This post was originally written for the SOM community blog, located here.

When I first arrived on campus, I had a lot of items on my to-do list: refine my resume, network with students at SOM and in the larger Yale community, and try the best pizza slices from around New Haven. One thing I couldn’t wait for was to be sliding completely out of control.

I signed up for the Yale Hockey Club and it has been one of the best decisions so far in my SOM career (including the part where I slide across the ice).  Here’s the quick summary: students of all ability levels get together each week to work on our skating and puck handling, and then scrimmage across comparable ability levels.  After my first two practices, I can vouch for the fact that anybody is allowed to play, and that it’s a blast.

Some of my classmates played hockey in college and lead the instructional sessions on stopping, skating backwards, and puck handling.  Other friends have never skated before, and are good natured about falling over and their inability to stop.  I’m still getting my skating legs underneath me, and every once in a while find myself flying towards the boards, wondering if I’ll be able to stop.  When I’m not able to stop, it isn’t a big deal because I’m wearing a plethora of protective pads.

It’s a lot of fun to sit on the bench and cheer on my classmates as they fall over score goals, and to ask for advice from the more experienced players.  I can’t think of a better way to be spending my Wednesday nights, especially when I get to write blog posts fully decked out in my hockey pads.