"Professional Athlete" - we're all in the quest for something

I've never seen an "indoor bandy rink" before in my life...ok, so I've really only seen maybe a dozen bandy rinks total in my life. For those of you who don't know how big a bandy rink is, imagine a soccer field. Yep - that's the size. Imagine flooding that with water, then enclosing a building around it. Quite massive and very impressive. I have finally seen an indoor rink; I must say it's awesome!

We were on our way to Edsbyn Sweden in the quest for the World Cup in Women's Bandy, 2008. Edsbyn is a town of about 5,000 people, and is ALL about bandy - even the Pizzeria is called "Pizzeria Bandy". AIK is a defending champion of the cup, so it's quite a big deal. The team this year has a lot of new players on it, so the tournament being this early in the season makes it quite challenging and can help define where the true talent lies - (there is no natural ice outside yet - heck, not really any artificial ice, so there is no way to really practice on the big rink, rather we go into a hockey rink and practice there). With such a new team, we really had to mesh together and understand everyone's role on the ice in order to be successful. Thanks to my friends on the team, they went over a few plays in a notebook with me on the van ride on the way there! whew - I learned some of the plays before I had to take the ice!
Upon our arrival, I was told that I'd be playing midfield in the first game against another Swedish team - wow! Um, yeah, ok! My legs were still sore from the training we did on Sunday the 19th - I REALLY pushed myself that day in our sprints. I realized that I was in "good enough" shape --- good enough to allow me to push myself, but not bad enough to tell me when to stop. That's a problem. Oh well, I laced up my skates and put on my new uniform and new number 9. (it's a 6 upside down, right?? ;) I love my #6, but this will do!) I took the ice for the first time to play a game of bandy as an AIK member; an awesome feeling went through my body as I took those first few strides...then a feeling of pain and disappointment came across me the first time I tried to push myself across the ice. Crap - those dang legs. Oh well - it's just the quads at this point, less likely to pull anything than if it were my hamstrings; I will survive. I made a few good plays during the game - ones that I can be proud of anyway - and then there were a few where I felt like "doh! I am showing my lack of experience on the ice!" My timing needs to improve, and I need to work on my defensive steering in addition to many other fundamentals...it will all come in time I'm sure - this is why I am here! We win the game and now it's time to head back to the "old school" where we are staying for the weekend. Game 1 is behind us, we have 4 more to go.
We arrive at this old schoolhouse where they have set up bunk beds, have a kitchen, and a little lounge for us. This old school has a Bandy museum in it! I can't believe all of the bandy stuff I see! I found this book among the many that talks of bandy in 1978 - what a great year! I saw many things like the first design of the bandy ball, which was more of a basket weave of material around some other materials. I saw some really old bandy sticks, skates that were like my dad's old hockey skates, and many old jerseys, awards, and memorabilia. Way cool! After we tour the school, we all grab a bunk, make our beds, then we head out as a team to do some grocery shopping. Then it was time to go back to the school to relax and hang out for the night of watching Swedish Idol, discussing the game we played and the days events ahead of us. Then it was lights out because we had an early game the next morning - 7:00 AM - and that game was against one of the better teams in Sweden - Sandviken AIK. Whew - I was going to sit that game because of my legs and the fact that we had so many extra players, someone had to sit! I watched our team play in that game and learned a lot just from watching the team. Such talented people, and I'm honored to be able to skate among them - another win! After the game, it's back to rest at the school, grab some food, rest some more, then take on our 2nd game at 5:30 - that game, I was skating again! I lace them up and hope for the best...my legs feel pretty good, but still not 100%. I did pretty well - about the same as the last game, but got frustrated that my legs didn't want to carry me like they normally do. We skate to yet another victory! We head to dinner after the game, back to the school, we do strategy sessions, play some Team Building (FUN!) games and off to bed! The next day was much like the first - we skate early in the morning for the Semi Final game and I get to skate again...but much to my dismay, my legs weren't having any of it. I laced them up, had a pretty good first half, but my legs just couldn't hang. I skated less in the 2nd half, and knew that I wouldn't be skating in the final match. I am ok with that though - I saw this as an opportunity to watch the 2 best teams in the tournament face eachother - a chance for me to watch from the stands and analyze the play!
Between our Semi Final match and Final match, the Men's World Cup had to come play in the indoor rink because the ice that they were skating on an hour north was too soft, the weather was too wet, and the winds were awful --- so, I got to see some elite athletes play bandy. Let me just say - their passes are harder than ANY of my shots will ever be! They are so incredibly fast and strong, it's almost super human! I was in awe at the skill and speed of the guys that were out there. I found out that the men in Sweden at that level (yes, pretty much the same level as the team I'm playing on) make enough money to live on! The men in Russia make VERY good money -more than a Swedish bandy player would. The only problem is that it's all men that get paid - not the women. Some day I imagine that will change - I hope I could be playing at that level when it does! :)
The final match was a nail biter! I sat in the stands as we started the game and felt pretty good when we were up 2-1, then 3-1 and holding as we played "Record" from Russia - basically the Women's National Team from Russia. 5 minutes left to go in the game and one of our better players gets her 2nd penalty of the game, resulting in a penalty shot (again!) Linda - our goalie had already stopped one of the penalty shots, but Russia has some excellent shooters, so it was nerve wrecking to see them take position for that shot and then they scored. A minute later, another penalty against us, and another penalty shot resulting in a goal - it's tied 3-3!!! UGH!!! Over time - 2, 5 minute Sudden Death periods, followed by a shoot out - Play goes on for 9 minutes, and then the skater from our team who had 2 penalties makes up for that time in the box and puts the game winner into the net! Whew! We just won the world cup in women's bandy, 2008!!! I didn't realize it, but the winner --- they receive a check for the team! wow! How cool is that?!?! So, technically, I got paid to play --- I will benefit from the win as it will go towards sticks, balls, etc, for the team expenses this year. How cool! After the match, I ran down to the team and I was handed the cup to hold onto...what an awesome feeling!

As I was holding the cup, I realized that this was only the beginning; the real competition is going to heat up during our season. I can't believe what lies before me - it's really starting to set in that "bandy season his here", and here I am on a team of elite athletes, we are all on the quest for winning a championship at the end of the season. There are many games and practices between now and then, but there is a common vision among the team members - to work together to achieve the goals WE have set as a team.

Looking back at the weekend, I realized how cohesive the team is. Everyone works together, and when we don't we fall apart on the ice a little bit, and the other team, if they stay together, will catch us when we are weak. It's important to stay together as a team, and AIK does a great job of it --- we played a team building game that brought us all a little closer, we did warm ups together and brought us closer together, we won our games as a team, bringing us closer together. Looking ahead, I see a lot of time together with my teammates - one of them is having a party this weekend that we'll go to - but then there is all of the practice time we have together too. It's going to be a lot of work, but it's going to also be a lot of fun...after all, looking at the feelings felt by winning a tournament so early in the season, it's going to be amazing to experience the quest to the final match where the final cup will be won. My quest started out just to live in Sweden and play bandy --- it's evolving to much more than that now; I will learn more culture, I will experience bandy at a level that I've never experienced it, and now, I'm meeting new people that are much more than teammates. Yep, this quest is just beginning --- I have started to ask myself - "what will you aim for after this???" I realize it's too early to ask that question right now --- I need to enjoy the rest of the ride on this journey first! We're all in a quest --- mine is to enjoy this adventure and enjoy the awards along the way!