As some of you good readers may have surmised by now, our lives have been revolving around hockey. Well, we’ve hit a crack in the ice. Adam has been out for over a month with a bad knee, and the earliest he can get in to see an orthopedic specialist is February 8, in Medicine Hat. Yes, you read correctly. Medicine Hat. I asked him the
other day how he’s going to get back in shape to get back into hockey, and he said he’s done. Yes, you read correctly again. Done. The boy who lived and breathed hockey is done. So that’s one down.
Stephen’s team has continued to struggle, although by the end of league play they did manage to climb out of last place and all the way up to 8th (out of 10). Warman came to Kindersley on Saturday for the first two-game round in the provincial playoff series. The Klippers were soundly beat 8 – 3. The coach, in his infinite wisdom, played one of the
defensemen continuously – no, I mean it, one time he was on the ice for nine minutes straight – and Stephen got short little shifts to give him a rest once in a while. We think the coach was punishing Stephen for missing the extra practice he called on Friday night, the night after their regular practice and right before two big games, the practice his parents wouldn’t let him attend . But we don’t know for sure, since he still hasn’t called us back. Anyway, this amazing coach decided that Stephen and the goalie were to blame for the loss, and told the team so in the dressing room after the game. On Sunday, the team headed back to Warman for the second game, minus one defenseman. Yep, Stephen quit. I guess he decided he had taken enough crap and didn’t deserve to be treated like that. It’s hard to know exactly what a 14-year-old is thinking, but that’s what I’m going with. And I haven’t seen him so
happy in quite some time. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted from his shoulders. I asked him last night if he regretted his decision. He said, “Why would I? I wasn’t having any fun anyway.”
So that’s two down. Oh ya, and Warman won 6 -2 on Sunday.
So now Derek gets two doting parents to watch his every move on the ice. Lucky kid. He’s still having a ball, just loves going to practice and to games. The team is remaining very strong, and has only lost one game this season, an exhibition game with a North Battleford Tier 1 team.
Other than that, it’s really cold outside.
Thanks for stopping by. Catch ya next time.
Chandra
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Hockey is tough enough for teenagers before you throw in the vagaries of coaching. If that coach is the kind of person who can’t even muster the courage to call you back, you are better off not having him as a mentor to your kid.
Some of the most important lessons to be had from organized sports lie in the disappointments; How Stephen responds to this situation will be an indicator as to how he’ll respond to disappointments in the future.
I wish you all luck.
Actually Carl, the mind freezes with fear! But I don’t think they are done hockey for good, just this year. And Stephen has zone hockey yet (they pick a team of all 14-year-olds from this area and have a provincial tournament – he’s hoping to be on that.) So things aren’t as grim as I made it sound that day I was so grumpy!
Chandra
heh, sorry to hear that Adam and Stephen are no longer players…there’s still hope for Dereck as the next Wayne Gretsky!
It will be interesting to read about how the two retired hockey players express themselves now with all that extra free time. Hmmmn the mind boggles….
carl