Grab hold of the dream before it’s gone
It goes by fast.
I don’t know how it happened, but it’s been 20 years since I graduated from UMass Lowell and finished my four years of Division 1 hockey.
A buddy tagged me in a Facebook post the other day… one of those old promo magnets from our senior year.
And just like that, I was back.
The bus rides. The locker room. The feeling of gearing up for a weekend against Maine or Boston College.
At the time, it all felt normal. Like it would last forever.
But it didn’t.
Those four years flew by.
Next thing I knew, I was leaving school early after my final college game to join the Binghamton Senators in the American Hockey League.
And when I look back now, what blows my mind isn’t just how fast it went…
…it’s the transformation.
From a freshman who didn’t dress for the first six games…
To a senior wearing the C.
What changed?
You already know the formula.
Get a little bit better every single day.
Work harder than everyone else.
Go the extra mile in everything you do.
Those small improvements stack up.
But here’s what I didn’t fully understand back then…
Belief.
I believed in myself… but only about 80%.
I let that other 20% get filled with doubt, fear, and negative voices.
And that gap matters.
It wasn’t until halfway through my pro career that I made the shift to 100% belief.
Constant positive self-talk.
Relentless action on and off the ice.
Doing the extra work, every single day.
When belief and action finally lined up…
That’s when everything changed.
That’s when I made it to the NHL.
And now, sitting here at 44, I look back on that entire journey…
…and it feels like it happened in a blink.
A decade gone.
Just like that.
And if I’m being honest?
Part of me wishes I could go back and do it again.
But you don’t get that chance.
You get one run at this.
One window to chase your hockey dream.
And the truth is…
Most people won’t make it.
Not because they can’t.
But because somewhere along the way, they stop believing.
They stop doing the little things.
They lose faith.
So if you’re in it right now…
Or if you’re a parent watching your kid chase it…
Don’t miss it.
Embrace every moment of the climb.
Because one day, it’s over.
And all that’s left are the memories…
The wins.
The losses.
The regrets… or the lack of them.
If I could go back, I’d do one thing differently:
I’d play with zero regret.
I’d treat every practice, every game, every shift like it mattered—because it does.
That’s how you grab hold of the dream.
You don’t wait.
You don’t hesitate.
You don’t half-believe.
You go all in.
Because faith isn’t seeing it happen…
It’s knowing it’s already yours.
And when you combine that kind of belief…
With the mindset of someone who refuses to quit…
Who does the extra work…
Who shows up every single day…
That’s when something special happens.
That’s when dreams become real.
Now go grab it.
— Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, Writer for Wraparound
P.S. If you’re serious about going the extra mile, you need the right tools. Wraparound makes some of the best off-ice training gear in the world to help you put in the extra work when no one’s watching—and that’s where real players are built.