I still remember it like it was yesterday.

I walked into my basement room on Mahogany Island Court around midnight in July of 2009. I had just finished the late-night shift on the bottling line at Moosehead Breweries. I opened my e-mail and I had an invitation from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic committee:

“Dear Luke,

Thank you for your application. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic committee would like to cordially invite you to the XXI Olympic Winter Games from 12 February to 28 February 2010 as a member of:

ICE CREW- Volunteer – Canada Hockey Place”

I bounced up and down screaming inside with excitement for at least 10 minutes. I actually jumped so high I remember I hit my head on the ceiling (says something because I have zero hops). I calmed suddenly when it clicked in: “I only have goalie skates.”

So how did I get to this point?

You see I had worked as a summer student for Hockey Canada’s office in Saint John, and I was living on Vancouver Island at the time pursuing my dream of becoming a world class Badminton player. Knowing that the Olympics were on the horizon, I reached out to my old boss. I spent over 8 months applying for that volunteer job. I wrote essays, completed criminal record checks, and I think at one point I even had a video submission. I did all of this with the single hope that I would get to go to Vancouver for two weeks to pick up garbage and be around the experience of a lifetime. Literally, I was planning to go there to pick up garbage. So yeah, when I saw that I was invited to the ice crew I knew it was time to get some new skates.

For two weeks in Vancouver in 2010 I worked as a part of the ice crew. I went to the rink at 6am (had to leave from a bus in Richmond at 4:30am), and I stayed until 10pm. When people ask me what I did, I tell them “you know when you watch the NHL and those pretty girls come out and clean the ice during the intermission? That was me.” I was on the ice at the 5, 10, and 15 minute marks because they needed strong skaters to get to the other end and back in shorter commercial times. Aside from this, I cleaned glass, cleaned floors, took out garbage, and did just about anything that was asked of me. There were supposed to be two rotating shifts during the day but I did two shifts at once so I could be at every single game. I met many of the players, and it’s pretty cool too that I have actually met most of the women’s team in the years since then as a result of my work in the RBC Olympians program, and I got to tell them that I was on the ice when they won gold.

Here is what that experience taught me:

First, the power of unity. For two weeks in Vancouver I felt like I was living the ultimate celebration of the human experience. Millions of people flooded the streets for one purpose: to cheer on their country and celebrate sport. I rode public transport every day (which is generally where you get some of the best observations in life), and I did not see a single act of racism or hatred. In fact, it was the opposite. All people of all nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds shared crammed spaces together with the only hope of being able to party together.

The experience honestly reminds me of what is going on in the world currently with this COVID-19 situation. Have you noticed that there has been a marked decrease in news media coverage of people disputing over ideological differences? Our public discourse has shifted to how we can all come together to beat this thing. I heard today that local restaurants in Saint John are donating food to healthcare workers working long hours. Insane. It really goes to show you that we are powerful in numbers and almost any problem can be solved if we work together as a species. I often apply this in my coaching business in that everyone should play a role in the larger vision, and if we work together as team we can accomplish great things.

Second, is the value of sport. I have never seen a more united Canada than when Sidney Crosby scored that game winning goal. And I know, because I was there on the ice! 20,000 people jumping up and down screaming at the top of their lungs. And millions more doing it across Canada. It’s why at some level, even when the going gets tough, I know that at least part of my life will be dedicated to sport and helping people pursue their dreams.

When you work as a part of the Vancouver Olympic Committee, you are required to be impartial. Meaning you are not supposed to cheer for one team or the other. Well I can tell you there were a lot of one-sided fans that night. I like to show people this picture.

Although having 20,000 people screaming at you on the ice every single night is an incredible experience, it also taught me that I wanted to be the one out there. I wanted to wear the red and white and have the nation behind me. Not sure I ever had a nation behind me, and not sure I ever achieved badminton excellence, but this experience spurred a series of decisions that would take me to play badminton in over 30 countries and represent Team Canada on multiple occasions. It also became the foundation of my current coaching philosophy. But that is a story for another day…

P.S., Luongo I have your water bottle, but you won’t tweet me back bro…