Last year - you know, before Covid - locker rooms were basically a free for all. Mites, squirts, pee wees, bantams would all end up in the same space at some point. Not to mention house league, clinic and travel teams. The Pee Wee A kids were mostly independent, but the Bs would sometimes need some help. Sometimes the coaches and parents would help them, but mostly they would say, "Pee Wees tie their own skates" while tying the skates of our own squirts.
There was this one night last season when the B coaches were not there and about three of their kids needed help with their skates. (I think the Pee Wee Bs and the Squirt Bs shared their half of the ice sometimes.) They kept asking, and out Squirt A coaches were like, nope! I kinda felt bad for them, but I didn't want to go against the coaches.
Kid One, I told to just tie it like his shoes. So he tried it. And I watched him. And I just told him to keep pulling it tight. And he did it. And I was like, "See?" So he was able to do it himself, but he still wasn't happy about it.
Kid Two was a half white, half Filipino dude with braces and an earring in his left ear. He was a nice kid. And I admit it, I'm always curious about the Asians and hapas that I see around hockey. I kinda want to make sure they keep loving the game and stick around. I chatted with him once in a while, and he would always say hello and give fist bumps and I would tap him on the helmet before he stepped on the ice. But that night, I was just adamant about not helping them at all, and I just sensed that he felt this deep betrayal. After dealing with Kid One, I checked on him and saw that his skates had been tied. I can't remember if he ended up getting help from someone. When I asked him, he just kinda mumbled something and moved on.
Kid Three also ended up with his skates tied, and I'm not sure how either. That was near the end of the season. We had a tournament coming up, and then the playoffs. And then the Covid shutdown. So I haven't really seen those kids for almost a year now. I don't know if they are back this season, because the practices are spread out and everybody has a mask on. Hopefully, they didn't end up quitting hockey because they couldn't tie their skates and grown ups there were meanies.
Fast forward to this year, and we only have ten minutes to get everyone ready before the game. Now most of our kids are getting their skates tied by the coaches just because it's faster than to let them to it themselves. There's like 3 kids this year who are always tying their own skates. And recently I found out one of them, Samson, may not have been tying it very well. This past weekend he finally asked me to help with his skates, and I asked if he had been tying it tight all season. I think he said it was good enough.
Last Thursday at practice, Casper was tying his skates when I walked by him. I usually do it for him before games, and his dad does it before practice. But I think that night, Ernie's dad dropped him off. I asked if he needed help, and he said no. I have been going on ice and helping out at practice, so I just kept going. Otherwise, I would have stayed to make sure he was good. Once he got on, he kept going back to the bench to check his laces. I asked him if he needed help, and he said no. Around the time we were doing the second drill, he finally skated up to me and asked, "Can you help me with my laces?" So we skated over to the bench and I tightened it for him. He really wanted to be able to do his laces by himself. I told him it was good that he tried.
On Saturday before the game, I was going around checking on the kids, and I saw Gary. He is another one that I always help before games and sometimes before practice. I asked, "Gary, are you good?" He said, "Yeah." To my surprise. I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Yeah."
On Sunday before the game, he asked me to tie them for him. I said, "But you did it yourself yesterday!" He said, "Yeah, I really wanted to try it by myself." Apparently, it was not tight enough.
Well, I think it's a good thing that they're trying to be more independent. My own kid Rusty has been tying his skates himself recently. My own skates are slightly loose because I didn't know how to size it properly when I ordered it online, so I wear extra socks and it takes me some time to really tighten them up. Lately, I'll finish my laces and I would look for Rusty so I could help him and they would be ready already. Before, even when he did it himself, he would still ask me to tighten them up more. These days, he doesn't need it. Well, that's a little bittersweet, I guess. It's good that he can do it himself, but I know I'm gonna miss helping him.
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