The Fountain of Youth Is the Frozen Pond

"Don't retire until they tear the sweater off your back." ~ Bobby Clarke

By Melissa Walsh

Picture it: age 50-plus guys, some who've played hockey together since childhood, enjoying some "pops" following a tournament or league game. They're sharing stories of battles won or lost, a history of hockey tales ranging a timespan from over 40 years ago to an hour ago. They're laughing, smiling, joking. As they celebrate the game and endure aching knees, hips, shoulders, or backs, they feel a healing, magical energy derived only from competing hard as part of a hockey fraternity.

I began playing hockey in my early 40s, and as a result have felt incredibly energized, empowered, and youthful. For me, taking up the game relatively late in life was like a rebirth. I gained a new chance to grow skills and to compete, striving to become a hockey star. I've been blessed with fresh dreams and vibrant fun with my teammates and the wonderful senior women's hockey sisterhood.

As I witness my sons' enjoyment of the hockey game and its inherent will-to-win challenge, I fully understand the worth of playing the game at any level and at any age ~ the value of playing hockey is priceless. The end of my "investment" of time and money in my sons' youth-hockey journey is not landing a scholarship or pursuing a pro playing career; it is the chance to be forever young.

As my boyfriend's number-one fan, I've had the pleasure of being a spectator at Over-50 Tier-1 Senior Men's competitions, including the CARHA World Cup and the USA Hockey Senior Men's Nationals. Impressive. These seasoned men skate like early twenty-somethings, with sophisticated skills of hands and feet, sharp hockey-sense instincts, and effective man strength. They lose thirty years stepping onto the ice. And though their bodies may ache after each game, the ice preserves youth in their hearts.
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So there it is, the secret to staying young at heart. Play hockey. Keep playing. And don't let anyone tear the sweater off your back.

​© 2013 Melissa Walsh