going wrong. Call it going differently, because
that’s all it is. Fate is what happens to you, destiny is what you do with it.
