Maintaining Perspective

Sometimes when you get caught up in the frenzy of a situation, you start to see things for what they are and you need to take a step back. Our love for hockey has not waned in the least bit, but I have to confess, my enthusiasm for the cult of hockey is reaching a healthier, more moderate level. Mind you, this is a good thing.

You really have to look at it for what it is, a fun game where kids learn skills and values that they take with them into future endeavors. They stress this in the USA Hockey program. They want coaches to teach kids to have fun and develop a love for the game while practicing the game. They should not be inundated with hockey or over-worked in any way, and should maintain some balance at all times. This means other interests, including sports. If they want to really make the commitment and play hockey seven days a week, that decision should be made at the Bantam or even high school level.

With this in mind, when they’re young, winning should not be the most important thing, and again, the powers that be wholeheartedly endorse this message. This is not what you see out there, but that’s the way the world is. My point is, kids and parents should not let hockey consume them.

This is not always so easy when you have OCD like I do, and it becomes increasingly difficult when you’re interacting a lot with the likes DF, who is Mr. Hockey. Hockey is his life, and I have yet to meet anyone who knows as much about the sport as him. He doesn’t expect people to be as dedicated as he is, but he doesn’t discourage it, and his enthusiasm can be infectious to a novice like myself. Plus, he’s good at what he does.

This has come to light lately as all sorts of hints and messages have been coming through, largely due to own neurotic OCD, that Mr. Hockey’s days are numbered as our coach. He is really pushing for us to be independent, and he never gives full disclosure as to his motives. It’s almost as if he’s discretely setting up for the day when we’ll be on our own without coming out and saying it, which is fine. It’s also possible that this is all in my wild imagination and the status quo will be maintained, but somehow I doubt that.

It’s good, not unlike a parent teaching a child to be independent, you can’t have your hand held for your entire life, as much as you’d like to have it that way. Becoming more independent-minded has also allowed me to have a healthier outlook when it comes to the game, or at least our kid’s game.

I’ll leave it at that, but it goes without saying that this story is just beginning. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to anthony_goto for the pic.