Born To Be A Star, Raised To Be A Legend - A Riley Andersen Story

Chapter 7: Control Yourself, Don't Lose Control.

͏Times of glory, there is no other word that defines Riley's journey so far and her meeting with Magic Johnson allowed her to think further ahead. Receiving a compliment from one of the greats of the sport is something quite big for anyone's life, if Riley wanted to put herself at the top of the Hockey world, she would have to fight hard.

1 day has passed since the day she was proclaimed as the next symbol of the sport, Riley was with Valentina training in an Ice Hockey gym exclusive to them. Both trained skills and played one on one to train and improve their skills, At one point, Riley sat down to drink water. Remembering that it was only 9 am the moment Riley and Valentina arrived at the gym.

Riley: Valentina, in which part do you think I'm making a bit of a mistake? I ask to find out and be able to improve my game.

Valentina: You're fine, Riley. You just need to improve the angle you take to score the goal, I noticed that in this second attempt you made now you lost a little of your balance. I think what you lack is precisely that, balance, but it's not something you need to worry about.

From that moment on, Valentina realizes that Riley takes a lot of pressure if she can't get the perfect body angle or something that made her angry. Riley sought to be a perfectionist and never make mistakes, even though she knows that mistakes are human.

Riley: So, next. (Riley said while skating close to the middle of the court). I get the punk from here and what angle should I take? (Riley said while simulating scoring a goal)

Valentina looked at Riley's movements with the punk and at the same time thought that she could either use an acute angle to finish or a slot, both of which had never been used professionally. Having the role of mentor to Riley, Valentina thought quickly and told her student.

Valentina: Riley, I was thinking here and I think it would be better for you to try to make an acute angle when you attack from the left, it's easier than trying a risky play for example. If you make a 90 degree angle close to the goal, that's for sure, if you try to attack from the left you'll find that the best ones are 30 and 45.

The two's training consisted of skills training as Riley would have another pre-season game in 2 days and then a field hockey game, so Valentina needed to prepare Riley for the best.

Riley caught the punk in the middle of the court and while walking towards the goal and marked by Valentina, Riley always found a way to make Valentina lose her balance and consequently fall. Both showed talent, but Riley stood out much more than Valentina and a lot was due to Riley training day and night.

Result? Riley had indeed mastered the training, but in reality it had all been Valentina's plan to test Riley.

Riley: How did I do in this training? (Riley said as he grabbed a bottle of water to drink)

Valentina: Exceeded my expectations.

Riley then laughed, as she knew that Valentina was really testing her to get off on the right foot at the start of the PWHL. Despite already knowing, she preferred not to talk.

Valentina: He knows? I've been noticing in these training sessions how mature you are Riley, you definitely understand the rhythm of the game and how it works, don't you?

Riley: But I feel like I'm not 100%, my body tells me that and I feel that myself. If I want to improve I still have time to learn a lot from you, Val. That's why I feel proud to have you as a mentor to me.

Giving the maximum of your body to dedicate to the sport was something that Riley had as a mentality during that period of time. If she made a mistake, she would beat herself up, If she didn't execute the perfect movement, she would beat herself up. Riley studied the game and its fundamentals a lot to make it easier to adapt.