The Longest 3 Days of the Year
It’s upon us yet again, my favorite time of the year…..Nationals! It’s the Christmas of Roller Hockey really, the next month will showcase three great events and we have the privilege of being able to kick things off in Aston, Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon.
It always amazes me how quickly the year flies by, it seems like just yesterday we were trekking through the snow to get to HotShots for the 2014 Winter Cup and now we are just 72 hours away from the first puck drop of the Championships. For as quick as the year goes by these next few days will seem as long as the last 7 months. The anticipation for the event kills me every year, and this year seems worse than ever. Our team has worked harder than ever this season to really deliver amazing events weekend after weekend, and I am sure if you are reading this that you have experienced a difference this year. This is the second year of our merger with Joe and the 2Hot4Ice team, and as with any merger it takes a little time to get to where you really want to be as a company. I can honestly say that we can see that getting closer and closer every day, and for each and every team, coach, player and parent playing in Aston, you will get a taste of that over the next two weeks!
To be honest though with all of the great things that we have put together for this year the thing that I still look forward to the most isn’t innovative ideas or the amazing hockey that we will see for 10 straight days, it’s the people. The majority of my great friends have been built through roller hockey, and each and every year I get to spend some time with them, and I also get to build new relationships. There are so many amazing people in our sport, and merging with Joe has given me the chance to meet people like Jerry Fecteau and Tim Harrington who both go above and beyond for their programs! I am looking forward to getting to know some new faces this year, and please if you see me running around Ice Works grab me and let’s chat for a few minutes.
Now there’s the staff….my second family! You really can’t say enough about everyone here at T2H4I. It may sound like I’m drinking the Kool-Aid (like a typical Detroit Lions fan), but I can tell you that from the top down in this company we are all in this business because we love it and want to see the sport grow. When you talk to Ron and Joe, our two leaders, you hear the passion that they have for the game. They are both always available at the rink, and I highly recommend that you connect with them for a few minutes. Having leaders that are visible and willing to talk about the good and the bad with any customer is rare in business, and we have that at T2H4I. George Brown…..is there a more recognized and loved guy in the entire sport? I hired George over 10 years ago at TORHS America, and I can say with confidence it was the best move I made. He brings something to the table that no other event has, he’s the best at what he does and is truly a great human being. Do me a favor and try to convince him to sing the National Anthem before your championship games, trust me it will give you goose bumps! Mike “Willie” Bell will be around for most of the tournament, so if you need a quick laugh please go chat with him. You’ll also see Rob Coggin (Referee Chief), Dave McNeil (Tournament Director) and Kyle O’Kane (Tournament Director) throughout the event. They are all great guys with some deep roots in roller hockey. I would highly recommend getting a minute or two with each of them and picking their brains.
Well, I am done rambling for this morning I just felt the need to write a little pre-game blog to get everyone even more pumped up for what is going to be an amazing event start to finish! I hope that you all have a great rest of the week, travel safe, and I’ll see you at Ice Works!!!!!