New Hockey Developments

I realize this may be happening a bit soon, but as I like to say, it’s never too early to think about hockey. I was approached by one of the hockey dads, DV, whose daughter is a hockey player and happens to play lacrosse (surprise, surprise) on the same day as N, and he said he was spearheading an effort to form an under-12 (U-12) girls team. I know other programs have U-12 teams, and they are good. In fact, the Hanover U-12 girls won the state championships.

I’m all for it, and I think it would be a great fit for A. Plus, it’s just good for hockey in general. While it’s true that girls benefit from playing with the boys, at some point they break off, and the boys start to get physical and nasty. Girls hockey is so much more about finesse and skill. From a social standpoint, I think A would benefit from playing with all girls, because let’s face it, she’s probably not going to hang with the guys from her team. I think she’ll develop more lasting relationships, and will mesh more with her teammates.

I also think many of the girls from her House team will go to the girls team, so it won’t be so good if she’s the only girl there. The U-12 team will focus more on competition and travel, so it will be a little more challenging, and they’ll end up playing the girls hockey powerhouse, Hanover, but that’s part of growing up and developing, right? You have to take on the Goliath.

Part of the complication, however, is that they need coaches, and DV said that I might be conscripted to coach, as is he. I don’t think I’m qualified to be a head coach, nor do I think I can, but as always, I’d be happy to help out and be an assistant. As it stands now, A wants to stick with the House team, but has expressed some interest. If all of her female teammates move over to the U-12 team, she might be more enthused, but you never know.

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