The Bear

Last weekend we had yet another busy few days, and of course it involved hockey. Is any of this getting old for you out there? Can’t say I blame you. I don’t know how this all works, but somehow there seems to be a lot of hockey tournaments, and what impresses me about it all is how all these teams make the trip out to play in them, even from far away. Last weekend A’s team took part in the Bear, a big Squirt tournament at UA where there must have been at least 15 teams involved from far away as Maine and New York. It was an amazing example of parent/child cooperation and endurance, not to mention a logistical miracle from the POV of DF and the guys at UA.

Now for whatever reason, A’s team got the worst time slots for two days in a row. How’s that for giving the house team (and home team) the short end of the stick? Not that we’re whiners, we’re hockey players, after all. Either way, the tournament covered Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on Sat and Sun we had early morning games. I’m talking 6:30 on Sat and 7:00 on Sun. Brutal. Fortunately, A is a morning person and wakes up with her feet on the ground. In fact, when she came downstairs for breakfast, she was already dressed and ready to go.

The Bear was actually a blast, and you really have to give credit to DF, the crew at UA, and the parent volunteers for making it happen. You’re really not going to find a crew of people more dedicated to their kid’s game. It’s impressive, or scary, depending on how you look at it. A was thrilled to pieces to be taking part, and I think it was a really memorable experience. She has really taken to hockey, and is finding her place and making lots of friends. It’s done wonders for her skating, as well.

The outcome of the games was not ideal, her team lost all four of them, but it was a learning experience, and the kids played their hearts out. Personally I think the house team doesn’t have a lot of game experience, and they were going into a tournament against teams that clearly did. They had fun, and it was a memorable experience, so I give the whole weekend high marks, it’s just tough sometimes to come in last place. Then again, it’s these character building experiences that help a kid grow up and mature, right? It’s not just about winning, it’s about going out there and trying your best.

The weekend was a blast, either way, and for a change, it was all about A and hockey, instead of us focusing on N. Hockey has been his gig thus far, and now A gets to join in on the fun. I don’t think N feels threatened because their respective hockey experienes are completely different. Plus, it’s nice for A to get to feel the magic of it all.

We also got to sit and watch the big Boston Bruins alumni game, which was a lot of fun. Apparently some of the big names didn’t show up, and personally, being the hockey neophyte that I am, I was not familiar with too many of the players. I recognized some names because they actually played for the LA Kings, but they weren’t stars, and I get that in the interest of having bodies out there, they even put players that could just barely be considered actual Bruins players. Nevertheless, they were all good, and it was fun watching them play the dads out there. Everyone had fun, and the kids got to hang with their hockey buddies. Say no more.

All in all, it was quite the hockey weekend, filled with tons of friends, fun, excitement, junk food, and of course, hockey. Then again, what else is there in life?

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