I can't remember the exact lines now, and I don't feel like looking for it, but one thing that stood out for me is why my kid seems to always be last to leave the rink. Sometimes even after the goalie. He is probably subconsciously doing that just because he enjoys being around his friends. He said to me the other day, "These are my buddies. They're all my buddies."
These days, as much as he wants to get better, he is also thinking about his team when we are training. He doesn't want to let them down. It's easy to lose perspective, especially when they get competitive and excel, but the main reason you sign them up for activities in the first place is to have fun and make friends.
The characters in this story are pretty crazy about the sport. I am, too. I kind of identified with them more, although when it comes to tryouts or games or even practice, I'm generally laid back. Once they step on the ice, there's not much else you can do unless you're actually in there coaching them. I just go over the drills and the plays with my kid afterwards. He knows how to explain what they were trying to accomplish, and he also loves to tell the stories and jokes and random other things that go on.
I then follow it up at home or at public skate or open hockey. If I see something that we can improve upon, we'll work on those, too. But once he's on the ice with his coaches or when he's playing the game, I am mostly quiet. There's already a lot for them to take in, and you're only distracting or confusing them. I feel bad for the kids of the loud parents. During our playoffs game last year, there was this parent who kept yelling, "Fight, fight, fight!" (Not to literally fight, of course, but to play hard). I mean, at that point, after all those regular season games, as well as non-league games, either they know how to fight for it or they don't. Yelling in the stands is not going to change that.
Cheering is one thing, of course. That's always good to do, in my opinion. Go, team, go! But coaching from the stands is pretty futile. You can't squeeze a not orange thingie out of an orange juice. Or something. How that go?
However. There are also those parents who don't seem to be there at all. Their kids are either getting rides from a teammate, or when they do come, they are in the car most of the time. I kinda don't get that. Not trying to be judgmental or anything, but I simply don't understand why you would not be there. (Covid probably affects this, so that could be a factor). Even in practice, they can do some impressive stuff. And when they do, that's when they look for you. And you make eye contact for a split second. And they move on. And they know that you know. But then they will still ask you after practice, "Did you see the move I did?!"
Also, I've learned that kids develop at their own pace. I've heard it over and over through the years, but I've only just learned it. Does that make sense? I would work on certain skills with my kid before, and he would bust his ass and get it, but then he would step on ice at practice or games, and it's back to square one again. He had all the parts but he just could not put it all together. I would say, for example, "The first thing you do when you get on that ice is try your quick starts." All week I would repeat it. "Yes, Dad. Yes, Dad. Yes, Dad." And then he'd get on, and he'd fool around with his friends.
Only recently is he trying out this stuff on his own. He'll do mohawks and two-touch and other skills that we've been practicing over and over on our own. That kind of self awareness is just starting to develop in him. So I mean, I guess you just have to plant the seeds and wait patiently for them to grow. Not that we're all the way there yet, but at least there's progress.
He's also been fooling around less these days and focusing more. He is trying to stick with the quietest kid on the team (who is also the fastest) and trying to stay away from the ones who distract him. Trying is the operative word. Once in a while, he still gets suckered into it.
Overall it's been good. Outside of team practice, he had a training session with a couple of other kids before. I was watching on LiveBarn and couldn't really hear, but I was also looking at their head movements, and they were not talking at all. They would take their sip breaks and get right back to it. It was fascinating. No nonsense. All business. I asked him after if they talked, and he said, "Not really".
Last year, our team would always arrive one hour before game time. Some parents hear that, and they seem to think it's too much. Some of the teams we played would roll in fifteen or even ten minutes before the game. For us, the kids would stretch and the coaches went over the game plan. What did we do the rest of the time? We were just there. We hung out. Parents and kids just talked to each other. We joked and laughed and listened to music. The team got closer because of this. Really, this is the only time the team is all together and not on ice. Having experienced that, I feel sorry for those teams where kids just show up, do their hockey thing and then just go.
So yeah, my kid likes to linger in the rink. His favorite thing is to scrape the ice off his skates and throw it at his teammates. One kid likes to steal his gloves, and they would chase each other. And a bunch of other shenanigans. It does drive me crazy. But now that I think about, I'm glad my kid doesn't rush off after practice. Because if you really love hockey, you stick around.
Get it?!
No comments:
Post a Comment