I don’t know how the kids do it, but they have boundless energy. It’s good because it keeps them fit, active, and healthy, plus it helps to build their self-esteem and confidence, not to mention their social lives. It does that a bit for me, as well. We started off the day with making dumplings, which is sort of a drag, but I won’t belabor that point. I will mention that since we had a good day last week, we completely depleted our stocks, so we had to make everything. This proved to be a lot of work, but we just chipped away at the stone until the big push on Sunday. Now it’s all done, and we have a few odds and ends to attend to, but are ready for the most part.
After the dumplings were done, it was time to get ready for hockey. This time around they actually had the parent/child open stick, which meant that yours truly was going to have a chance to play. I’d never played hockey before but dabbled a little on Occum Pond. This time around, it was going to be N and I hitting the big time. I’d gotten a helmet and was ready to rock and roll.
There were several dads out there, and some of them were good. There were also several younger guys, either high school or college, and they were amazing. Their shots were rockets, like coming out of a cannon. I learned not to hang around behind the net because the puck comes zinging by. Fortunately, they’re so good that they have pretty good control over their shots, and I’m glad I had the helmet on with the cage. If you got hit in the stomach, you could easily break a rib, and that’s all I need.
After the skate, N’s practice began, and this time around there was a completely different crew. Hockey really is a small community, and this group had a large Rutland component. N was one of the youngest and I’m guessing once again the only one with no hockey experience. Consequently, he was a little behind the curve, but that’s to be expected. Some of these kids have been playing hockey for years, the age range is 6-14, so N is on the lower end. Even still, he looks good out there, and is on the healthy size side. In other words, he’s not the little squirt out there, and his strength will serve him well.
In the meantime, I think it’s good to focus a little on puck handling and speed skating, and perhaps a little on aggression. N is a good skater, but it’s a whole new game when you have to skate and handle a puck, as you might have guessed. Plus, I think there are times when N is not skating as hard as he could, but I’m not going to make an issue out of it. Peer competition has an amazing way of taking care of that.
One thing I did not ice is that N does not always have that killer competitive instinct that a lot of kids have. I’m glad for this, it’s not always an admirable quality, but I think it has a way of lessening his motivation. Sometimes during play, he’ll hang back and wait for things to happen rather than jumping into the fray and making things happen. I’m hoping the coaches will teach or instill this while playing hockey, because when I try to give him pointers, he stops just short of telling me to go jump in a lake.
The only reason that I make note of these facts is because there are moments when N displays his athletic prowess, and others when he tones it way down. Maybe over the course of getting more experience, he’ll know when to do what.
He’s having fun, either way, and I don’t want to ruin it by being overbearing, so I’ll keep the input to a minimum.
After hockey, N was geared up and ready to hit the UF field. It still amazes me that he’s up for it after hours of hockey, but he couldn’t wait. Sure enough, he did a great job out there, and the other players are very supportive and give him loads of compliments. A did a nice job, as well, though again, when I try to give her advice, all I get is sassiness. Sometimes you can’t win.
We ended up playing until about 8:00, and FYI, N scored the winning goal. It was a great effort, and he even ended up diving to catch it. The perfect moment for the highlight reel.
We came home, at a quick bite, and then the kids had baths and went to be. I was exhausted, but content after having had a nice day. Now we can look forward to a bear of a 4th.
Until then, thanks for reading.
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