Living in the age of COVID-19 or the Corona Virus or 21st century global health pandemic has certainly provided the majority of us a new perspective on the importance of our health, individually and collectively, to our everyday lives. The occurrences we register as the mundane or dull happenings of everyday life have been drastically altered, for some a permanent change. As we consume our news of the pandemic, we realize the event is experienced on a variety of scales and your profession or line of work dictates your experience and its severity.

This has been the realization for a few weeks now after much uncertainty in the first half of the lockdown. The discussion has shifted from everyone staying safe and having access to anything they may need to survive this ordeal to reopening an economy and getting our lives back to normal. A broad step towards a solution, but with a limited amount of information as to the efficacy of the plan; how is this supposed to work? We went from reasonable measures to protect our citizens in the form of a lockdown and more succinctly, to protect our health care system from becoming overburdened by the potential of a catastrophic disaster, to seemingly having misplaced our understanding of the intent of these measures and flip to saving the economy from a health oriented remedy. We weren’t quite ready for a pandemic, but with a great deal of cooperation from Canadians coast to coast to coast, we managed to do as well as we could to mitigate the concern.

A very similar setting can be found on a hockey team. The coach delivers a plan for the team to succeed and in order for the team to succeed, everyone on the team needs to cooperate to achieve the collective goal. It’s a loose comparison, granted, but there are parallels to be drawn. The goal, in the instance with a hockey team isn’t always achieved, but it can never, or at the very least rarely, be achieved without a collective goal. Canada’s plan for a lockdown of all of its citizens, with very few exceptions, has been relatively successful, but not solely because of the plan or the delivery thereof. The plan has been successful because we have all cooperated by working towards the collective goal. We’re playing as a team and our coach is telling us we’re doing the right thing.

As far as other comparisons between COVID-19 and hockey, they may be myriad, however, the focus here is related to the team aspect of the sport. Coaching a team to share a common goal is not the easiest task, even when in the best of times. There will always be someone who doesn’t revere the team unit in the same fashion as the coach or teammates. These individuals have their own agenda as a member of the team. Everyone is supposed to play in a mode where the decisions made by each player relate to the collective goal. Sometimes the results of making the correct decision are not glamorous, such as chipping the puck out of the defensive zone, chipping the puck behind the defender and deep into the offensive zone, or just putting the puck on net so there may be a rebound. Not the stuff that highlights are made of, or the lore of the legends of the game, but necessary for the success of the team.

Considering the plan is designed to be simple for all, this makes the goal more attainable. Regardless of your skill level or your role on the team, everyone can manage the team’s goals. Sounds simple enough, but it certainly isn’t a perfect plan and with that imperfection comes opportunity to exploit the plan for its weaknesses. This is where we meet the detractors of any team goal. They know better anyway and so if they find a peculiarity with the coach’s method, its their excuse to abandon the plan and the goal. In their eyes, the plan is no longer valid; the goal no longer attainable or even necessary. The team itself becomes dispensable. Meanwhile, the rest of the team is working towards their goal. It may be difficult for them to keep the goal in mind or to be disciplined enough to stick to the plan, but the coach reminds them of their intent, muster and perseverance as a motivating factor; a cue you’re doing what’s right for the team.

At this point in the story, the writer realizes the ineptitude of his ability to compare and contrast this subject thoroughly. In fact, the writer sees the futility in his attempts without avoiding mixed metaphors and missed simile and manner of misunderstanding. The idea that someone may still be reading at this juncture, still searching for the point of the opinion, not knowing it is here the writer was wondering the same thing.

In the end, we were told to stay at home and we all abided and rightfully so. Over time, we get some who test the boundaries of the directive. Does the coach know he’s going to win before the start of the game? No. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a plan, but if you don’t like the plan, you don’t get to quit part way through the game and just do whatever you want. You have to have some faith that we can figure it out. You have to stick to the game plan – focus on the goal. It’s the right thing to do for the team.