THE DOWNWARD SLOPE
/hanging in there but with a little less swagger
A moment arrives for any athlete, professional or beer leaguers like us, where it becomes inevitable: we find ourselves on the downward slope. Many do not notice it, they make themselves believe they still got it. Many do not see it coming at all. Others are fully aware of it. Others are wondering. And you, are you on the downward slope boys?!?
I guess we always say we're at least as good as last year. And last year, we were probably as good as the year before. And so on. To think like that, we are the same player, the same goalie in my case as 15 years ago. It's probably not true. But hey I took a quick look and 15 years ago in 2002-2003, in my 2nd season in the Elite league, a cousinleague of the LFA, I had an average of 3.81. Technically my worst season in life. Am I like a good wine ? Better with time? At the dawn of my 40th birthday, I doubt it. I must be logical after all, if I was 15 years younger in 2002, most of you too, dear opponents. So the game had to be faster. I say 'had' because I have no memory. Still, you watch your career go by, you look at the annual stats, think about what you can remember from games and you think that overall, it looks pretty stable. But again, is it a smoke screen? Am I on the downhill slope more than I think and I do not notice it? On the verge of withering as a hockey player abruptly, I don't want to think about when I will be unfit to play in front of my net, but I do and it kills me seeing I love this game so mutch.
I took a good little beer with my great friend Chris Trudeau last Friday. I told him about the downward slope. It seems that he, unlike me, is part of the lucid and not the dreamers. Because I sometimes think that we can stand up to a team filled with 25-year-old as we did about 10 years ago, every time we went to play in a tournament.By the look of Chris's face, I guess not. And even though I have no memory, I do remember a few recent tournament games where we looked like the RBO Blind Hockey Club (french canadien Monty Python if you whish). We did not need eyes, we just did not touch the puck. But I still dream...... Chris in his case is part of the negatives and not really the lucids. These negatives who see themselves worse than they are but that's between him and me. In short, Chris thinks he as lost some skills (always according to him ....) With time he decided to turn into a defensive player which he as done well and with a certain pride. Some will even say that he has become a better hockey player because of his new approach.
And you, are you on the downward slope or not? Aging all together and thus slowing down all together undoubtedly diminishes our respective speed and skill losses, but does this experience that we earn year after year make us better players, or not? I am not too sure of the answer. We are probably smarter players than 10 or 15 years ago. More respectful of our sport and more grateful too. To perform well takes more effort now but I still enjoy my sport and my position today as 15 years ago, probably even more.
But just a thing please: When you see me start loosing it barrelling downhill like I'm on a bobsleigh, do not tell me. I prefer to dream a little longer.
Francis Roy
(Member of la Ligue Elite)
