Big day today! Sean's first regular season game as a Squirt. I think I'm more excited about it than he is. Got my full length down coat, my Uggs and my stat tracker app ready to go!
This season I'm going to focus less on quantity (time on ice) and more on quality (shots, goals, assists). Will I share my findings with the boy? Probably not. Well, maybe when he's 18!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
First Year Squirt
As always the season of limited travel (aka house league) hockey starts with evaluations. As I watched the kids on the ice, I was happy to see most of the kids looked to be close to the same level of skill. There wasn't really one "stand out" player. I like that.
Now into my own evaluation. Of the stands. There were definitely a few parents I'm not sure I would want being on MY team. Come on. We all know them. There's a few dads who think their kid skates "like a young Claude Giroux" or he "could be the next Gretzky". There's the dads who stand at the top of the stands and THINK they're coaching an NHL team in the Stanley Cup Finals shouting unintelligible commands to their son or daughter. There's the very over dressed mom who wants everyone to know that they can afford to be hockey parents. There's the parents who put their kid in the house league so he can "get more ice time" than the rest of his travel team. And then there's people like me. Parents who want their kid to live their sport and enjoy playing it win or lose.
Don't forget that parents are being evaluated too!
Now into my own evaluation. Of the stands. There were definitely a few parents I'm not sure I would want being on MY team. Come on. We all know them. There's a few dads who think their kid skates "like a young Claude Giroux" or he "could be the next Gretzky". There's the dads who stand at the top of the stands and THINK they're coaching an NHL team in the Stanley Cup Finals shouting unintelligible commands to their son or daughter. There's the very over dressed mom who wants everyone to know that they can afford to be hockey parents. There's the parents who put their kid in the house league so he can "get more ice time" than the rest of his travel team. And then there's people like me. Parents who want their kid to live their sport and enjoy playing it win or lose.
Don't forget that parents are being evaluated too!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
"Do You Believe in Miracles?"
I sure do.
Words can't even express how I felt watching my boy take the ice on Olympic/USA/hockey hallowed ground. I was proud to be an American and a mother at that moment.
The Parent/Child hockey camp weekend had its ups and downs. We had a five hour drive to our friend's cabin in the Adirondacks. It is a beautiful log home on 27 acres of wild. It was taken over by three rowdy hockey boys, two squealing younger sisters, three grown up hockey boys and their wives not to mention the owners and their mother! Whew! We muddled through and had a wonderful time!
The town of Lake Placid was one of the most adorable small towns I've ever seen. If you ever get the opportunity to visit you'll LOVE it!!!!!
On the way into town the most impressive feature is the ski jump! It's huge! They have bobsledding there too. We were able to locate the Olympic cauldron but it was on private property and not open to the public but we got pictures with the telephoto lens! The Olympic museum was really interesting. It housed artifacts from not only the 1980 Games, but the 1932 Games as well. I get a tear in my eye during the last thirty seconds of that historic hockey matchup!
I teared up watching my boy score a goal during the final skate scrimmage of the hockey camp. It was his "most favorite part" but he explained that his other favorite part was playing European hand ball on the Olympic oval (where Eric Heiden won all his medals for speed skating). (He also liked the rope swing at the lake!!!!)
It really puts things in perspective to see my little son out there on the big ice where legends were made. The wonder in his eyes when he watched that game (yet again) really makes all the time and money worth it.
We're looking at doing it again next year!
Words can't even express how I felt watching my boy take the ice on Olympic/USA/hockey hallowed ground. I was proud to be an American and a mother at that moment.
The Parent/Child hockey camp weekend had its ups and downs. We had a five hour drive to our friend's cabin in the Adirondacks. It is a beautiful log home on 27 acres of wild. It was taken over by three rowdy hockey boys, two squealing younger sisters, three grown up hockey boys and their wives not to mention the owners and their mother! Whew! We muddled through and had a wonderful time!
The town of Lake Placid was one of the most adorable small towns I've ever seen. If you ever get the opportunity to visit you'll LOVE it!!!!!
On the way into town the most impressive feature is the ski jump! It's huge! They have bobsledding there too. We were able to locate the Olympic cauldron but it was on private property and not open to the public but we got pictures with the telephoto lens! The Olympic museum was really interesting. It housed artifacts from not only the 1980 Games, but the 1932 Games as well. I get a tear in my eye during the last thirty seconds of that historic hockey matchup!
I teared up watching my boy score a goal during the final skate scrimmage of the hockey camp. It was his "most favorite part" but he explained that his other favorite part was playing European hand ball on the Olympic oval (where Eric Heiden won all his medals for speed skating). (He also liked the rope swing at the lake!!!!)
It really puts things in perspective to see my little son out there on the big ice where legends were made. The wonder in his eyes when he watched that game (yet again) really makes all the time and money worth it.
We're looking at doing it again next year!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Summer Training
Haven't posted here in quite a while. A lot has happened in my hockey world. My little guy finished his last season as a mite. His team win first place in their first REAL tournament. (So exciting!) He started off the spring as a squirt! And yes, he still keeps trying to be a goalie once in a while. Even though he was minding the net only once he had the best GAA of the four kids who played in goal. He also had three assists in his last game. His team won only two games (the first and the last) but he feels good about being on full ice.
This past week he's been "training for Lake Placid". He and a couple of his hockey buddies, and the dads (with varying degrees of hockey playing experience) will be attending a parent-child hockey camp next month. Sean took his most recent public skate outing as an opportunity to train. He did "Herbies" up and down the rink for nearly 30 minutes. He's been doing all manner of calisthenics, pumping iron (my five pound dumbbells) in the living room. He's taking this very seriously.
Other than the camp, he's taking the summer off. He'll go to stick time a few times a month but we're generally going to be hockey-lazy this season!
This past week he's been "training for Lake Placid". He and a couple of his hockey buddies, and the dads (with varying degrees of hockey playing experience) will be attending a parent-child hockey camp next month. Sean took his most recent public skate outing as an opportunity to train. He did "Herbies" up and down the rink for nearly 30 minutes. He's been doing all manner of calisthenics, pumping iron (my five pound dumbbells) in the living room. He's taking this very seriously.
Other than the camp, he's taking the summer off. He'll go to stick time a few times a month but we're generally going to be hockey-lazy this season!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Hockey Hair
What to do?
My son refuses to allow a full on haircut. He calls this his hockey hair. Ugh! I tell him I'm going to put a cute pink barette in his hair to keep it out of his eyes.
While at practice one day, a professional NHL hockey player saw my son leaving the ice and said to him, "how are you going to see the puck with all that hair in your face?" Sean's reply, "I can see it better this way."
Maybe I should cut it while he's sleeping...
Maybe not...he's just so darned cute!
My son refuses to allow a full on haircut. He calls this his hockey hair. Ugh! I tell him I'm going to put a cute pink barette in his hair to keep it out of his eyes.
While at practice one day, a professional NHL hockey player saw my son leaving the ice and said to him, "how are you going to see the puck with all that hair in your face?" Sean's reply, "I can see it better this way."
Maybe I should cut it while he's sleeping...
Maybe not...he's just so darned cute!
Need to get the hang of this...
The blogging thing. It's hard for me to make the time to sit down and write out what I'm thinking/learning/feeling about certain topics.
I need to learn to make time for myself. Very difficult to do when you're a mom (full time job), an employee (full time job) and a wife (full time job). I'm slowly learning to do this.
I've made some New Year's Resolutions to help me with this. So far, so good at keeping them! Yay, Me!!!!!
I need to learn to make time for myself. Very difficult to do when you're a mom (full time job), an employee (full time job) and a wife (full time job). I'm slowly learning to do this.
I've made some New Year's Resolutions to help me with this. So far, so good at keeping them! Yay, Me!!!!!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Joys of...Losing????
Well, another several weeks have gone by and another several hockey games and practices as well. The holidays are upon us and I am taking this time to reflect on the joys of hockey-mom-dom.
It's so nice to see my child playing well with others on his team. It's not so nice to see him playing not so nice with opposing teams! Example: This week at practice they ran some drills with the other house league team at our rink. When my son couldn't catch the kid (who happens to be the son of a current NHLer), he threw his stick at him. The other kid's dad, who happened to be at practice laughed and said, "gee, I wonder where he gets that?" I replied, "watching Scott Hartnell."
It's also nice to see my son still enjoy playing the game despite his team's record. They haven't won a game in weeks and weeks. But the kids don't seem to mind too much. They are a young and small sized team; mostly 6 or young 7 year olds. They are improving every week. In fact, teams that have beaten them by double digits are now only beating us by a goal or three. I know the kids would like to see a win now and then though, but they don't let us parents see it. Good boys.
I'm so thankful that my husband has been able to assist with coaching the team. He loves being involved with his son's sports activities and is thrilled to have those boys call him "Coach". I can see it in his eyes that he is loving every minute of it and is disappointed when he can't make it to a game or practice. I send him text updates though so it's almost like being there...sort of.
I'm so glad to be a hockey mom. It takes a special kind of parent to be a hockey mom. We don't mind the cold. We always have a blanket and gloves in the car even in the heat of the summer. We sip gallons of coffee trying to warm up and wake up at 7 am hockey games. We heave large bags of equipment into the back of our all of a sudden too small minivans. We know the best ways to get odors out of hockey pads and we aren't afraid to assist our young sons in the adjustment of the cup.
These are just some of the things I've learned and enjoyed this season...so far...
It's so nice to see my child playing well with others on his team. It's not so nice to see him playing not so nice with opposing teams! Example: This week at practice they ran some drills with the other house league team at our rink. When my son couldn't catch the kid (who happens to be the son of a current NHLer), he threw his stick at him. The other kid's dad, who happened to be at practice laughed and said, "gee, I wonder where he gets that?" I replied, "watching Scott Hartnell."
It's also nice to see my son still enjoy playing the game despite his team's record. They haven't won a game in weeks and weeks. But the kids don't seem to mind too much. They are a young and small sized team; mostly 6 or young 7 year olds. They are improving every week. In fact, teams that have beaten them by double digits are now only beating us by a goal or three. I know the kids would like to see a win now and then though, but they don't let us parents see it. Good boys.
I'm so thankful that my husband has been able to assist with coaching the team. He loves being involved with his son's sports activities and is thrilled to have those boys call him "Coach". I can see it in his eyes that he is loving every minute of it and is disappointed when he can't make it to a game or practice. I send him text updates though so it's almost like being there...sort of.
I'm so glad to be a hockey mom. It takes a special kind of parent to be a hockey mom. We don't mind the cold. We always have a blanket and gloves in the car even in the heat of the summer. We sip gallons of coffee trying to warm up and wake up at 7 am hockey games. We heave large bags of equipment into the back of our all of a sudden too small minivans. We know the best ways to get odors out of hockey pads and we aren't afraid to assist our young sons in the adjustment of the cup.
These are just some of the things I've learned and enjoyed this season...so far...
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Road Trip!
Sean's team (Orange Crush, as they call themselves) had their first full ice game with refs and no coaches on the ice this past Sunday. We had to make it a whole experience. I can't tell you how fun it was for the boys.
The parents wore orange shirts and had signs and cowbells. It was so fun! We still lost but here's the funny part. The score was 7-2. Sounds bad BUT, we played this team early in the season and they beat us 17-3! Thankfully, the scorekeeper stopped putting it up after 5 but we parents keep track.
Our boys ARE improving. They are getting better every week. They are playing as a team. They are passing the puck, ON PURPOSE! They are blocking shots. Playing in their positions. AND they are learning ALL the positions.
The team we played this week obviously has a full time netminder. Our goalie-of-the-week was wearing the pads for the first time ever. But that's ok. The boys gave him a cheer anyway for giving it a good try!
Home game coming up this week. They'll be better this week than last week, I'm sure! ;-)
The parents wore orange shirts and had signs and cowbells. It was so fun! We still lost but here's the funny part. The score was 7-2. Sounds bad BUT, we played this team early in the season and they beat us 17-3! Thankfully, the scorekeeper stopped putting it up after 5 but we parents keep track.
Our boys ARE improving. They are getting better every week. They are playing as a team. They are passing the puck, ON PURPOSE! They are blocking shots. Playing in their positions. AND they are learning ALL the positions.
The team we played this week obviously has a full time netminder. Our goalie-of-the-week was wearing the pads for the first time ever. But that's ok. The boys gave him a cheer anyway for giving it a good try!
Home game coming up this week. They'll be better this week than last week, I'm sure! ;-)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
It's Not Always About a Winning Record
Well, after a brief (sort of) hiatus that included a hard drive crash and inconsistent wireless internet access, I'm back.
Sean's hockey season is well underway and luckily for me, there are NO seven o'clock game times! Yay!!!! Unfortunately for me, his team is 0-3.
It's heartbreaking to watch your child attempt something and fail numerous times, especially when it's something he loves so much. I sit there in the stands shouting encouragement to him and his team mates to no avail. I watch in horror with the other parents as the opposing team opens up and shooting gallery that ends with a score of 17-3. Mercifully, there was no score keeper that game and generally, they stop putting it up on the scoreboard after 6 or so goals. I feel very sad for my son to not know the feeling of victory. I feel like the coaches (including my own husband) should be doing a better job of preparing the boys for their games. I feel like I need to be the biggest cheerleader in the world to keep him excited about the game.
Then...I ask my son how he feels about it. He doesn't even notice the score. He noticed how his buddy passed the puck to him and he almost scored. He sees how good he's playing defensively. He knows how fun it is to get dressed in the locker room with his team and how they talk about hitting the arcade afterwards. He sees that his coaches are doing the best job they know how and making it fun for them to learn the game of hockey. AND he says, "maybe we'll win the next one."
Man, have I got a lot to learn about life.
Sean's hockey season is well underway and luckily for me, there are NO seven o'clock game times! Yay!!!! Unfortunately for me, his team is 0-3.
It's heartbreaking to watch your child attempt something and fail numerous times, especially when it's something he loves so much. I sit there in the stands shouting encouragement to him and his team mates to no avail. I watch in horror with the other parents as the opposing team opens up and shooting gallery that ends with a score of 17-3. Mercifully, there was no score keeper that game and generally, they stop putting it up on the scoreboard after 6 or so goals. I feel very sad for my son to not know the feeling of victory. I feel like the coaches (including my own husband) should be doing a better job of preparing the boys for their games. I feel like I need to be the biggest cheerleader in the world to keep him excited about the game.
Then...I ask my son how he feels about it. He doesn't even notice the score. He noticed how his buddy passed the puck to him and he almost scored. He sees how good he's playing defensively. He knows how fun it is to get dressed in the locker room with his team and how they talk about hitting the arcade afterwards. He sees that his coaches are doing the best job they know how and making it fun for them to learn the game of hockey. AND he says, "maybe we'll win the next one."
Man, have I got a lot to learn about life.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Hockey Rides Again
It's in the inbox. The roster for Limited Travel Mites. Sean has been assigned to Voorhees Team Orange! He's thrilled!
I am a bit less than thrilled with the evaluation process and the distribution of the 'talent' on the teams. Voorhees Black team has the sons of two two professional NHL players on their roster. That's THREE Canadians on one team! How fair is that???? Sean is looking at this and finding an upside, as he always does. He's just excited enough to be playing opposite those kids and the prospect of playing in front of their dads is awesome to him!
Luckily, my worst fear wasn't realized. We will NOT be having a 7 am game 50 miles away! Whew! Dodged a bullet there. AND most of our games are at home since we have two teams and a majority of the remaining games are at the rink very close to my house, again because they have two teams. Yay!
Practice starts Wednesday. First game on Saturday.
Onto NHL action, the Flyers have won three of their first four preseason games in a shootout. And only lost one game in a shootout. Four more games to come and then the real deal starts. I'll be glad to go to some games. We dropped our season ticket package back down to two seats so we'll be going to fewer games but that's ok. I'm still looking forward to it.
I am a bit less than thrilled with the evaluation process and the distribution of the 'talent' on the teams. Voorhees Black team has the sons of two two professional NHL players on their roster. That's THREE Canadians on one team! How fair is that???? Sean is looking at this and finding an upside, as he always does. He's just excited enough to be playing opposite those kids and the prospect of playing in front of their dads is awesome to him!
Luckily, my worst fear wasn't realized. We will NOT be having a 7 am game 50 miles away! Whew! Dodged a bullet there. AND most of our games are at home since we have two teams and a majority of the remaining games are at the rink very close to my house, again because they have two teams. Yay!
Practice starts Wednesday. First game on Saturday.
Onto NHL action, the Flyers have won three of their first four preseason games in a shootout. And only lost one game in a shootout. Four more games to come and then the real deal starts. I'll be glad to go to some games. We dropped our season ticket package back down to two seats so we'll be going to fewer games but that's ok. I'm still looking forward to it.
Friday, September 10, 2010
And Away We Go!
We're opening a new chapter in the little guy's hockey life...Limited Travel Hockey!!!! It's basically what some might call a "house league" in that we only play teams from our rink system. It includes five different rinks and we'll travel as far as 50 miles from home. The closest rink is actually 5 minutes from my house! Looking forward to those games!
Sean is absolutely thrilled with the prospect of playing in different "cities". He may be on a road trip "just like the big guys" he says. He also reported that he'll need to "listen to music to get pumped up for the games...just like the big guys do." We've decided to make a mix CD for this purpose. I only hope it lasts as long as the trip to Atlantic City.
I'm also getting "pumped up" for this new experience. I've heard these games are a whole different ballgame so to speak. One of our team mates last season got picked up to play a game with the house team (he's a goalie and they needed one badly). His mom said that the other mom's actually WATCH the game! LoL! I watch the games too but it's far less competitive at the mini mite level apparently. These moms were yelling, cheering and shouting when there was a bad call. I can hardly wait!
Jack is thrilled to be able to take his place with the other hockey dads standing on the top row of bleachers at the rink. That way he shout encouragement (I hope) to our boy and get a really good view of the action.
The down side to this will be my schedule. I work every other weekend and I HATE to miss a game! The 50 mile travel will also be pretty yucky when you consider a 7 am start time. Ugh! But there's always the LARGE travel mug of coffee to get me through.
I took Sean to the rink for stick time this week to shake the cobwebs off his skates and he looked like he never left the ice. He hasn't skated in about 2 months and really had no problem picking up where he left off.
This is going to be a great season for him and for me. It will be a growing experience for both of us. I can't wait!
Sean is absolutely thrilled with the prospect of playing in different "cities". He may be on a road trip "just like the big guys" he says. He also reported that he'll need to "listen to music to get pumped up for the games...just like the big guys do." We've decided to make a mix CD for this purpose. I only hope it lasts as long as the trip to Atlantic City.
I'm also getting "pumped up" for this new experience. I've heard these games are a whole different ballgame so to speak. One of our team mates last season got picked up to play a game with the house team (he's a goalie and they needed one badly). His mom said that the other mom's actually WATCH the game! LoL! I watch the games too but it's far less competitive at the mini mite level apparently. These moms were yelling, cheering and shouting when there was a bad call. I can hardly wait!
Jack is thrilled to be able to take his place with the other hockey dads standing on the top row of bleachers at the rink. That way he shout encouragement (I hope) to our boy and get a really good view of the action.
The down side to this will be my schedule. I work every other weekend and I HATE to miss a game! The 50 mile travel will also be pretty yucky when you consider a 7 am start time. Ugh! But there's always the LARGE travel mug of coffee to get me through.
I took Sean to the rink for stick time this week to shake the cobwebs off his skates and he looked like he never left the ice. He hasn't skated in about 2 months and really had no problem picking up where he left off.
This is going to be a great season for him and for me. It will be a growing experience for both of us. I can't wait!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Summer is Over for Hockey
Sean had his last summer 3 on 3 game last night. I can't believe how great he's playing! I can only imagine how good he's going to play when he gets some real coaching in the fall. I'm even thinking of some additional private coaching for him. We'll see.
Fall Limited Travel evaluations are in September so Sean will have no hockey between now and then. I might try to get him to the rink a couple more times before then. I'm thinking of even hitting one of the other rinks like Atlantic City, which is where he'll probably play his summer hockey next year since we'll be spending more time there with the new boat.
Fall Limited Travel evaluations are in September so Sean will have no hockey between now and then. I might try to get him to the rink a couple more times before then. I'm thinking of even hitting one of the other rinks like Atlantic City, which is where he'll probably play his summer hockey next year since we'll be spending more time there with the new boat.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Amazing...
It's always amazing to watch your child. To see them learn and grow. To master a skill.
Let me tell you, watching Sean play hockey the other night was truly amazing to me. I can't believe this is the same little boy we put on the ice a year and a half ago in a Learn-to-Skate program. He's not only grown taller but he's growing as a hockey player.
Sounds funny to say but it's true. He's learning the very important skills of teamwork and leadership. I never realized it until I saw him the other night. He made it a point to pass to the open man instead of taking the shot. That's HUGE!!!! He was also the most vocal player on the bench. He was chattering to his team mates the whole time when he wasn't on the ice.
It's definitely a type of maturity that you don't see in a lot of other 6 year olds. I'm not sure if you see this with other 6 year olds in other sports. Again, that's something special about hockey.
I'll be interested to see what he does in the fall. Limited Travel here we come!
Let me tell you, watching Sean play hockey the other night was truly amazing to me. I can't believe this is the same little boy we put on the ice a year and a half ago in a Learn-to-Skate program. He's not only grown taller but he's growing as a hockey player.
Sounds funny to say but it's true. He's learning the very important skills of teamwork and leadership. I never realized it until I saw him the other night. He made it a point to pass to the open man instead of taking the shot. That's HUGE!!!! He was also the most vocal player on the bench. He was chattering to his team mates the whole time when he wasn't on the ice.
It's definitely a type of maturity that you don't see in a lot of other 6 year olds. I'm not sure if you see this with other 6 year olds in other sports. Again, that's something special about hockey.
I'll be interested to see what he does in the fall. Limited Travel here we come!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
And now it's summer...
The summer cross-ice 3 on 3 has begun. My little guy had an amazing game! I'm so proud of him! He scored at least 3 goals and was skating all over the place! I loved watching him doing some backward crossovers!
Now, that being said I'd like to comment on listening to the professionals. At the end of the last cross ice season I was a little ticked that Coach wanted to keep Sean back in cross ice until the fall. I felt like he was ready to move to full ice hockey and didn't understand why Coach didn't want to move him up. After tonight I totally understand and will listen to the experts on this since I am just a MOM and know very little about youth hockey!
One of the parents in our group felt that her son was ready to be moved to the next level. From mini mites to mites/squirts. After his first game tonight he said he didn't like it. The other kids were definitely bigger than him. They were faster than him and have more experience on the ice. Sean, on the other hand, was kept back in mini mites for another round of cross ice and let me tell you, he did wonderful! It's giving him confidence to play with kids that have a little less skill than he does. He's getting more time on the ice. He's the senior guy on the team! His skills have improved and I'm glad Jack didn't listen to me when I said he needs to move up!
Always listen to the professionals when it comes to youth sports! That's my words of wisdom today.
Now, that being said I'd like to comment on listening to the professionals. At the end of the last cross ice season I was a little ticked that Coach wanted to keep Sean back in cross ice until the fall. I felt like he was ready to move to full ice hockey and didn't understand why Coach didn't want to move him up. After tonight I totally understand and will listen to the experts on this since I am just a MOM and know very little about youth hockey!
One of the parents in our group felt that her son was ready to be moved to the next level. From mini mites to mites/squirts. After his first game tonight he said he didn't like it. The other kids were definitely bigger than him. They were faster than him and have more experience on the ice. Sean, on the other hand, was kept back in mini mites for another round of cross ice and let me tell you, he did wonderful! It's giving him confidence to play with kids that have a little less skill than he does. He's getting more time on the ice. He's the senior guy on the team! His skills have improved and I'm glad Jack didn't listen to me when I said he needs to move up!
Always listen to the professionals when it comes to youth sports! That's my words of wisdom today.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Summer Season Starts Tuesday
Sean has his first Summer 3 on 3 Cross Ice game on Tuesday. He'll be on Team White. There are 3 teams in his division. It goes pretty quickly since there's only 8 weeks of games and some weeks we have two games...like this week!
Ironically, Flyers Rookie camp also starts this week.
Ironically, Flyers Rookie camp also starts this week.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Another Hockey Break
Sean will be taking a brief break from hockey for the occasion of his sisters' graduations from high school! Yay! Of course that means college. It's times like this that I wish I had encouraged more sports activities with my daughter. Can you say scholarship?
I know, realistically the chances of a child getting a sports scholarship are small but it certainly can't hurt.
I know, realistically the chances of a child getting a sports scholarship are small but it certainly can't hurt.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Summer for the Hockey Mom
Now that the Stanley Cup finals are over (what a heartbreaker) it's time for me to focus on my own little hockey star.
We're finishing up the spring mini-season and will be starting the summer 3 on 3 cross ice season. That should take us into August and finish up just in time for fall limited travel evaluations.
Now, I've been thinking about this quite a bit. The whole limited travel business. That's what it is, a business. We knew going in that hockey is an expensive sport for both watching and playing. Here's a bit of math. In our limited travel we will be required to travel as far as 45 miles to the farthest rink in our system. Not too bad. That's about an hour each way. Add that to a seven o'clock game time (potentially) and we're looking at leaving the house as early as just a shade before six AM. Ugh! Little did I know that this youth hockey was not just going to cost me a lot of money but a lot of sleep as well! That's still a little way off though for me to worry about it yet.
The rewards are huge though. The sense of team that my child and I will experience will far outweigh the slight inconvenience of losing sleep. I am reminded of an article I read in a hockey magazine. It was about the village that raises a hockey team. The parents of all the kids join together to cheer the team on, watch the siblings, make the game and the whole experience enjoyable for everyone! I can't wait to learn this first hand.
We're finishing up the spring mini-season and will be starting the summer 3 on 3 cross ice season. That should take us into August and finish up just in time for fall limited travel evaluations.
Now, I've been thinking about this quite a bit. The whole limited travel business. That's what it is, a business. We knew going in that hockey is an expensive sport for both watching and playing. Here's a bit of math. In our limited travel we will be required to travel as far as 45 miles to the farthest rink in our system. Not too bad. That's about an hour each way. Add that to a seven o'clock game time (potentially) and we're looking at leaving the house as early as just a shade before six AM. Ugh! Little did I know that this youth hockey was not just going to cost me a lot of money but a lot of sleep as well! That's still a little way off though for me to worry about it yet.
The rewards are huge though. The sense of team that my child and I will experience will far outweigh the slight inconvenience of losing sleep. I am reminded of an article I read in a hockey magazine. It was about the village that raises a hockey team. The parents of all the kids join together to cheer the team on, watch the siblings, make the game and the whole experience enjoyable for everyone! I can't wait to learn this first hand.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Deflated...(sigh)
Well, it's over. The Flyers season ended Wednesday night in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was a sad day in Mudville. Well, not exactly. Our team gave us an amazing ride. By most accounts we should never have even made it this far. Some even said we shouldn't have made it INTO the playoffs! Do I think they are right? Heck no! The Flyers are full of drive and passion. That's something I hope I can instill in my son. Professional sports do have a place in child-rearing, I believe.
I don't have anything more to say except, "there's always next season."
I don't have anything more to say except, "there's always next season."
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Nailbiting, Flyers pizza and..Identity Theft...???
Aside from being busy canceling credit and debit cards due to identity theft (don't get me started on THAT whole thing), I've been making a weekly appointment with my manicurist. Doesn't sound very hockey-ish. Oh, but it is. If you're a Flyers fan, you'll understand.
We've been biting our nails since the last game of the regular season. As I've previously stated, it's been an absolutely insane ride to get to this point. But here we are preparing for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals! Game 1 should have been thrown out since it was basically a track meet followed by a shooting gallery. Both teams admitted they didn't play their best hockey. Game 2 was tighter although it didn't have the outcome I wanted. Now Game 3? THAT was a hockey game! Both teams fought hard but MY team (and dare I say, the better team?) won! I can't wait to see what's on tap for Game 4.
Julie, our hostess for all the games this playoffs, is working midnight shifts for Games 4 and 5 of this series. She will go without sleep before she'd go without hockey! Henrik the Swede, wakes up at two in the morning his time to watch the games with us via internet! THAT'S a real hockey fan! And about that Flyers pizza. We order from the same place every game. The thing is, the scoring doesn't begin until the pizza is delivered. Superstition? Well, call it what you will but we're not messing with a good thing!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Eastern Conference Champions!
Another series done. Another nailbiting series. The FlyGuys have silienced the Ole's of the storied Montreal Canadiens! What a wild ride it's been! The Philadelphia Flyers are going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1997 with a chance to win a Cup for the first time since 1975!
Captain Mike Richards took hold of the Prince of Wales trophy and had his picture taken with it and then...superstition or no he grabbed that trophy and took it to the dressing room! So amazing! Team of Destiny! Who cares about the superstitions! Crosby touched it last season and ended up hoisting the Cup a couple weeks later!
Jack was jumping around like a little kid! Sean had his first taste of beer (shh...don't tell anyone). A champagne cork was popped and we celebrated!!!! I had tears in my eyes just taking it all in. It was amazing. But just like the team, we put the celebrating behind us and look forward to the next series.
Now for the downside, if there is one. Chicago's Cup drought has been longer than that of the Flyers. They haven't won a Cup since 1961. This was the one reason I was hoping to not face them.
In the meantime, we bought our EC Champion tshirts and hats. We watched the replay of the game a few times and now we focus on winning the next period. And the one after that. And the one after that. Until we stand victorious. Now, I'm not being cocky or over confident. I said weeks ago that the stars were aligning and whatever was going to happen, it was going to be big. This...THIS is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!
In mini-mite news, Sean's been cleared for light, no contact activity. That means he can ride his bike and skate, but no hockey or karate for another three weeks! We took him right to the SkateZone in NE Philly for public skate and he looked like he hadn't missed a minute on the ice. He'll make the last two weeks of the spring season before the summer season starts. Then we watched the Philadelphia PD deliver a crushing defeat to the Pittsburgh PD on the ice. It was great! Thanks for the invite, JB!
Captain Mike Richards took hold of the Prince of Wales trophy and had his picture taken with it and then...superstition or no he grabbed that trophy and took it to the dressing room! So amazing! Team of Destiny! Who cares about the superstitions! Crosby touched it last season and ended up hoisting the Cup a couple weeks later!
Jack was jumping around like a little kid! Sean had his first taste of beer (shh...don't tell anyone). A champagne cork was popped and we celebrated!!!! I had tears in my eyes just taking it all in. It was amazing. But just like the team, we put the celebrating behind us and look forward to the next series.
Now for the downside, if there is one. Chicago's Cup drought has been longer than that of the Flyers. They haven't won a Cup since 1961. This was the one reason I was hoping to not face them.
In the meantime, we bought our EC Champion tshirts and hats. We watched the replay of the game a few times and now we focus on winning the next period. And the one after that. And the one after that. Until we stand victorious. Now, I'm not being cocky or over confident. I said weeks ago that the stars were aligning and whatever was going to happen, it was going to be big. This...THIS is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!
In mini-mite news, Sean's been cleared for light, no contact activity. That means he can ride his bike and skate, but no hockey or karate for another three weeks! We took him right to the SkateZone in NE Philly for public skate and he looked like he hadn't missed a minute on the ice. He'll make the last two weeks of the spring season before the summer season starts. Then we watched the Philadelphia PD deliver a crushing defeat to the Pittsburgh PD on the ice. It was great! Thanks for the invite, JB!
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