Blackhawks success has valuable life lessons

This past spring was a great time to be a Chicago sports fan (unless the only sport you watch is baseball!) The last couple of months have seen playoff runs by both tenants of Chicago's United Center, the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks. While the Bulls thrilled Chicagoans with their inspired first round victory against the Brooklyn Nets, ultimately it was the Blackhawks who captured the hearts of the city, as the Hawks won their second Stanley Cup in four years.

The Blackhawks were the best NHL team in the regular season, and their post season success validated their superiority. That's not to say it was an easy road, however. The Hawks battled through adversity every single game, and the amount of adversity they faced only increased with every game.

In the second round against the Detroit Red Wings, the Hawks found themselves with their backs against the wall. Down three games to one, it would have been easy for them to surrender. But the Blackhawks did not back down. Instead, they stormed back to
win the series against the Red Wings four games to three.

As the playoffs wore on, their opponents only got tougher. The Blackhawks faced the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals, then the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals. Both opponents featured great goal tenders and a hard-hitting, aggressive style of play. Once again, the Blackhawks did not back down. The road to victory, paved in the blood, sweat, and tears of the players (such as Andrew Shaw, whose blood literally gushed onto the ice after getting hit in the face with the puck during game six against Boston!) was not an easy road to travel. However, through
hard work, perseverance, and teamwork, the Hawks were able to grind through the marathon that is the NHL playoffs and emerge victorious.

To be successful in hockey, as in life, you have got to be tough. Things are going to happen in life that will knock you hard on your backside. The weak stay down, but the strong get right back up and keep fighting. Hawks players took hard hit after hard hit in the
playoffs, but they refused to stay down. To achieve the success that we want to in life, we need to follow their example and get
back up when we've been knocked down by unfortunate circumstances in life.

Teamwork is also a necessary component to be successful, both on the ice and off. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are, by themselves, fantastic hockey players. However, by themselves alone they would not be able to win the Stanley Cup. The Blackhawks won the Cup because they were the best team. Every player on the Blackhawks worked together to succeed, and
their success would not have been possible had a couple of players resisted the team effort. In the real world, this is also
true. Learning how to work together with others to achieve our goals is a critical skill, especially in today's world. It is very hard for one person to make a ripple, but a dedicated group of people working together as a team can makes waves.

In addition to toughness and teamwork, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup because they worked hard for it. The Blackhawks are a team loaded with talent. However, talent on its own does not guarantee success. Success only comes as a result of hard work and persistence. When talent is combined with hard work and persistence, there is no limit as to how far one can go! There are
many talented people on the world who never amount to anything because they've never put in the effort to achieve greatness. Throughout the playoffs, the Hawks were a team that persisted and refused to give up. Talent alone can only take you so far. Eventually, you must put in the hard work necessary to be the best, or else you will be passed up by those who do work hard.

As the memories of the Stanley Cup run fade into our consciousness over the summer, hopefully the lessons that can be learned from the Blackhawks great accomplishment will stick with us. Imagine what can be achieved if we approach our studies and our lives the way the Blackhawks approach hockey!