4 years.
On March 26, 2021, At Bridgeport, Connecticut.
My college hockey career ended with a loss against the Univ. of Massachusetts in the first round of the NCAA National Tournament. After the final whistle and returned to the locker room, I could not control my emotions and the tears were overflowing down my face.
Before I start writing this article, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting me for the past 4 years both on the ice and off the ice. In these 4 years, I experienced so many things. Sometimes I struggled and faced adversity when things didn't go well. However, I was able to keep stepping on, was able to move forward, and was able to keep trying even if I failed so many times. Why? Because there was always someone around me including you. You always supported and helped me. I could keep pushing myself because you always encouraged me. I can’t thank enough to all of you for what you have done for me in the past 4 years. I am sure, that I could not come to this point without your support. Thank you very much for the continuous support. I appreciate it.
If I Look back over the last 4 years in Lake State, There are so many great memories so it is hard to choose the moment. I learned lots of things. My college hockey career began with a one-year suspension due to the NCAA amateurism rules. I played 4 games in professional games in Czech. However, the penalty was reduced from 1-year suspension to a half-year, which was great news for me. But I broke my ankle during the practice right after the day I got that announcement. It took almost 3 months to get back on the ice and finally I made my debut on NCAA D1 hockey stage. In my sophomore year, I had no injuries and no suspension anymore so I was good to go. However, I could not get in the line-up and spent most of the season as the healthy-scratched player or 13th forward. During this time, I learned the importance of “Tenacity” to keep playing at this level. I worked hard, prepared for every practice, and found what I need to do to be a big part of the team. In my senior year, I made it to the regular roaster from the beginning of the season and also established the position that I can contribute to the team. It was the penalty killing and blocking the shot. And the senior year, We won 1000 total wins in laker hockey history, Won the WCHA championship, and played NCAA national tournament.
To be honest with you, when I was a freshman, I could not expect that we will win the WCHA titles in the future. We were maybe 57th-58th in the country out of 60 D1 schools. We could not even win 10 games in a season. However, we learned from these experiences and we made a new history when we became seniors. The “2021 WCHA Championship” banner will be hung up in the Taffy Able Arena forever. This is crazy. You will rarely have such an experience in your life. I am so proud of my classmates, teammates, alumni, coaches, and fans. This was not accomplished only by seniors, but by everyone. Alumni left us the legacy of laker hockey and all we received it and worked so hard to get better and better every day, to earn the honor. This is what people call “tradition,” I believe.
I would go back in time when I committed to going to Lake State, to tell myself like “Hey, you made a great decision.” I am so glad that I came to this school. I met best friends who shared so many good and bad memories together. Every single moment is special and cannot be substituted. I love my teammates and they all will be my lifetime friends.
Now I have finished my 4 years hockey career in Lake State and I have a lot of things to think about, But what surprised me the most was the words I received from fans and friends after we lost against Umass and our season was over.
I got so many messages such as “Thank you for being a laker!”, “Thank you for making me excited for the whole season!”, “Thank you for showing us the dream!”
There was also such a comment on Twitter.
“I’ve never met him, I’ve never seen him playing up close, However, I’ve been watching and cheering him on because he always reminded me of the importance of the challenge and how wonderful sports hockey is. Thank you, thank you, Miura-san.”
After I read these messages, it touched my heart and I moved to tears again.
My challenge started when I was 17 years old. When I moved to the Czech Republic, no one knows me. However, as time goes, more people start to know me, more people start to support me, and more people start fighting with me. This is one of the happiest experiences you can have as an athlete. What a lucky person I am. I was able to stand on this stage because all of you have supported my lonely challenge.
I wanted to show you more and more, to be honest. I wanted to make you more excited. we wanted to go to the Frozen four. But we couldn’t. I was disappointed not only lost the game, but I could not bring you to a place where we all have not been before.
Coach mentioned in the locker room that only one team can finish the season without regret or sadness. Now I understand the true meaning of these words because we experienced both won the WCHA title and lost in the first round of the national tournament. It is hard and takes time to accept that our ride is over now, but I am so proud of what we have done in this season. No matter what, we are a great team.
This year had been the most special time in my four years. I want to thank all people who worked so hard to let us play under the covid situation. I have lots of friends who could not play hockey games even once this year. We played more than 30 games. We could play hockey this year because all health-care workers and league staff put such a big effort for us. We cannot forget these people. Thank you very much.
I feel like my heart is so empty when I think that I could not wear laker's gold jersey. I will be missing everything such as a smell of the ice, conversations we had in the weight room, ringing the bell, and Saturday night party. I will never forget all events I had here. It was the best time in my life.
Lastly, I would like to talk a little about the future. Currently, I have no idea where I will play next season. I do not know if it is gonna be in the US or Europe. I don't know. One thing I can say is that my college hockey career is ended and now it’s finally the time to start playing hockey as a professional. Hopefully, I can find a way to become a pro in the U.S but at the same time, I understand that there are so many players who are looking for the team today due to the covid effect. Therefore challenge will be harder for sure. However, I want to try. I always want to be a challenger. This year all seniors are given another year of eligibility to play in NCAA because of the covid. But for now, I am thinking that I am not going back to the NCAA stage. One reason is that Lake State does not have a grad-school program, but the biggest reason is that I feel I cannot grow faster if I stay in the same place any longer. It was my first time staying on the same team for 4 years. There’s a lot of things I learned because I could be here for 4 years. But at the same time, as I got older, I was given some authority and seniority in the team and it makes me comfortable. Of course, That is a good thing, but I have a brief that once you get in the comfortable zone, it will be very difficult to move up from there. You always have to be hungry and you always have to put yourself into the uncomfortable zone if you really want to get better. Again, this is just my opinion so someone has another idea and I respect it too.
As I said before, I always want to be a challenger. I always want to be hungry in my life. That’s the only way for me to grow. This is what I should be as “Yuki Miura.” Again, I cannot thank enough to Lake State. I learned so many things here from great coaches and great teammates. Now, I think I should leave this place to put myself into a place that I have never reached.
I've always been choosing paths that look difficult. You face some adversity for sure, but in the end, you will find another path that you have never imagined when you made decisions. All decisions I made in the past have never been wrong even if I moved from to Czech, and from Czech to the U.S. This is the unnegotiable philosophy that I have earned over my life. No matter how a great person says "Oh, your idea is wrong Yuki" or what is written in a best-selling book, this is the answer to my "challenge" and this philosophy never betrays me.
Even if I get frustrated during a new challenge, I know that a new path is waiting for me. That’s why I will not stop challenging. I know I will fail a lot, I will have unsuccessful experiences in the future, but it means I chose the right way and at this point, it is up to me how to overcome the situation. It’s a very simple game and this is why the challenge is so fun!
Again, I am not sure where will be the place to play hockey, but I will always keep moving forward. I will always push and change myself. I do not know when I can make the announcement where I go, hopefully, I can give you good news soon.
Once again, I want to thank everyone who supported my college hockey life for the past 4 years. You guys are the best! THANK YOU!
P.S
To my classmates,
It’s been quite the ride with you guys. Lukas, Mits, Hampus, Ambro, Chase, Willy, Ruggsy, Vids, Roman, Andy, and Ethan. I will never forget the time we spent together here! You guys always helped me. ALWAYS! I wish you all the best, good luck with your next chapter! Your future is bright! (Can’t wait to have a Karaoke party in Tokyo!:D)
