Last night I went to watch one of my friends play in his adult league ice hockey game. He’s really talented as a player. Yes, he’ll never play pro, but he definitely can hold his own on the ice. It’s one of 2-3 he’s playing on this summer as he keeps active in a sport he loves.
Unfortunately, last night his team was down a few players. Summer travel, work obligations, sickness, or injury can prevent a teammate from making the game. So the total team was 8 players last night instead of the normal 10-11. This meant a lot more ice time and a lot less rest time for each player. For the first two periods, this wasn’t too bad. The score remained tied for quite some time and the teams were equally matched.
Towards the end of the second period and for much of the third, the lack of rest became evident on the scoreboard. My friend’s team, while definitely skilled, just couldn’t quite keep up with a more rested team that outnumbered them by 3-4 players.They lost the game and now found itself tied for first with the team on the other side of the ice.
So why am I writing about ice hockey in the middle of the summer?
Because we all need to prepare for the third period. Summertime is a great time for us to prepare for our leadership involvement. We plan projects and events. We consider marketing and promotion.
But are we considering the future of our organization as well?
As talented and skilled as we may be, we can’t make it through the full year on our own. We need to be able to have some room in the tank. We need to have a full “bench” of players ready to hop on that “ice” and help us serve.
So as you plan for this year, plan for the FULL year, and also consider your recruitment, training, and empowerment of your current and future roster of organizational leaders.
After the game I grabbed a bite with my friend and chatted about the game. He was disappointed by the loss. He knew the other team was good, but that his team didn’t quite play its best simply due to the reduced roster. His team will likely face the other squad later in the season–next time hopefully with the full set of players, and the ability for everyone to play not just with all of their energy, but with the best version of that energy for all three periods of play.
That’ll be a hockey game I want to watch.
That’d also be a leadership year I’d love to see.
Go make it happen.