One of the up-and-coming young hockey stars that I work with wrote me an email today that really made me stop and think.

“This is why I do what I do.”

I started working with her back in May and I asked her what her goals were for the upcoming season.

She said she wanted to make her provincial team and maybe try out for the brand new super-elite team that was starting up in her area.

I stopped her before she could get any further.

I asked, “Why is trying out for this team just a ‘maybe’?”

And she said, “Well, I am not sure whether I will make it, and if I do, I will be playing a long way from home. I am just not sure whether I am ready.”

Fair enough.

But how often are you really completely ready to try something that is out of your comfort zone?

So I asked her,

“What’s the worst that can happen if you just try?”

There was a silence on the other end as she thought about it.

And after 5 seconds she said, “Nothing really. I might get cut, but that’s no big deal.’

At that exact moment, I knew she was ready to take her game to the next level.

To become the best player you can be, you have to take risks.

You need to get outside of your comfort zone.

And that’s exactly what this young player did.

She went to the tryout, competed against players 3 or 4 years older than her, and pushed herself harder than she ever had before.

And just like another other good “Disney” story with a happy ending, she made the team.

Amazing things can happen when you push yourself beyond your limits and entertain the possibility that you can take your game to the next level and become the next great female hockey player.

You’ll never know until you try.

- Coach Kim