Bowling Green State University Athletics
ALEX FOSTER PAVING HIS OWN PATH IN HOCKEY
October 26, 2005 | Ice Hockey
Oct. 26, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Dwight Foster's 10-year NHL career with Detroit and Boston is just one of the things that makes Alex Foster proud of his father. The Bowling Green sophomore forward recounts the guidance he got from his NHL father, what it's like to grow up with a dad/coach and how he is making his own path. Find out what he has to say in his own words, "Following in the Footsteps of an NHL Dad."
Following in the Footsteps of An NHL Dad
By Alex Foster
I was three years old when my dad retired from the NHL, and with me starting to play hockey when I was five, he was always around, which was great. He was more along the lines of a dad/coach for me growing up. He was like any normal dad, except he knew more about the game then other dads.
When I was really young, he always coached or helped out with the team in some way. The best part was always when he wasn't the coach, and our head coach would find out that he played in the NHL; they would always ask him to help out. He was always more than happy to do that.
He would always be there before and after the game. My teammates and I thought it was a big advantage. He was such a great coach and knew the game so well that having him there on a daily basis really helped my career.
As I started to get older, I decided to take a different approach to my hockey career then he did. He started out in major junior in the Ontario Hockey League, while I decided to play Junior `A' hockey in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and now college hockey at Bowling Green. I think that was one of the biggest reasons people never compared us to each other.
Now that I have completed my first year of college hockey and the next level is in sight, my father still has never put much pressure on me. He just tells me that if this is what you want to do, make sure you do the necessary things to accomplish your goals. Now that I am at the point where maybe the next level is in reach, I try to listen to those words all the time. He would always say, whatever it is you want to do, whether it is hockey, school, or get a job, just make sure you do it to the best of your abilities.
Dwight Foster spent 10 years in the NHL with Detroit and Boston.
My father is always good for some hockey advice whenever I need it. He always says never take a shift off. Play this shift as if it is going to be the last shift of your career. You never know who is watching or what may come of it. You never know when things can come to an end, so just play every shift as hard as you can.
I always get the question, "Is it hard to follow in the footsteps of your dad?" People always expect sons of players in the NHL, or any other sport for that matter, to be great athletes like their fathers. Odds are that you may actually be a great player, but I still don't feel like there was any extra pressure on me to perform, and that is something I owe to my dad. When you follow in the footsteps of a person like my dad, he will support you in whatever you do, whether it is hockey, a different sport, or school. So just do what you love and do it to the best of your abilities. That is all they can ask of you.
