As winter sports come to an end, our small high school hockey team’s season has come to an end. In their final season, the Northern Edge skated with a lot of determination. After another high scoring game in the last minutes of the last game, the seniors knew this was their last effort. No matter the score or the outcome, they would go out and give it their all one last time.

Each game became increasingly emotional as the final buzzer sounded, flashbacks of all the winter months going by. The cheering of parents, the cold rink, and the sound of skating fellow teammates up and down the ice, it all made the bond between us over the years stronger. 

The bittersweet reality of our senior season ending is that it was time to hang up the skates, and it hit me hard as I stepped onto the bus. Even though I put in the work at every practice and never missed a game, the regret still lingered as I rode the bus home knowing that I could have pushed myself to better improve our season. Instead of working to improve my skills, I feel like I wasted my talent. I tried to rely on my natural ability alone, but as the season went on I knew it wasn’t enough. I stood on the ice as I realized the true cost of my actions.

Even though my season was over, the memories I had made would be with me forever.