Student Athlete Guide: The Final Buzzer

Posted on March 29, 2016
by Lizzy Marks

You are never going to be prepared when the final buzzer rings. No matter how many articles you read, how many naysayers state their opinions to you, or how many teammates you have watched go through this process, when the clock hits zero on your final game of your athletic career, your whole world becomes still.

On Saturday March 5th 2016, my athletic career came to a close. Upon returning to the locker room the mood was sombre amongst my teammates. I kept my head low and didn’t utter a word, I was scared of what emotion would escape out of me and even more fearful that I would become too overwhelmed if I tried to talk. I physically started to shake trying to contain the emotion that I was feeling. When Coach Dillon came in and started talking, I was only registering bits and pieces of what she was saying, all I was thinking was “This is it. After 18 years involved in competitive sports, I am done.”

As I composed myself enough to glance around the room, my eyes fell upon my fellow senior teammates and that’s when it dawned on me. I was being selfish. I was being selfish in the sense that I was pitying myself, thinking that this is just about me and what I am feeling. I didn’t realize that those who have been by my side the past four years are dealing with this same fate. Regardless if we are are experiencing this on different levels of the emotional spectrum, this is all about us. The four of us are now in our own boat.

Class of 2016 (From left to right) Jayme McCreary, Lizzy Marks, Bailee Goodon, Tori Trovato

So when coaches asked if the seniors wanted to talk, I for one didn’t want to. But again I was resorting back to what I felt and not what my senior teammates might need to hear. So I swallowed the lump in my throat and I spoke. I talked about how the coaching staff sent the seniors an article before we started our playoff run, by Harvard Senior, Ice Hockey Captain, Jimmy Vesey. In the article Vesey talked about how he declined to go up to the NHL with the Nashville Predators at the conclusion of his Junior season so that he could finish out his college career. Vesey emphasized the honor and pure ecstasy you get to be able to play for your college, but more importantly that there are no trades in college, or kids playing for the next contract deal. In college you simply just play for the school but more importantly you play for each other. Ultimately Vesey’s message was to remind every athlete and especially ever senior, the difference these past four years make on your life.

As the coaches left the team returned to their routines of getting their bags packed up, meeting up with parents, and showering up. All the seniors stayed in full equipment for what seemed like hours, nobody dared to move. I think we all just wanted to sit in our uniforms for just one moment longer. Teammates would pass us and exchanged a sympathetic look, in which we are grateful for but you can’t help but notice the look in their eyes in terms of “I am glad it’s not my time yet.”

By the time I found my parents I could tell that this was just as tough for them as it was for me. I let myself be embraced by their arms. I am the youngest of three in my family and all of my siblings were involved in sports. The past 25 years my parents have been the the biggest sports fans to my siblings and I. All that our family has known in our lives is being involved with sports. So just like myself, my parents are also in a new discovery phase of their life and the big question of what next?

I’m not going to lie when I tell you that the next few weeks are going to be easy, hell the next couple months until graduation are are frankly going to be brutal. All your life you have known the person that you are with competitive sports. Being an athlete on a team, that’s bigger than yourself and means something special. You now enter a complete unknown of who you are without sports, it’s a rediscovery phase that is going to be a process. Yes there are adult leagues that you can play in, and you can still play the sport that you love, but the lifestyle is completely different.

When I was having a rough day I called up my dad. He told me that it’s okay to feel sad, and be angry with reality but to not lose touch with who you are. I asked him how could I possibly do that if who I am is being an athlete? It wasn’t until I was typing up this blog when I realized what he was trying to say to me. Hockey is who I am yes. It’s a beautiful piece in what makes up me. But it’s just one piece. I now have the opportunity to build up the other pieces that I am composed of that I couldn’t have before, I now have the chance to discover and learn new things about myself. To go on this new adventure of life with a new sense of purpose.

So when that final buzzer sounds, and the clock ticks away its last second, don’t be afraid to be engulfed by the emotion because what you have accomplished in your athletic career is now a beautiful piece of you.

Student-Athlete Guide: Superstitions

Posted on October 9, 2015
by Lizzy Marks

Superstition, Noun- a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief. You wanna see superstitions in action all you have to do is walk into any locker-room before a game and simply observe. These observations will reveal that some players have a routine that brings them comfort and others that boarder the line of insanity.

I border the line of insanity.

In my defense I think I get my superstitious habits from my mother. Stuff like that is hereditary right? I believe that there is nothing wrong with having superstitions when it comes to sports. I feel that it helps focus you into the game and finding a routine that gets you ready to play. I can tell you at exactly what time a player will be doing something on our team. Whether it is eating a certain food, talking to a certain person, or stretching in a different location, it is very easy to pick up on other teammates habits.

I am not going to explain all my superstitions to you because I would like to remain as a sane person in your eyes but when it comes to my superstitions I like to incorporate other people. I play soccer with one teammate, have a bite to eat with another one, and have handshakes with about half my team. But the thing about incorporating someone else into your routine is that it builds a sense of trust. I find comfort in my routine I also find comfort in regards to being around the person I do that routine with. If you are comfortable with someone that builds trust and trust in someone translates out into a game situation.

It’s when people get so obsessed with completing their routine is when things can get out of hand, and it can hinder your performance. For example let’s say your bus is running late to get you to an away game, which causes your pregame warm-up to be sped up. Are you going to be the type of player that lets the chaos of not being able to do your routine get to you, to the point of that’s all you think about during the game. Or are you going to be the type of player to adapt to the chaos and shift you’re routine to make things work.

I know of some coaches who are well aware of how a routine brings their players comfort. But in life and especially in sports you can never except to always be comfortable… that’s too boring. So these coaches will sometimes purposely mess up a game day routine to make their players adapt and learn how to deal with chaos.

That’s all sports is, is controlled chaos. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me that athletes look to build a routine that becomes superstitions to find that sense of comfort. However there needs to be a give and take relationship with those superstitions.

Members of the 2013 Oswego State Women’s Ice Hockey Team participate in a soccer pregame tradition. The same tradition continues today in 2015.

Student Athlete Guide: When It’s Over

Posted on March 26, 2015
by Lizzy Marks

They say all good things must come to an end, but that is the last thing any athlete ever wants to hear. However every year all student-athletes have to deal with the closure of their seasons and finish that chapter of their athletic career. No matter how well you team did or did not preform there are always some mixed emotions about a season coming to an end. As off season begins athletes often find themselves as deer in the headlights. The reason I say this is because between all the practices, games, workouts, and school work that needs to be done rarely do you ever have any free time. When season ends, so does the routine you built and all of a sudden you have all this time on your hands that you don’t know how to occupy.

Don’t get me wrong having free time to yourself is an amazing thing but you need to remember that as a student-athlete you still have a job to do for not only your school but also your team and that is being prepared when season rolls around next year. So when that last buzzer goes off, here are three things to remember when you begin your off-season.

1) Take Time Off

When your season ends do yourself and your body a favor and take some time off. By the time season is over you are so mentally and physically drained that it is all going to catch up with you and you will feel completely exhausted. This is the time where you can eat all the ice cream your heart desires, see how many Netflix episodes you can watch in one night, sleep till noon, and just be lazy.

You will notice that some of your teammates might take a different approach and immediately jump back into training mode. That could be their way of dealing with their end of season depression but by taking time off you give yourself the opportunity to regroup. You can sit back and evaluate your own personal experience of your season. Think about the pros and cons and what you want to get better at for next year. After figuring all of this out you can set new goals for yourself that you will benefit from.

2) Find A Hobby

When season ends new door opens for you to follow your other passions and you have the chance to participate in clubs and organizations on campus. Find what you are interested in and go after it. It is crazy how many people I know that have benefited from finding a hobby in their off season. From landing an awesome internship, to kicking butt in intramural sports, to getting involved in the community, the opportunities are endless.

A teammate of mine loves music and in the off season she taught herself how to mix music together. Now she is our team’s resident DJ and has landed some job opportunities out of it. She did all of this by finding a hobby she enjoyed. If you are having trouble trying to figure out what to do grab your teammates and start an intramural team, do a fundraiser or simply just hang out.

*Our warm-up mix this year made by our resident DJ Jayme “Jay-Birdy” McCreary. Give it a listen and check out her other mixes*

https://soundcloud.com/jaymccrey/oswego-state-hockey-warm-up-2014-2015

3) Get Back To Work

Once you have regroup and took some well deserved time off, it is time to get back to work. A student-athlete’s job is never done and championships are won in the off season. Like I said earlier make goals for yourself and set your standards high to achieve those goals. Even if you only have time for just a 30 minute workout you still striving to get better. Push yourself physically in the off-season and the results will come.

So grab a teammate and get after it! You only have 4 years in your athletic career so make the most of it and leave no regrets when it comes to doing what it takes to be successful.

The Women’s Ice Hockey Team Celebrates Their Senior Day