My name is Vladimir Polkovnikov. I am a professional hockey player and coach. I don’t measure my life in years, but in hockey seasons — from practice to practice, from game to game. This season marks my fifty-second. Hockey has been with me all my life: first as a goaltender, later as a coach.
The most important lesson this sport teaches is responsibility. You can stop pucks, read plays and enjoy the game — but true mastery begins only when you understand that every movement you make affects the entire team, and that as the last line of defense you have no right to make a mistake.
When I work with children, I try to teach them responsibility step by step: for their equipment, for their attitude toward training, for their team. What truly matters is how they can look their teammates, their coach, their parents — and themselves — in the eyes after a game, knowing they have done everything they could.
To my goaltenders I always say: you must work on yourself constantly. Just as musicians spend hours training their fingers, a goalie must build strong legs, flexibility, soft “cat-like” hands, quick reactions and unwavering concentration. Watch hockey, learn from the masters, analyze, and search for your own style — perhaps you will one day create something new.
Hockey is one of the best things that can happen to us. At first you choose this sport — with or without your parents’ help. You work hard, fall, rise again, endure pain, sacrifice time or something else. And then, suddenly, you realize that hockey has chosen you; that you can no longer live without the shining ice, the sound of pucks hitting the boards, the roar of the stands, and your teammates. That is real happiness.
Don’t miss that moment. Think, take responsibility, train — and keep getting better.
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