The one trait that matters most
If you want the right mentality for chasing the hockey dream, or any dream for that matter, you have to settle this in your mind right now. You are going for it, and you are not quitting. No matter what.
Even if everything goes wrong.
Even if everyone else walks away.
Even if you can’t see the path.
Doesn’t matter.
You keep going.
That’s the rule.
I remember this old picture hanging in my classroom when I was a kid. A stork had a frog halfway swallowed. The frog was done. Game over. But if you looked closer, you could see the frog’s hands reaching out of the stork’s mouth, gripping its neck, fighting back with everything it had.
That image stuck with me.
Something about it burned into my mind. No matter how bad it looks, no matter how finished you think you are, you fight.
That mentality followed me into my hockey career, and eventually it got tested for real.
When I turned 18, all I wanted was to be a hockey player. That meant making a junior team.
So I went to my first tryout. I gave it everything I had. Got into my first fight and won it. Played hard, played fast, played with my heart on my sleeve.
Cut.
Fine. On to the next one.
Second tryout. Cut.
Third tryout. Cut.
Fourth. Cut.
Fifth. Cut.
Five straight times I was told I wasn’t good enough. Five straight times I had no team, no contract, no place to go.
Yeah, it hurt. Of course it did.
But quitting was never on the table.
I kept showing up.
Then came the sixth tryout.
The Great Falls Americans.
Everything clicked. I fought. I scored. I showed them exactly who I was. More importantly, I showed them I wasn’t going anywhere.
That was the one.
I made the team.
And just like that, everything changed.
But here’s the truth. It wasn’t the sixth tryout that made the difference. It was the decision I made after the first cut. And the second. And the third.
I wasn’t going to quit.
That’s the trait that matters most.
Not talent. Not size. Not speed.
It’s the refusal to walk away.
So as you step into this week, lock it in.
You are going for it.
You are not quitting.
You are going to keep showing up.
And if you do that long enough, something will break in your favor.
It always does.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, writer for Wraparound
PS: There’s a small overstock drop that just went live, and it fits this message perfectly.
The USA Gold Medal Blade Shades and the original 1980 Miracle editions are back for a short window. These aren’t just sunglasses. They represent one of the greatest “never give up” moments in sports history. A team that refused to quit when nobody believed.
This is leftover inventory from the final production runs. Once these are gone, they’re gone for good.
If that story means something to you, grab a pair. Or grab both and keep a piece of that legacy with you.
>>>https://hockeywraparound.com/collections/blade-shades-hockey-sunglasses-overstock
Orders over $75 ship free.