ONE thing you are not going to be able to do when you play hockey at this level is retire and not have to work ever again.

So to make ends meet the majority of us have day jobs, but what you need to have is an understanding employer – luckily I have one of those.

With having a game in midweek, you need to be able to balance work and hockey so with being from the north east as soon as the fixtures came out I told them that I wasn’t going to be around this week – although I had to go to Portsmouth on Monday for work.

Thankfully we were at home on Wednesday night so it was harder for Telford having to travel to Swindon.

Just last week, Kyle Smith decided to step away from the sport to concentrate on his work commitments, it is hard.

While I have been down here this week I have been working with some of the kids from the Okanagan Hockey Academy.

It has been good fun and something that I enjoy.

In the past I have helped out on a number of hockey camps and maybe it is something that I will look to do more when I retire from playing.

The big games have been coming thick and fast for us over the last couple of weeks.

And while the performances have not been of standard we would have liked we are still picking up points.

That over-time loss to Peterborough last weekend could have a big effect on what happens in league – that point could be massive.

We have got Bracknell in the cup this weekend and that is going to be another tough game for us and one that we are going to have to work incredibly.

Then on Sunday we have got Streatham. When we played them last time they had a couple of players missing and they had Ryan Watt kicked out of the match earlier.

Since that game they have brought in an import player so it is going to be another tough one.

They have got a nice little rink down there so I’m looking forward to going back.