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	We realize that we've already addressed the issue of adversity on PlayYourGame.com and often in discussions with our many visitors. However, as players, dealing with adversity is so prevalent in the game of hockey that we wanted to touch on the issue once again. Growing up as younger hockey players, we're relatively guaranteed a spot on the teams that we tryout for, and at the same time, we're given a reasonable amount of ice time. As we get older and we begin to tryout for rep teams, traveling teams, and Jr. and College, we are then exposed to the reality of fierce competition. For the first time in our careers, we will experience what it is like to be cut. In other cases, players will make the teams they tryout for but will find that their roles have diminished from that of minor hockey. At the Jr. and Professional level, many players will experience being traded or possibly waived. These are all issues that the majority of hockey players will face at some point in their careers, and unfortunately for many, these are issues that many of us take to heart and deal with poorly. Do you need to hear some examples? For one, I didn't play my first full year of Jr. until I was 20 years old. Since then, I've been able to play college, professionally in Europe, and for five years professionally in North America. I tell you my story not because I think I'm special, but because my story really isn't that unique. I tell you it because when I was 17 and was cut from Tier II Jr. A, it was almost the end of my career. I contemplated quitting, because I took the rejection to heart and really began to doubt my ability. It was this doubt that directly began to affect my desire to play. Since that time, I've been cut at the professional level but have landed on my feet and am proud to say that for seven years, I was able to compete at what I truly loved to do, which was to play hockey at the professional level . I've seen good players that have been traded and cut. I've seen players who have rode the bench when they unquestionably had the talent to play a regular shift. I've seen some of these players leave the game because of the adversity they were facing and to this day regret their decisions. There are others who believed in their skills and continued to work to improve. I am happy to say that all have gone on to rebound from whatever disappointment they had previously been facing. The point is this: You'll know in your heart and mind when you're ready to leave the game of hockey. What we're here to tell you is to make sure that it's on your terms and you're decision is based on your own feelings. You're going to experience things in your career that will truly frustrate and discourage you if you allow them to. It's possible that you'll get cut from a team that you feel you should of made. Maybe you'll have a coach that doesn't believe in you and in turn doesn't play you as much as they should. Whatever it is, we encourage you to really try to learn and grow from your experiences. We acknowledge that it's not easy to do, but in the long run, your ability to grow as a player will play a big part in your success. Remember to believe in yourself in the good times and in the bad, and when you're faced with adversity, you'll recognize it for the small bump in the road that it is.
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