You fall you learn (And boy did we learn a lot in those days)

Lesson one in Hollywood Hockey

The first time I lied to get a part I ended up learning to ride a horse on a narrow bridge over a 200 foot gorge. Everything went great till a sun flare spooked my horse and sent us both off on a wild ride at the end of which I did not learn my lesson. Years later, I was asked “if I played hockey,” during an audition.

Pfff. Did I play hockey? Of course I played hockey. On a basketball court in gym shoes with plastic sticks and like a rubber ball. How hard can doing that on ice be?

It turns out, pretty hard.

Looking at the way we all clung to the boards on day one of hockey camp, it’s fair to say I wasn’t the only ‘expert floor hockey player’ among the Original Mighty Ducks.

If I’m honest, the myth of my hockey prowess first started to crumble in the gear room. I simply didn’t know what piece of plastic armor went where. Or what order to put it all on. All I remember, was there was a lot of velcro, it was heavy, and I was exhausted even before I finished lacing my skates up. ¹

It would take a miracle worker to turn me into something even remotely resembling a historically bad hockey player.

Coach White was born with the one thing all good coaches need: a loud voice and an indefatigable spirit. If you have that, all you really need to do is get a matching track suit and buy a good whistle.