Sports

What sport means to me

For thirteen years, the rink was my second home. I grew up on early-morning ice, long bus rides to tournaments, and a locker room that felt like family. I won championships, lost games that still sting, and came back from injuries that tested whether I really wanted it. I don’t play hockey competitively anymore, but sport is still part of every day. I run daily, lift regularly, play pickup basketball with friends, ski cross-country in the winter, ride my bike, and still lace up for a weekend amateur game when I can. Recently I ran a 10K in 41 minutes and finished my first marathon. For me, sport isn’t something I watch from the outside. It’s how I think, how I recharge, and how I measure myself.

What it taught me

Hockey taught me discipline long before I knew the word for it. It meant showing up to practice when I was exhausted and doing the drill one more time when nobody was counting. It taught me that no one wins alone. The best players make the people around them better, and a team is only as strong as its willingness to trust each other. Most of all, it taught me to keep going when things get hard: through a bad shift, a losing season, or months of rehab. Those lessons carried straight into the marathon, where the last ten kilometers are a conversation between your legs and your stubbornness. They carry into my studies and my work too, where deadlines, pressure, and collaboration feel familiar.

How it helps when I film athletes

When I’m behind a camera at a game or a training session, I know what I’m looking at. I can read the play, so I’m usually where the action is going before it gets there. I know the moments worth catching: the grimace in the final rep, the glance between teammates before a faceoff, the quiet after a loss. I’ve lived those moments, so I recognize them and treat them with respect. Athletes can tell when someone understands what they go through, and that trust gets me closer and more honest footage. It also helps that I can keep up. Whether I’m running the sideline, hauling gear through a freezing rink, or following a cyclist on a long climb, I can match the pace of the people I’m filming. My goal is to tell sports stories from the inside, the way they actually feel.