Extensive series from the New York Times...
Derek Boogaard: A Boy Learns to Brawl
DEREK BOOGAARD was scared. He did not know whom he would fight, just that he must.
Opportunity and obligation had collided, the way they can in hockey.
His father bought a program the night before. Boogaard scanned the roster, checking heights and weights. He later recalled that he barely slept.
A trainer in the dressing room offered scouting reports. As Boogaard taped his stick in the hallway of the rink in Regina, Saskatchewan, he was approached by one of the few players bigger than he was. Boogaard had never seen him before. He did not know his name.
“I’m going to kill you,” the player said.
The scrimmage began. A coach tapped Boogaard on the shoulder. Boogaard knew what it meant. He clambered over the waist-high wall and onto the ice.
He felt a tug on the back of his jersey. It was time.
The players flicked the padded gloves from their hands. They removed the helmets from their heads. They raised their fists and circled each other. They knew the choreography that precedes the violence.
Boogaard took a swing with his long right arm. His fist smacked the opponent’s face and broke his nose. Coaches and scouts laughed as they congratulated Boogaard.
He was 16.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-boy-learns-to-brawl.html?_r=2
Derek Boogaard: A Boy Learns to Brawl
DEREK BOOGAARD was scared. He did not know whom he would fight, just that he must.
Opportunity and obligation had collided, the way they can in hockey.
His father bought a program the night before. Boogaard scanned the roster, checking heights and weights. He later recalled that he barely slept.
A trainer in the dressing room offered scouting reports. As Boogaard taped his stick in the hallway of the rink in Regina, Saskatchewan, he was approached by one of the few players bigger than he was. Boogaard had never seen him before. He did not know his name.
“I’m going to kill you,” the player said.
The scrimmage began. A coach tapped Boogaard on the shoulder. Boogaard knew what it meant. He clambered over the waist-high wall and onto the ice.
He felt a tug on the back of his jersey. It was time.
The players flicked the padded gloves from their hands. They removed the helmets from their heads. They raised their fists and circled each other. They knew the choreography that precedes the violence.
Boogaard took a swing with his long right arm. His fist smacked the opponent’s face and broke his nose. Coaches and scouts laughed as they congratulated Boogaard.
He was 16.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-boy-learns-to-brawl.html?_r=2
