So this was kind of awesome

Yes, this is the real thing.

No, we were not allowed to touch it.

On a personal note...

(I really didn't mean this blog to be entirely about getting cut from Mischief, honest. Hopefully I will find the time/inspiration to write about other stuff this year, though given that it's March already, that seems unlikely at best.)

The 2011 Mischief survey went out this week, and it reminded me that I had a little bit of unfinished business from 2010, which I'll settle here. This is the note I wrote to the captains, which, upon rereading, is really intended for everyone on the 2010 squad, so I'm reprinting it, with a few edits for voice.

I never found a good time at the end of last season, but I really wanted to say thank you to you guys. Last season was really hard for me, both for the obvious reason, and also because I had a lot of demands on my time. Making it out to practice and tournaments was not easy from either a logistical or emotional perspective.

However, as much as I would have liked to have experienced the 2010 season as a rostered player, I feel like many, many players on the team went out of their way to express appreciation and make me feel like I was still an important and valuable part of the team. That starts from the captains, but applies to everyone who gave me a hug on tournament morning or shot me an email Sunday night to say thanks for helping out. You guys making me feel like I was contributing to the team's success and letting me be there as a member of the team really helped me feel like I made the right decision in taking the role that I did.

At the start of the 2010 season, I had only one goal: help Mischief make it back to Nationals (where we -- choice of pronoun intentional -- belong). Thank you for letting me achieve that goal. It wasn't exactly how I would have written the end of my playing career, but looking back, I'm grateful for all the opportunities I've had, 2010 included. I wish you guys the very best of luck in 2011 and beyond.

Love,
Wes.