Of pond hockey and common fellowship

by Michael De Witt, Contributing Editor

Blue skies and cool air. The clack-clack-clack of steel blades biting into bullet-hard ice. Smiling, laughing men and women fill the air with frozen breath and peals of laughter as they chase a puck back and forth down the length of the seminary pond. This is winter in west Michigan at its finest.

Pond hockey is an old tradition at Calvin Seminary, probably going back to the first time a Canadian student ever set foot on the Knollcrest campus. It still brings students and professors alike together at the Sem Pond on Saturday mornings.

Hockey, for all its nasty reputation for fighting and lost teeth, is ultimately a game of speed and grace, teamwork and fun. It offers a welcome break from the rigors of academia and encourages not only exercise but also new friendships. Most importantly, pond hockey is that rare medium where a frustrated Hebrew apprentice can actually line up and fire a hunk of frozen rubber at their professor’s forehead without fear of repercussions.

Over the last few weeks, numerous students, professors, friends, and families have come out to try their hand at this simple game. Two teams, two goals, and one frozen puck; sticks and skates are mandatory; the ability to use them is optional.

Some have found the momentary glory of channeling a childhood hero into some improbable goal. Others have left with only a bruised rear end and wet pants. One brave soul even shed his blood (involuntarily) for love of the game. (If you’re curious who it is, look for the gentleman with stitches across his forehead trying to convince people in the student center that it’s no big deal.) All who play, however, are blessed by the joy of agenda-free fellowship on the ice.

If you never grew up dreaming of Jean Beliveau or Gerry Cheevers coming out to play on your local rink, this may all sound absurd, but this seminary is meant to have a communal element. Relationships blossom in new ways when there is no schedule to them, no list of items to cover or goals to accomplish. Hockey season comes only briefly, in the coldest months of winter when goals and lists threaten to overwhelm many students, and offers a respite, two hours at a time, from their studies.

So here’s a toast to good ice and Professor Bosma in net. May global warming never come!

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