Hockey Dad

You may have noticed that hockey seems to be a big theme in our lives right now. Go figure.

On that note, I’m on my way to becoming an official hockey dad, sort of, though in order to become a full fledged hockey dad, you have to gear up and get out there on the ice, and I’m not at that point... yet. I’m happy to help out in any sort of way, and there’s still a good chance that I’ll end up on the board, at least in an accessory way, and again, I’m fine with that. I’ll just keep my skates and helmet in the trunk.

In the meantime, this past practice I was given jobs to do, and I couldn’t believe it. I was like a dog being asked to fetch the paper and slippers. They took team and individual pictures, and I was the cameraman. I kept thinking R should be here, she’s the photographer in this family, but the job fell on my laps. Time to man up. Of course I was anxious about getting a good shot off, so I took plenty of pics. The coach’s camera was a pro model and not as simple and easy to use as our point and shoot, but what are you going to do?

They also asked me to help out with the equipment during practice, and I was all over that. I helped lay out the bumpers early in practice, which is a quick and mindless job, but that’s right up my alley. For a guy, it feels good to be useful, especially when you’re surrounded by real men. It’s very interesting to see how the gender specific roles really play out in hockey. The men are on the ice and the women run the bake sales and sit on the board. I guess I kind of blur the lines in this area and maybe dabble in both areas, but that’s yet to be seen. Could be interesting fodder for this blog, or maybe even an article.

On another bright hockey note, we’re getting all sorts of positive feedback on N’s playing. They could be just being nice, but truth be told, he's doing a stand-up job out there. He performed beautifully during his game, and I’m trying to be really objective here, but he’s really coming along. I know it’s important to teach the kids that it’s about working hard and having fun, but the simple reality is, for an athlete, doing well makes a huge difference, especially amongst your peers. He did a great job last weekend, and the coaches and many of the parents were very kind in their comments. They didn’t have to say anything, after all, and I really think I can be objective and say what sort of game he had.

One last note, and sort of a sad one for an overbearing parent as myself, but N has also become very independent in the locker room. He doesn’t need his old dad anymore, and if anything, I just get in the way. He can pretty much gear up and down all by himself, which is great. Our boy is growing up. I’ll help out with getting his skates tight, but all in all, I think I just embarrass him by being there. I guess that just means I’m doing my job, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to sean ratke for the pic.