The One Rink: by Quinn Eatinger

The One Rink

My home-

All senses can relate to

An indoor winter day.

Sight, sound, smell,

touch and taste-

they all sense

cold, clean-cut winter.

Then

the blade from the foot-

firmly attached

steps onto this wonderland,

and cuts through the ice

as cleanly as a knife through soft butter.

Many, many more blades come

slicing through the doors,

skating faster and faster

with the rising excitement.

Then

through the sound of splitting ice

comes the familiar whistle

that signals the group of skaters together

to learn a new drill.

The whistleblowers are coaches,

that support and teach the team

to help them get better.

There are others

who drive a man made machine

to fill the cracks in the ice with water

to freeze over into a fresh sheet

of ice.

This-

is down a ways from the intersection

West and Madison,

Northwest from the city of

Chicago.

Surrounding it is Pete’s Fresh Market grocery store

and ironically, McDonald’s.

Along with Chicago Pawners

and the freight train tracks

blocking most of the sun

when the trains pass slowly

like the beginner skaters

who are learning to skate

and handle the puck, slowly.

Off and on the ice

are disagreements

on the slightest things,

making the two on

thinner

and thinner ice.

Something is also being repeatedly

done wrong during the drill,

and coaches start to yell

at what has to be done right.

Practice makes perfect.

That’s what we all came here for.

To learn from mistakes

and achieve goals.

10 pm.

Saturday night.

You can hear the announcer

Speaking faster and faster

with the growing excitement

of a player deeking past the defense,

heading towards the goalie

on a breakaway.

“OH! And she’s heading down to the goaltender

eyes wild with excitement and fury.

She fakes a shot!

She shoots!

SHE SCORES!!”

The horn blares

as music starts to play

in celebration of the goal.

There was no way

she could have done this

without the coaches’ support.

Coach

Kent,

Andy,

Emily,

Bobby,

and the goalie who taught her

The weaknesses of every

goaltender-

Murphy.

Drills no one else would understand-

“Red to

blue to

far blue to

red to

goal line-

GO!”

Language only the ones there

only the goalies-

“Up-downs,

Track!

Snap!

Rotate load!

Push and Set!”

Courage is with the team,

but with it comes fear.

Fear that after all this practice,

time, effort,

would turn out a

loss of a game,

a tournament,

setting disappointment

to the crowd.

But all stay strong

no matter the outcome.

Pushing through negative thoughts.

Through the winter day.

They have hope

for a win,

a goal,

a great save,

trophies,

medals,

plaques and

banners.

I am apart of this team,

and this is

my home.