Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1071236
30 P R E S E N T E D B Y kid. Do you think that's important for young kids? Parise: Yeah, my dad, who played in the NHL, surprisingly was big on baseball, tennis, golf, other things, because he felt like just becoming a better athlete was so important. You can't just do hockey, hockey, hockey year-round. You get burnt out. I remember when we were at Shattuck, too, coach Tom Ward always made us, once hockey season was over, they made us do another sport. And we had to invest in it. I remember if it was even something like weightlifting, Ward would say, 'I better see you in the gym every single day!' Know what I mean? They were always like, 'You guys, go do something else.' Russo: What were your favorites? Parise: Baseball, tennis. I was a shortstop and catcher. Loved it. Russo: How important is fitness and food, both in your younger years and especially now that you're 34 and getting older? Parise: I think it's really important. I think it's becoming more and more important. Guys are learning more and more about it. There's always that odd case where you got teammates, they can eat whatever they want, it doesn't affect them one way or another. But I've always felt like, especially now, as I get later in the career, you've got to pay attention more to the weight and your conditioning and what you're putting in your body. With our travel and back-to-backs, you can't just eat crap because you'll crash. You will crash and you learn as you play longer. Russo: What are your go-tos? Any foods that you will totally stay away from or foods that you find make you perform better? Parise: I try to stay away from sugar as much as I can. I don't drink pop. I don't eat fast food or anything. I would say this year more than any other year I'm kind of eating a bunch of differ- ent types of food. I used to be so much, like, night before games, steak and pasta, steak and pasta. This year more than anything, I've just kind of been all over the map. Still eating healthy food, but kind of all over the map. Russo: What kind of student were you? Parise: I was a good student in high school and Tom Ward was really on us for that, about our GPAs. He got on me one time, I remember, about grades, but I was always good. For me it wasn't natural, it was more like I gotta study. And I'm glad I did. Russo: To see your name above all Minnesotans in goal scoring, as a kid, could you have ever imag- ined that you were going to grow up and become this? Parise: I would say I was always hopeful. I think I was always pret- ty determined, but you never know. The odds are grossly against making it, so I worked hard. But I never really … I guess you never really expect that to happen. It's rewarding. And I do think I can be an example where if kids strive to do something, they can do it. I'm not the fastest, biggest or most skilled, yet through hard work, determination, luck, I was able to make it. Michael Russo is in his 14th season covering the Wild and writes for The Athletic. He has covered the NHL since 2005. He co-hosts the Russo-Souhan Show on talknorth. com, can be heard on KFAN (100.3- FM) and seen throughout the hockey season on Fox Sports North. Follow Russo on Twitter at @RussoHockey. Please consider a subscription to The Athletic. For a 30 percent discount ($3.49 per month), go to theathletic.com/michaelrussohock- ey. If you're a student, you can get 50 percent off ($2.50 per month) at theathletic.com/student. Russo's Rants "We had access to the rink whenever we wanted, so we'd always be playing 3-on-3 games or whatnot. And it was pretty cool how much better guys got at stick work." -Zach Parise M H J ON L I N E . C O M | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 Parise crashes the net against Canada during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.