Allsports Most Embarrassing Sports on the Web Moment

When I was just a wee lad of about seven or eight, I decided that I really wanted to play hockey. My parents obliged with my wishes and I was enrolled in house league hockey where we lived at the time in Port Credit Ontario. You played half ice and the buzzer went every three minutes to indicate a line change.

There was one problem with playing, I had never skated with tube skates before and only had been on the ice once previously with bob skates on. For those of you unfamiliar with bob skates, they strapped onto your boots and had four small blades, two at the front and two at the back. So really I had never skated before. But how hard could it be right? I was determined to fly down the wing just like Bobby Hull.

So here we are for out first big game. The coach asks me if I would like to go out and take the faceoff, me being an aggressive kid said sure no problem.  Well I go out the gate to take the faceoff and fall flat on my behind in front of the bench, lol. I looked like Johnny Weissmuller doing the breast stroke.

The coach seeing that I was in trouble, jumps off the bench and carry’s me under his arm to the faceoff circle, to his credit he managed to keep a straight face while doing so. I took the draw and then stood around for the full three minutes afraid to move a muscle for fear of falling on my ass again. When the buzzer went, the coach jumped back on the ice and retrieved me and carried me back to the bench. As the game progressed I did manage to move around a bit but my visions of being the next Bobby Hull were shattered forever.

I did manage to play at some higher levels of hockey as I got older, but it was more through grit and determination. My skating ability or lack thereof was always the weakest point of my game.

“No Guts No Glory”

Walt Webb

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