The good old days are happening right now.
One day you'll miss this.
Not the championships.
Not the trophies.
Not even the goals.
You'll miss this. The moment.
You'll miss the driveway.
You'll miss the shooting pad in the garage.
You'll miss the sound of a puck hitting the boards in the backyard.
You'll miss the summer evenings when the sun didn't seem to set until 9 o'clock and all you wanted to do was take a few more shots before going inside.
When you're young, it's hard to understand this.
When you're in the middle of your hockey journey, you're always looking ahead.
You want to make the team.
You want more ice time.
You want to move up a level.
You want next season to get here.
But someday you'll look back and realize that these were the days.
The practices.
The workouts.
The driveway training sessions.
The moments when nobody was watching.
I know because that's exactly what happened to me.
I spent my entire childhood chasing the NHL dream.
Just picturing myself in that Red Wings sweater.
Then things got real.
I spent my teenage years chasing junior hockey.
Then I spent years chasing college hockey.
Then years chasing professional hockey.
I was always chasing the next thing.
And one day, just like that, it was over.
My playing career was finished.
The dream that had consumed my entire life was suddenly in the rearview mirror.
And do you know what I miss the most?
The chase.
I miss being a kid with a stick in my hands.
I miss believing that anything was possible.
I miss those quiet summer nights when I'd head outside and work on my game because I thought maybe, just maybe, all those extra shots would help me get there.
And you know what?
They did.
Not because every shot was magical.
Not because every workout transformed me.
But because all those little moments added up.
Day after day.
Summer after summer.
Year after year.
That's how dreams are built.
So if you're a player reading this, enjoy the process.
And if you're a parent reading this, take a second and soak it all in.
Because one day you'll realize these weren't just hockey seasons.
These were the good old days.
And the beautiful thing is that you're living them right now.
Wraparound was built for those moments.
For the driveway.
For the garage.
For the backyard.
For the kid who wants to take just 100 more shots before dinner.
Enjoy the journey.
You'll miss it someday.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, writer for Wraparound
P.S. The players who improve the most this summer won't be the ones wishing for next season. They'll be the ones putting in the work today.
>>>Grab your Wraparound and make this summer count.
P.S.S. The legendary duo, Twig and Biscuit are back for another adventure, teaching young hockey players the fundamentals of our beautiful game.
>>>Check out the last book in the Twig and Biscuit series