A Resolute New Years

My Fifteen Minutes
I was lucky enough to be included in a story written by NHL.com columnist, Rocky Bonanno called, Everlasting Memories in the Great Outdoors.  I was actually one of two backyard rink builders to be profiled, the other being Joe Proulx of New Hampshire.  After reading the story in its entirety a few things jumped out at me.

Moving Down on the Depth Chart

First and foremost - I'm 41.  It looks so old when you see it in print, especially when juxtaposed with someone who is 29.  However, since the article was published Joe and I have gone back and forth about things beyond the rink, including our experiences with kids and parenting.  While Joe has a 3 year old son, Caroline and Danny are now very independent and rely on us only for things like rides to a friend's house and funding for various electronics...but they still consent to the occasional snuggle.  The game clock is always ticking away, but I really love each stage they kids have been in, and are in.

The Player Named Later
The other thing that I noticed about myself (it's all about me, right?) is that in the article I come across as the 'wanna-be' hockey player who never was.  It's true - I always did want to play organized hockey as a kid; and I suppose playing your first organized game at age 30 is better than say, age 41.  But it got me to thinking about the question, "What if I had played youth hockey?"...which led to other questions: Would I have burned out and been turned off by the hockey's 'dark side?'  Would youth hockey have made me a more polished and skilled player than I am today?  How would playing have affected my outlook on Danny's youth hockey experience today?

Fun and Games?

The essence of the article is how hockey, when played outside, is fun and free-form, void of the structure found in rinks.  In it, I sound as if I am anti-game and anti-competition.  Come watch me play and you'll see I hate to lose and I give everything I have.  But when I am on the ice at Danny's practices or at his games I have a 'I'm just happy to be here' mentality. I feel like I'm in the minority sometimes and wonder why we parents yell at our skaters - even if they can't hear us out on the ice.  I'm not saying we should sit there and be quite, but do we stand over our kids while they are doing their math homework and yell, "CARRY THE 1 AND BORROW FROM THE 8! IT'S SO OBVIOUS!"  And, if anyone followed me around on a daily basis and narrated all my mistakes I'd get tired of it ("YOU DIDN'T SEPARATE THE DARKS FROM THE WHITES!").

The Glass  is Half-Full
What I do know is: I see all youth hockey players as doing the best that they can do, with room for improvement and learning.  That's what I love about the game of hockey - you never know it all or can do it all (if you can and do then you are getting paid to play).   I also know that I am glad I play the game now, and I hope that Danny continues to love the game; especially when he is an old 41 like me.

Happy New Year.

- Scott