From Sport To Leadership - Dylan Tait

Dylan Tait, Psychologist, former goaltender for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns

My name is Dylan Tait. Forewarning: I think it’s going to feel a little weird for me to talk about myself, as I’m typically a pretty private human. Especially on the internet. That (this?) place can be really cool but it also scares the s&^t out of me sometimes. Social media included. Facebook was the source of some conflict so I ditched that a long time ago, and neither Twitter nor Insta held my attention for long. I’ll confess to giving in to my Snapchat vices though, some accounts on there (e.g., Forged in Fire) just got me hooked. Regardless, it is necessary for one to forego frivolous Facebook notifications to survive the rigors of Skyrim. One does not become the Archmage of the College of Winterhold while “cruising the ‘Gram” or by Tweeting about it. Oh yeah and I forgot for just one short moment that it’s also especially a good idea to reduce distractions (like social media) when one is studying for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)! That’s very important. Especially when one is putting their writing on the internet where one’s supervisors may see it and make incorrect inferences regarding their supervisee’s priorities…

Regardless of my preferred self-care practices, I have also been identified as a “local male leader that [has] used skills learned through sport and active recreation [tangent: that’s a fun word I’ve been ruminating on recently: recreation. If you’re a curious human {like me}, I recommend looking that word {and it’s origins} up in a dictionary ☺] in their professional leadership roles and life in general”. Well, thank you to whoever did the “identifying”, your vote of confidence is much appreciated ☺. Now I have been tasked with sharing “my story as a male, athlete, (‘and other roles’), and a leader”. 1-3 pages. Challenge accepted. Apologies for: the tangents; the “quotations; the italics; the brackets (I like brackets); the ☺’s (I like smiles too ☺); and the lols.

I plan to take advantage of this opportunity to share some writing that is not being graded for any particular reason, as that is a rare and unique experience for me ☺.

I like to think that “my story” is pretty interesting. I like to think that I’ve had some fairly unique experiences in my 30 years on this beautiful planet, both within and without the world of sport. I have played a few different roles in my story thus far, “teammate” being central. Hockey is my sport of choice (I was a goalie [don’t let your kids be goalies {matter of fact, maybe don’t let your kids be hockey players, I hear registration fees are WILDLY expensive}]), although I’ve been watching a lot of basketball lately and hot damn that has been fun. Notable “and other roles” I’ve played would include: son, brother, friend, reader, student, athlete, student athlete, husband, uncle, dogfather, employee, ally, father, human ☺. “Fun haver”? “Haver of fun”? Whatever, I friggen love having fun (tangent: sport was almost always fun for me [and sometimes it really wasn’t, but regardless…], but I think the process of “playing” sports taught me how to play and have fun in other ways too ☺). Fulfilling the aforementioned roles has provided me with some unforgettable experiences. Some were incredibly joyful, some were incredibly painful.

Quite frankly, some were really odd and/or humorous “in-betweens”, both joyful and painful together in a neatly amalgamated gestalt ☺ (e.g., “Apple juice and barium please, easy on the AJ”; “Wait, did he just say ‘left’? Aren’t we removing the RIGHT one!?”). Sometimes hockey was the cause of the pain. Getting cut sucked. Backing up sucked (most of the time… I still managed to have lots of fun). However, I was lucky enough to have friends, interests, and abilities outside the world of hockey as well. I could always find solace in reading and learning, and these activities provided me with some healthy distraction if things at the rink weren’t going well. More often than not though, sport (especially hockey) helped keep me grounded.

When needed, hockey and other recreation gave (and continues to give) me structure and routine, cognitive distraction, emotional regulation, and physical release via movement and play (i.e., playing games I love makes me feel good ☺). When needed, hockey provided me the inherent support that I think came with belonging to a team or community.

I was lucky to play on amazing teams with some really cool humans who supported me through some pretty hard times. Whether or not those teams were “good” because they did things like “win” instead of “lose” isn’t necessarily important here lol.

My experiences in sport and recreation have also greatly influenced my professional identity. I think there can be great psychotherapeutic value in utilizing play and physical activity. Sport and recreation can provide us with the opportunity to interact with other humans, move our bodies, and have fun. Some cool things can happen in our brains and bodies when we do those things ☺ Thus, it was not overly surprising to me when recent reflection revealed that many of my most treasured and meaningful experiences have been intimately shared with other humans in the context of sport. So, thanks to all that have been there with, for, and against (respect your opponents, we can’t compete without them :P) me over the years, and sorry for any lingering anxieties experienced resultant of shenanigans personally perpetrated (that was a fun sentence to write ☺). I’ll risk much for the sake of fun, joy, competition, and curiosity (often at the same time), so a special shoutout again to those that shared in and supported me through some of those wilder times, I couldn’t have done it without you.

Live long and prosper 🖖.
Also, “crikey” 🐊.

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