More Hockey Info

Okay, I can’t leave well enough alone. It makes R and I immeasurably happy that N is finding his groove in something that interests him, though again, there is some ground to make up. As long as he is having fun and making friends. Sports definitely give you some carte blanche into the world of boys.

With Summer gliding along, there is the issue of team hockey to consider, and once again, decision time. Uh-oh. There are two types of league play, traveling or house. House teams tend to be more low-key and geared towards fun. Traveling teams focus more on skills and game playing, and are thus more intense and competitive. At first, I thought the house league would be a better fit, because I wasn’t sure how much I wanted him getting into the whole team sports culture.

However, I also want him to have fun and take pride in his abilities, and I think playing in a team situation would promote that. It would be more of a commitment, and might be a little more of a challenge, not to mention a little more rigorous, but there are lessons to be learned about the value of hard work and diligence.

With this in mind, I asked the coach about his thoughts, and he emphatically said that he thought N would be a great fit for the traveling team. He had really nice things to say, and thought he was doing a great job out there. Needless to say, this made my day. Just for the record, to play on the traveling team, you have to display some basic level of hockey competence, and I’m guessing N did just that.

So I guess it’s been decided, but we’ll see.

Two final issues - N has asked for a different jersey. He is not that keen on the one he has, which was given to us. It is different from the other kid’s jerseys, and maybe he doesn’t like standing out. It’s also not very manly since it’s powder blue, and I think used to be our KB’s daughter’s, so I kind of understand. We asked him what kind he wanted, and he said he’d like a Boston Bruins jersey. Of course! Finding one was another matter. We went to Stateline and they said they don’t carry logo jerseys, though the logo-free ones they carry were a bargain. They said go to Olympia, and they don’t carry them, either. Looks like we’ll have to online.

The second thing was helping him practice his wrist shot, specifically lifting it up into the goal. I did some research and learned the way it’s done and relayed this info to him, but learning and doing are two separate things. I found out that you can get hockey practice pads, which are like fake ice. Then again, why buy one when you can make it at half the price?

I got a sheet of acrylic plexiglass and coated it with furniture polish. Then I attached a bungee cord on one end for rebound, and put a 2X4 on one end. The goal here is to flick the puck over the 2X4 and against the plywood. It’s not as easy as it sounds, and if you can’t lift it, it bounces back to you via the bungee. Not perfect, but good enough for now. I’m still searching for the perfect material as well as the best lubricant. I think some sort of silicone spray would work, but don’t want to get into toxic chemicals.

That’s it for now on the hockey front, but believe me when I tell you, it ain’t over yet, not by a long shot.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Shannah Pace for the pic.