I went to a hockey game last night... shocker.
But, during the period intermission they had a special treat. There were several different ages of players. In each bracket, there was a goalie and a shooter. The shooter did his best three shoot-out runs, and the goalie tried to keep him scoreless. And then there was a special one...
He looked about 3... like my son. There wasn't a goalie, but they gave him a target net to shoot at (about 2 feet wide). He rushed the goal to the best of his ability. And he fell three times. One of the Ice Crew guys bumped the net over so that he would score.
And the crowd went wild.
I mean really wild. Now, there is a polite wild... and whenever they get the kids out on NHL ice in front of the fans, they get a very good cheer. But, this kid got the real wild. 
Honestly, it brought a tear to my eye. I know that just off the ice, there was a Dad that was more nuts than anyone else in the crowd. And he had a right to be.
We could ALL learn something from a 3 year old on NHL ice.
There were 13,000 people staring at him. He's probably only been skating a few months. He wasn't steady. Or fast. But, he didn't freeze. He didn't cry, and he didn't quit.
When 13,000 people watched him fall, instead of reacting to the collective sigh... and polite laughter (it was funny to watch), he got back up and went right back to it. And then he did it again. And again. And, each time, the crowd roared approval. And each time it was louder than before. His shot was only a couple of inches off... and he got an assist from one of the ice guys. The train horn went off. He stood there for a moment.
And then he skated off the ice. Grinning. Did he care that 13,000 people watched him fall down... three times in 20 feet? No. They blew the big horn.
My son is in "Snowplow Sam I" and has to complete SS III before he can sign up for Cross Ice hockey. Five more months. But, I see some of the same stuff in him. When he is at his lessons, he falls. He gets back up and skates some more. He doesn't look to see if anyone is snickering. He just gets up and goes back to it.
So, the next time you feel like the world is looking down at you, think of a three year old in hockey gear that is too big, on NHL ice in front of 13,000 fans. Think of him falling down, and getting back up. No crying. No whining. Just doing what he needs to do... and smiling because they blew the horn for HIM. And the crowd went wild...
I was able to find a video that was just posted on the Thrasher's website. Our hero (the little guy) is the last player to shoot, although you can see him several times during the video. Notice the ages of the other kids that take part...
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