Only Christmas Morning is more exciting than the start of hockey season to this 7 year-old. Last week we got the call for tryouts, they begin tomorrow. On Thursday, at 7:15pm, Ryan will once again try out for Bow Valley hockey. But this year is different.
Flashback, September 2005. We got the call about tryouts. No big deal. I had taken Ryan leisure skating with his buddies Aleksandra, Ethan, and another unidentified person. He seemed to move himself around okay. When it came time for evaluation session number one, something went horribly wrong. When he stepped on the ice, he couldn't skate anymore. I don't know if it was because of the equipment, holding a hockey stick while skating, distraction, or whatever, but the only thing he could do was "walk" on the ice. He was unable to do most of the drills.
As I saw this, I was terrified. "What have I done!" Here he is, the most impressionable years of his life, and look what I'm putting him through. He's going to be in some clock tower at 18 years of age, mowing people down with a sniper rifle while yelling "Damn you, Dad! Damn you and your lousy hockey!" It was one of the worst feelings of parental betrayal a Dad could possibley feel. I thought this until he came off the ice. As we were getting changed, he had this super huge smile on his face. "Dad, did I make it? Did I make the team?" At that moment, I knew he was a bona fide rink rat. Hockey would be good to him. By January, he was a pretty fast skater (in a straight line), definitely room for improvement, but he had scored his first goal by then and was now genuinely comfortable out there.
So this year is different. He won't stand out by having amazing skill, or by not being able to skate. He'll be the one out there having a ridiculous amount of fun. Bow Valley has about 10 divisions. I'm really curious to see where they'll put him.
Stay tuned....
Flashback, September 2005. We got the call about tryouts. No big deal. I had taken Ryan leisure skating with his buddies Aleksandra, Ethan, and another unidentified person. He seemed to move himself around okay. When it came time for evaluation session number one, something went horribly wrong. When he stepped on the ice, he couldn't skate anymore. I don't know if it was because of the equipment, holding a hockey stick while skating, distraction, or whatever, but the only thing he could do was "walk" on the ice. He was unable to do most of the drills.
As I saw this, I was terrified. "What have I done!" Here he is, the most impressionable years of his life, and look what I'm putting him through. He's going to be in some clock tower at 18 years of age, mowing people down with a sniper rifle while yelling "Damn you, Dad! Damn you and your lousy hockey!" It was one of the worst feelings of parental betrayal a Dad could possibley feel. I thought this until he came off the ice. As we were getting changed, he had this super huge smile on his face. "Dad, did I make it? Did I make the team?" At that moment, I knew he was a bona fide rink rat. Hockey would be good to him. By January, he was a pretty fast skater (in a straight line), definitely room for improvement, but he had scored his first goal by then and was now genuinely comfortable out there.
So this year is different. He won't stand out by having amazing skill, or by not being able to skate. He'll be the one out there having a ridiculous amount of fun. Bow Valley has about 10 divisions. I'm really curious to see where they'll put him.
Stay tuned....
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