The Free Press’s Mick McCabe penned an early-morning article which discusses new Red Wings forward Andrew Copp’s ability to play baseball, football and soccer (for a time) as a young man, which helped the 28-year-old blossom into the professional athlete he is today:
Copp is adamant that playing football has made him a better hockey player.
“Being able to take a hit to make a play, understanding how to accept contact and be able to concentrate on the throw when someone is bearing down on you has some similarity to hockey,” he said. “How to accept contact and knowing where people are coming from so you are able to protect yourself a little bit because hockey is a very violent game just like football.”
There are guys who years ago specialized in hockey and Copp thought were better than him back then. But they have been out of the sport for years now while his career continues to flourish.
“You see a lot of kids that are the best at their age when they’re 12, 13, 14 and they get burnt out by the time they’re 18, 19, 20,” he said. “I was very lucky not to feel that way about hockey. I think that’s a big part of why I still feel like I have parts of my hockey game that I can get better and continue to improve and I feel like I’m still trending upward instead of plateauing or being on the decline at 28, 29.
“I think a lot of it is not specializing in one sport.”
Hope this sinks in.
Continued (paywall)
