To the average person who maybe doesn’t know much about the sport of hockey, they would see it as just that, a sport. But to anyone who has played for any sort of extended period of time, you’ll know that there are important lessons, particularly life lessons, that you learn along the way.

Some of these lessons include skills such as hard work, discipline, respect, and teamwork. Discipline is super important on the ice. Being smart when you have the puck on your stick, staying out of the penalty box, and just doing whatever you can to help your team are all factors that tie into discipline. But here’s the awesome part, it factors into what makes a successful human being. Even take teamwork for example; in hockey, you don’t win unless you play as a team, and in life, most jobs will require you to be a good team worker or groupworker of some form.

Samantha Gades – Unsplash

With discipline comes leadership, and this trait is yet another quality that the game of hockey can teach someone, whether it’s being vocal, or letting your play do all the talking. Another important factor is the work you put in in practice. That simple act of hard work is something that can be brought with you into your life. If you want to get something in life, you’ll have to work for it.

For me personally, the main thing that I’ve learned from playing hockey, amongst many others, is the ability to deal with people. Right from my first year playing tyke hockey, up through to my Junior hockey years now, I’ve met so many great people in the sport. You deal with people in many different aspects of hockey, whether it’s meeting with the coaching staff or even just with your teammates in the dressing room. You are always around these different people and after a certain amount of time, the social side of the game becomes a consistent part of your life.

Soerli – Pixabay

I’ve noticed in recent years that I’ve become much better when it comes to talking in general and social skills. I can largely chalk that up to my experiences through my hockey years so far. It’s for these reasons that the game of hockey is so much more than just a sport.