Family Day

February 16, 2015 is Family Day in Ontario. A day legislated to spend with your family. For many years my son has taken part in a tournament in Rochester or Pittsburgh on this weekend. It is usually great fun spending the weekend with our hockey family. The boys and their siblings have great fun playing mini sticks (yes even at minor bantam), swimming if the coach and time permits, and basically just hanging out with each other. Parents usually find themselves in someone's room participating in a beverage or two, talking about the day's games or about the shopping success at the local outlet mall. All in all a good time is had by all. However, aside from the car rides to and from the arena and the drive to and from home there is not a lot of immediate family time. In other years, even if there is not a tournament there has usually been a game or a practice scheduled.


For the first time in years, we have no hockey scheduled AT ALL today! YAY!

"What?" you say, "You are happy at having no hockey today?" Why yes I am - even a hockey mom likes to have some time off from the arena to do something else. We actually have outside interests and/or responsibilities to take care of.


Prior to my children getting heavily into rep hockey I did community theatre. I loved it. It got me out of the house (I was working from home providing daycare), and I got to be me - not a mother, not a wife but me. The people I acted with were amazing and we became our own team. As the hockey participation level increased I only tried out for the fall show or the spring show. That way there wasn't a lot of overlap between rehearsals and practices. Well my son got on a very successful team that went all the way in the OMHAs and actually won. I was in a spring show (so rehearsals ran Feb-April) and I found my mind was unable to concentrate at rehearsal if a game was going on. I mean it was playoffs. If a deciding game conflicted with a rehearsal - I missed the rehearsal. That was the last spring show I did. It's not fair to cast members if I am not committed to the role.


For a few years I did some shows in the fall. But with 2 kids in rep hockey and a husband who travelled a lot for his job it became too stressful trying to coordinate rides, concentrate on learning lines and feeling like I was letting my kids down but not watching their game. So I have stopped doing theatre - especially since I have gone back to school full time and I have a lot of homework. Between the two, who has time for learning lines. In a year or so I will get back to it when the kids are no longer so in to hockey but for now I am putting my creative energy to improv. It is great - all the thrill of acting without any memorizing or committing to rehearsals 3 nights a week and then more close to opening night. It is a great night of fun and laughter. I have met some wonderful and talented people and hope to one day get as good as them. I have performed with both GLIC in Georgetown and Oakville Improv. They are amazing people. If you ever have the opportunity to watch improv - do it you will enjoy yourself. Better yet, if you have the chance to try improv DO IT!


But today is family day. My day to spend with my family - because I want to, not because the government says I have to.  I have worked hard all weekend to get my homework done, there is no hockey so I can spend it with the family playing board games, having a hot tub, maybe some xbox connects. It will be great - except I am stuck in Markham waiting for a tow truck to take my car home. Estimated time of arrival anywhere between 10 and 4pm. Ahhh good times.

Happy Family Day everyone - may you be spending it with whoever you consider family!

Hockey Heroes

Every player, every fan has their hockey hero. Maybe the hero had a shot that could not be stopped. Maybe denfense is more your style and you look up to those who manned the blue line. Or maybe you look up to those crazy guys who have pucked fired at them at breakneck speeds. Hockey has produced some great players to look up to.

Wickenheiser & Campbell www.cbc.ca

I of course have my favourite players. I love Hayley Wickenheiser and Cassie Campbell. They, and all the members of the Canadian Women's hockey team have done a lot to promote hockey for girls. Girls hockey is growing at a great speed and the skill is amazing. When I was a girl, there weren't hockey leagues for girls where I grew up. It was hard for a girl to play in boys hockey - my fav movie Hockey Night was all about that. Today, leagues are popping up and growing all over.  Within an hours drive from my house there are at least 10 Girls hockey associations. It is an amazing opportunity for girls to be able to play with their peers, to be part of a team and play our game.

On the male side of hockey I have a number of players from the NHL that I admire - and not just for their playing ability but for things they have done for their communities and for promoting hockey. Bobby Hull is one of those players. He had a summer house where I grew up and he often came out to support charity events - talk to the crowds and sign autographs. He came to the dedications ceremony for our new ball field and high fived me as I came into home on my home run. It was a little thing but it made my day. I love watching Sidney Crosby, and I loved watching Messier, Gretzky and Lemiuex. But right now my favs and just starting out. I call them my boyz, because I'm that old.
 Most of them I started watching them at the World Junior Championships. For whatever reason I felt a connection watching them.

Eberle 5.4  tsn.ca

My first boy is Jordan Eberle. When he tied the game 2009 against Russia with 5.4 seconds left in the semi-final World Jr. game I sprang from the couch - launching my sleepy son across the room. I knew right then Canada would be victorious in the overtime period and my boy came through again. That year, along with Eberle, Taylor Hall joined my list.

Domi loving the game tsn.ca

At this years tournament, Max Domi smiled his way onto my list. Whether he was hitting or getting hit he always had a smile on his face. Then there was the goals. That tongue - what a goof. He looked like he truly enjoys playing the game which made me enjoy watching him play.

But one of my favourite hero of all time is not a player at all; but a dad - Walter Gretzky. In his youth he was a skilled hockey player but at 5'9" he was considered too small. His son - Wayne is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player ever - has credited the coaching he got from his dad for his success. So why is he my hero? He loves the game. He has lent his name to many tournaments and he comes and watches the kids play. He talks to them, coaches them and signs autographs and smiles happily at getting his picture taken with them. Wayne has been out of the NHL for a long time and yet Walter probably has as much of a following as his superstar son - maybe more.

Walter Gretzky & I - 2008 WTEBC

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gretzky in 2008. I was participating in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer 60km walk. My team and I finished and were waiting in the holding area for the closing ceremonies. My friend Elaine - who is not a hockey person - but I love her anyway - spotted him and said "Isn't that Gretzky's dad?" May friend Sharon and I squealed  "Oh my God, YES!" After deliberating whether we should approach him or not we finally did and I am so glad I did. For two hours I talked hockey with him. Hockey, his daughter who was walking as well (that is why he was there, to congratulate her when she finished), his sons and grandchildren, my children, etc. were all topics we covered. Our conversations were interrupted by other fans wanting pictures but he returned to our conversation every time. I was surprised that he stuck around but he's just that cool. He is funny and a bit of a cad - he definitely loved the ladies fawning over him. Despite his fame, he is a pretty normal guy - proud of his children and loving life. He is a big supporter of his community, CNIB and minor hockey.  My daughter is playing in the Walter Gretzky Tournament this March. I hope I see him again.

Playoffs - Who is it harder on?

www.cdn.themetapicture.com

Well it is that time of year again - playoffs. It is one of the most stressful times of the year - for me.

Stress 1 - So many games must be played in a certain amount of time means every night is a hockey night either game or practice. With 2 kids in hockey - one in the OMHA and one in the OWHA scheduling rides becomes the #1 activity to make sure my players get to where they need to go and on time. Hockey becomes one big math problem. Player A has a game at 7pm, so he needs to be there at 6pm and it takes 45 minutes to get to the arena so we need to leave by 5:15pm at the latest. Player B has a game (in the opposite direction) at 8pm, needs to be there by 7pm and arena is 1:15hr away so we need to leave by 5:45pm. I get home at 5pm so I take player A, hubby gets home at 5:30 so he takes player B. Phew it worked out - that time!

Stress 2 - Watching the game helplessly in the stands. Playoff hockey is some of the best hockey out there to watch. I like watching some of the games where I don't know any of the players because the hockey is good and I don't care who wins. The kids all seem to step up their game because they know the stakes. But as a mom, you want your kids to play hard and be rewarded with the win. From the stands you can see where the puck is and if only they could just reach out and grab the puck they could put it in the net but they just missed it and now the other team has it and they are heading down the ice with it, oh no a two on one if only...yes off-side I can breathe now.

My daughter's team has not started their playoffs yet. They finished 2nd in the regular season which is a change for the team. Usually they just make the playoffs. So they have a lot at stake. They are one of the top dogs with the underdog trying to take them down. Their first game is on Tuesday. As well as playing their LLFHL playoffs, they start their OWHA playoffs at the same time. For the most part, the teams they play here they have never played before this season so it is had to gage who is the underdog. You look at the stats, but you don't really know what they are like until you play them. My stress for my daughter's team will probably start Tuesday. My hubby is the coach of her team has been stressed for the past week or so as he has to try schedule the games with the other teams and he has a lot of players who are going to be away at the same time. Unlike boys hockey - you can't call up players during playoffs.

My son's team just finished their preliminary round of their OMHA playoffs. They had to play 2 teams - best of 3 for each of those teams. Going into the playoff round, my son's team was in 9th place after the regular season and had to play the 4th & 5th place teams. My stress started when I found out who we had to play. One of the teams is the DIRTIEST team I have ever seen my son play against and the other team probably top 5 for this season. I know everyone has their own perceptions of other teams, some teams might think our team is dirty who knows. I do know that every team we have played this year has complained about how dirty the first team is. I blame the coach and the parents - it is not just one player it is the whole team - obviously they were taught that behaviour.

Luckily we made it through that series without any major injuries - the other team had a few players tossed out and suspended for dirty hits and took the series 2-1. The other series not so lucky. We had one player who received a concussion and another player break a foot (although this was after the game playing soccer in his basement.). The opposition had a couple of players kicked out and suspended for hits from behind. The series had to go to a tie-breaker game, 2 out of the 4 games went into overtime. Unfortunately, we lost in over-time so the OMHA run is over but now on to Tri-County playoffs.

Stress 3 - Comforting your player after a series loss. Your heart breaks for all the defeated boys who skate with their heads down. The boys all played hard - they were the underdogs and had forced a fourth game that was not easily won. Even when things go our way, I always feel bad for the other team. As hard as a loss is, I think it contributes to the greater good - life lessons.