Mental Health is Crucial – In Hockey, and in Life

.....Sometimes, the joy of hockey is overshadowed by the anguish that can take place in the real world. Sometimes, the competitive bubble of sport is blown apart by the unpredictable and the indefensible. 

And sadly, we saw an example this week of the fragility of life, when the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League suffered a double-blow in ways they could never have imagined.

We should want to continue to advocate for better mental health programs, and we should want to talk to each other and be there for each other. We should make as much help available to Bratislava as we can. And if the players there still feel like they can’t take the ice and play real games again, we have to allow them the space and time to get better.

If not – if we allow this issue to ebb away, with no follow-up and no determination to truly effect change – we’re virtually guaranteeing there’ll be more victims in the future. We have a chance to be the generation(s) that finally made mental health a high priority, and that takes care of those in severe mental pain. We need to make the most of our time on this planet and be as helpful as possible to those in need.....

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Bethany`s Notes: Sometimes we all need to grieve. Taking that time away with your team during something like this is critical. There is no right way to grieve yet it is important to give people time.