Farewell to Hockey, Again

This is like being in a relationship, breaking up, and then getting back together only to break up again. Hockey once again ended, and I once again have to go through the heartbreak of saying goodbye. It was a lot of fun, though I ended up getting more involved than I had originally planned, but that seems to be par for the course. When you’re an advocate for your kids, these things happen.

The final weekend of Spring Fling (SF), and what a great run it was. I think A&N really benefited from the experience, and their game really moved up a notch. I give the whole experience two thumbs up. Plus they made a wide range of friends from all over the place, as did I. It will be interesting to see them around town in the future. It was especially good for A to see some of these girls who were just amazing players. Then again, it was good for N, as well.

We even saw old friends who showed up out of the blue. On Sat, KS showed up, and we hadn’t seen him for months. He was one of the dominating players on N’s team, but the SF kids did a great job of neutralizing him. These kids are good hockey players, and A&N really learned a lot playing with them, but also it helped to build their confidence. I had to work the bench and do the line changes, which is always a bit of a fiasco because it’s impossible to make everyone happy, especially young boys. It’s not unlike parenting where you have to make the tough decisions and be firm. I was just trying to survive. Once again BM helped on the bench, but help is a stretch, because he doesn’t do anything, he just opens door and yells at the kids. Sort of useless, actually.

On Sunday, it was the final day of ice at Campion, and all these kids showed up to get their last hurrahs. Some of those players were amazingly good, and they were just there to get more ice time. You have to applaud their dedication to the sport, even if they never showed up during the season and only came because it was the last day. A’s team was matched up against a crew of virtual pros, these kids were good. Maybe the best on the ice, and for whatever reason, they all ended up on the same team. The other coach even came over and asked if we were prepared because they had some “big guns.” Not sure what to make of that.

What was great was our rag-tag group of kids did a great job, holding the “pros” at bay and working their tails off. Our kids were not as flashy, they just went out and worked that much harder. It was truly inspiring. A&N even got into the act, doing a great job defensively and handling the puck nicely. I was sure proud. Even BM’s son did a fine job in net, stopping some good shots.

After the game, it was time for N’s team, and A got to join in on that one. Of course, I had to work the bench, for the opposing team this time. It’s easier to coach when it’s not your own kids because I get into the whole neurosis of thinking I’m favoring my own kids, though I think that’s the coaches prerogative.

It was fun, and the kids did a great job. Everyone got lots of hockey in, and we were all sad to say goodbye. We made many new friends and hope to keep in touch with them, but we’ll see how that goes.

For now, we have a bit of a break from hockey, and can plan our next move. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to ADDROX for the pic.