“Or they just missed.”
“Hey. Don’t take away my cope.”
A laugh pops out of me. “Sorry. You’re right, you tell yourself what you need to.”
“I also tap the posts at the beginning of every period. I have a whole routine I do.”
I stare at him open-mouthed. “Okay. I didn’t notice that.”
“That’s okay.”
That makes me laugh again. I lean forward. “So how does taekwondo fit into all this?”
“Believe it or not, there are a lot of similarities between martial arts and goaltending. Physical and mental. One of the tenets of taekwondo is self-control, and that was something Ireally wanted to work on. Discipline. It was important to me to show up consistently and to train hard. I wanted to control my behavior and my emotions.”
“We all have weaknesses.”
“Speak for yourself.”
I laugh again. “Okay.”
“No, I’m kidding. You’re right, we all have weaknesses, and you need to know what they are to be able to work on them. Taekwondo helped with that. Discipline is the bridge between goals and success.”
“That’s really… admirable.”
The corners of his mouth quirk. “Thanks. I feel like it was selfish, in a way. I had a goal and I was going to achieve it.”
“And you did.”
“To be honest, I’m still working on it. There’s always something to learn.”
“And physically? How does taekwondo help that?”
“So, physically the goalie and the martial artist both start in a static stance. Both are done in a confined space. In taekwondo, it’s the mat. Then you read and react to what’s in front of you, and for both, you have to be fast and flexible and agile. Hockey is fast and you have to react fast, and, like sparring with an opponent, you never know what’s going to happen.”
“I don’t know how you react so fast and stop that puck.”
“Well, the secret is, I actually don’t.”
“What?”
“Nobody’s reflexes are fast enough to stop a puck at the speed players shoot it. I stop the puck because I’ve been watching the play, and I’ve anticipated what’s going to happen and where it’s going to come from.”
“Ohhhh.”
“Although I do have amazing reflexes,” he adds modestly.
“I’m sure you do.” I bite my lip on a smile.
“Mentally, the pressure is similar too. It’s you against your opponent.”
“But you have a team playing with you in hockey.”
“Yeah, but being in goal, you’re pretty much on your own. Any mistake you make is obvious. And these days, teams expect perfection.”
“Youarea perfectionist.”
“Yeah. But really? There’s no such thing as perfection.”
