Thunder Bay to Trois Rivieres, Windsor to Waterloo. These are just a few of the many stops on what seems to be an endless list of stops on the road to an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship.
For the Varsity Blues hockey player, life on the road is not always the most enjoyable part of being an athlete. Long hours on the bus, in the hotels, at the restaurants, and at the rinks, make road trips quite an inconvenience sometimes. In the end, however, the rush of adrenaline that comes with stepping on the ice makes it all worth it.
The transportation is by bus, not jets; the hotels are three-star, not five; and the restaurants don’t usually serve filet mignon. Considering hockey players at the University of Toronto don’t get paid, It seems like quite a sacrifice.
Dealing with rides is truly a testament to commitment and passion that these players have for the game. Students choose to play hockey, although the lifestyle may seem cumbersome, because they love it. For many of them, their biggest fear in life is not being able to play the game they grew up with.
Those long bus trips don’t warrant a break from homework by any means. Essays still need to be written, chapters read, and notes taken. It is actually surprising how difficult it is to try and write or takes notes on a bus rumbling down the 401 at 100 km/h.
Try reading a chapter of an Anthropology textbook on a 40 foot speeding sardine can with 30 other guys each talking about their week or a Bruce Willis movie on the television, with your only source of light being the small reading lights above you. Then add the air conditioning on full blast in the middle of January.
Yet these players all must maintain a minimum 60% average in order to be eligible to play, along with taking at least a three credit course load. The University does not make any concessions to student athletes.
Varsity hockey players are students first and athletes second.
Living life out of a suitcase for a weekend wouldn’t be so bad if one were on vacation in Tahiti or some other tropical paradise. For hockey players, road trips are far from holidays.
For the most part, the hotel rooms are pretty good. Three guys per room is the norm, with one person on a cot. The majority of the men on the hockey team are bigger than average, while the majority of cots in the hotels are not. Picture that scenario-a 6’2″, 215lbs defenseman on a 5’6″ cot. Not a pretty site.
Last but not least in this nomadic existence is the food. On the road, Blues hockey players are afforded a steady diet of pasta and chicken.
Continental breakfasts are also staples. Scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages, and toast. It is definitely not an a la carte menu that they order from, but it beats mini pizzas and grilled cheese.
Pizza is the preferred after game nourishment on the bus ride back home. Sometimes the pizza is good, sometimes it isn’t; but one thing it always is, is gone. It seems like hockey players will eat anything when they’re hungry.
This all may sound pretty negative to those who haven’t had the opportunity to play a varsity sport at U of T, but there are many positive points to road trips as well. The most important plus to road trips is the team camaraderie. Eight hours together on a bus, every meal eaten together, and almost every waking hour spent together has a funny way of bringing people together. Although this may not be the most pleasant situation to be in, the guys find comfort in the fact that they have 25 other guys who are experiencing the same thing with them.
Life on the road very quickly changes from being 25 guys living separate and isolated lives to one cohesive unit, one big family, one rugged army marching into battle. That team unity gives each player confidence in their teammates, and the knowledge that they can depend on the guy next to them when push comes to shove.
So the next time you read in the paper about million dollar athletes caught up arguing over dollars and cents, remember that there are athletes right at your own University that give all they have for the love of their sport. Instead of paying upwards of $100 for a ticket, remember that students can see Blues hockey for free.
