Having Fun with Hockey

This past weekend we got two days of parent/child hockey in, and it was a blast. N really enjoys it, and I have to confess, I like it a lot, as well. It’s so much fun skating around and trying to handle the puck. It brings a whole new dimension to ice skating.

On Saturday, the crowd was small, just three sets of people, I believe, so we had lots of open ice. There was one dad there who was practicing with his daughter, who was good, though he was like a pro. I met another dad who had come from Killington. I learned that there’s a rink in Rutland, so I’m guessing they go there.

Sunday the skate was earlier than usual. They’ve held the skate right before N’s skill’s camp, so we just sat and watched the Zamboni and the he jumped back in. This time the skate was much earlier, so we had to go home and eat, then drive back to the arena, which isn’t so bad. Hey, you do whatever it takes to play hockey, right? What was cool was that there was a kid practicing his goalie skills, so he welcomed people taking shots on him. The dad was a pro, not to mention a coach, so it made for a good time. N got to practice skating in on a goalie and shooting, which he loved. Nothing like practice in real time. As an added bonus, the public skate was right after the open stick, so we got to skate a little more, but I didn’t want him to get too tired, so we cut it short.

The skills camp had a completely new crowd. It’s interesting how the players cycle through. The previous week, I’d say N was in the bottom 1/3 in terms of experience and skating ability, but this week, I would have put him in the top 1/3. Maybe he’s just elevating his abilities, but he looked good out there. Also, he’d been skating all weekend.

Of course, after hockey, we jumped in the car and headed over to the field to play ultimate frisbee. I vowed not to play because of my injured shoulder, but at some point, I’m incapable of just sitting there and watching, so I jumped in, but that’s a story for another time.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to jimmybop for the pic.