To us sport and being active is a part of life, things would be dull without it. This past weekend my lil cousin played for his elite hockey team. They are like a bunch of mini NHL’s flying around out there, it’s incredible to watch! Even my gramps, that has played coached and watched hockey his entire life is amazed at how well they play at 9 years old.

It was definitely exciting hockey and when someone we’re related to plays we all get pretty amped up! (Who am I kidding; we don’t have to be related to them at all lol) Once we’re amped up, we all start griping over whose sport is better or tougher. Or if being great at one sport is better than being good at a lot.

It’s never good enough to talk about it, we always have to say “prove it”, followed by an inevitable “let’s race” or “best 2 out of 3”. This time somehow the deciding game came down to tennis..I’m not sure how, being that none of us play tennis normally..(maybe that’s why).

The first day the boys battled it out for a couple hours at the public outdoor courts. Then on day 2 (yes, there is a day 2, it’s ok you can call us ridiculous if you want) we all packed up and went to the courts for a final show down.

We brought a football and a soccer ball and spent the whole afternoon at the park all together. It sounds sappy, but it was awesome. At the end of the day I’m not even sure who was crowned the champ..Each person would probably tell you it was them. Haha

The moral of my little story is that it’s good to get out and run around, play, and be active no matter how old you are. It doesn’t really matter what you’re motivation is. For us it was the competitive spirit, which can be a really amazing force.

Look at the World Cup, people from all over the world are coming together.  A few of them come to actually compete as world class athletes. Most come to cheer and be entertained by the competition both in person and all around the globe.

Check out some of the world cup soccer, maybe it will be your latest inspiration!

Find what motivates you to be active, and remember your way more likely to be active when you’re having fun!

Let me know what gets and keeps you active in the comments below!

Kenji

I will totally admit to highly enjoying figure skating, of all types. Those people are athletes for sure. Patrick Chan is just a darling; he recovered so well from his not so great first performance. His free skate was beautiful and he finished top ten. I’m sure he’ll back for 2014, plus, what a role model. He stumbled but he got back out there and made himself and Canada proud.

In Ice Dancing, Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir couldn’t have scripted a better result to their Olympics. They have the perfect back story, of being paired up as little kids. They skated with intensity, drive and passion to position themselves at the top going into the final skate. Fully aware of insane pressure the entire country was putting on them. They glided flawlessly through their final routine all the way to a well deserved gold medal.

The best part was Scott’s reaction. He looked like an over dressed hockey player up on the podium. So amped to have won, veins were popping out of his neck! It was great, they were both so happy. They worked for it and appreciated it. Once again, not a bad road map to try and follow for up and comers.

Hockey has been decent, and I’m excited for the game in a couple hours but.. the most exciting thing for me to watch for sure has been Long Track Speed Skating.

One of my bestest friends in the whole world is a speed skater. She skated with Saskatchewan’s own Lucas Makowsky for years. So he is a friend of a friend (yes, I have actually hung out with him in real life, it was a long time ago ..but still)! I remember hearing tales of competitions and practices, and thinking how tough and brave my friend is for excelling at such an intense sport. Now her friend (mine by extension) is at the Olympics! How crazy is that! He has done extremely well in all of his events! I made sure all my neighbors new by cheering way, way too loud at my TV haha. Congrats Lucas.

There is the potential for me to ramble for days about what I know, and enjoyed about every event. Instead I’ll just extend a congrats to all the athletes and a bravo to the medalists. You’ve all been a joy to watch and cheer on.