THE KID DRIVES ME CRAZY SOMETIMES

So there I was sitting at my desk blankly staring at the computer, teeth clinched tight - palms as sweaty as an NHLer wearing the new RBK uniform, minding my own business trying to mentally nurse myself through the strongest coffee buzz of all time without completely wigging out, when all of a sudden I heard a loud “Dad!” coming from behind my chair. The shout startled me as if I just found out Brian Engblom’s hair was made out of muskrat pelt. When my ass finally came down from orbit and hit the chair, my eyes still twitching like Kyle McLaren hopped up on Sudafed waiting for the puck to drop, I slowly turned to face the noise maker behind me suddenly realizing why lions sometimes eat their young and answered with a surprisingly calm “what is it son?” “Do you think I’m pressing too much?”

Are you kidding me? This kid just scared the ever-living shit out of me and he wants to know if I think he’s pressing too much? Pressing his luck maybe as I think he snuck up behind me on purpose, but nonetheless I answered him with the first thing that came to my mind “It’s Thursday morning, what are you worried about?” He had a look on his face as if he was about to get demoted to Peoria and was just waiting for the call to come. “I’m seven games into the pre-season and I only have two goals, I’m just wondering if maybe I’m pressing too much out there” he said with concern in his voice. My initial thought was to bust out in laughter, but knowing that he takes Bantam hockey seriously I refrained and responded with “pressing?” “The coach has you in a checking role, why are you worried about goals?” “I know” he said, “but if I can show him that I can score he might take me off the third line.” Here we go, another morning talking shop with the boy before he heads out to school. He continued as I let out a deep sigh, “We have trouble scoring, and since I was the second leading scorer on my team last season, I just feel like I can contribute more to the team this year.” “But I can’t do it on the third line.” He was right. He can put the puck in the net and set up others, I’ve seen it first hand over forty times during the last two seasons, but he can’t do it this year when he spends every shift in the defensive zone. Even though this year his new coach has yet to see that the boy is being wasted offensively, he has seen how responsible he is defensively and uses that to help the team’s overall performance. However, explaining that to a kid who wants to be a sniper is as difficult as finding someone on the Atlanta Thrashers roster who can score some goals.

So I cautiously responded with “Give it time, like you said it’s pre-season and your coach is still learning what his players can do.” “So if he puts you in a checking role then you play that style of game, banging in the corners, chipping the puck out of the zone, fore-checking and back-checking like a madman, chewing up minutes, don’t worry about goals they will come.” I sat there looking at him, hoping that my infinite wisdom was sinking in without shattering his confidence level in the slightest bit, when he responded with “Yeah, but this was supposed to be my breakout year and my line can’t even breakout of our own zone.” “Thanks anyways Dad.” Those words hit me like a Chris Simon chop to the face. Being a father first and foremost, my fatherhood instinct instantly kicked in “Look buddy” I said with a lump in my throat as I realized this really has him tied up in knots on the inside, “Facing adversity is what makes a person strong, you are no stranger to that and this year isn’t any different than what you’ve faced since you started playing.” “I’m not a coach and even though I could be the fact remains that I’m not, so all I can tell you is to respect what your coach wants you to do and continue to work hard and everything else will fall into place.” “Eventually, your coach will put you in a position where you are playing with more skilled line-mates and you will have the opportunity to show him what you can do, until then just play the game and have fun.” “Don’t worry about goals and pressing too much and all of that stuff just go out there do your thing and have fun.” “That’s why you play isn’t it?” “Because it’s fun?” He nodded without saying anything letting my words sink in. He sat there looking up at the picture of him and I sitting with the Stanley Cup that hangs on the wall above my desk. After a few moments of silence and an intense stare at the picture he said “You’re right Dad, it is fun no matter if we win or lose or if I score or not or if I’m on the first line or the third.” “I just love to play and can’t imagine doing anything else.”

It was my turn to nod without saying anything feeling as if I just gave a team a motivational speech before a crucial game seven. Then, just as I was celebrating my apparent victory of wisdom within my mind and patting myself on the back as if I scored an overtime goal, the boy chirps in with “Maybe I’ll ask the coach if I can play center on that line this weekend.” “That way if we can win a face-off and control the puck we might be able to get it out of our zone and get some chances on offense.” “Thanks Dad” he said standing up and smacking me on the shoulder, “I knew you could help me out.” Within a second he was gone like Peter Stastny on a breakaway, leaving me feeling exposed and confused like Darren Pang in an 8-0 blowout. All I could do was put my face in my hands shake my head and chuckle to myself wondering what to do with that boy. He is such a good kid and he tries so hard to do the best he can and just never seems to catch a break no matter what. Maybe things will turn around for him this year, in fact, I’m sure they will it’s only a matter of time.

The coffee is now cold and I sit here once again starring at the computer screen wondering what to write about today. Thanks, son.

GOON SCHOOL FOR KIDS?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the ice…..along comes Derek Boogaard, bringing his “special” talent of kicking the ever-living shit out of his opponent, to a hockey school for kids. For just $40 you can have your child instructed on how to drop their gloves and go toe to toe with an opponent. I can hear it now: hockey dad’s sitting up and saying, “hmmm…sounds interesting” and hockey mom’s saying, “Oh, dear God I can’t watch”. Either way you look at it, it’s here for now, and is part of a camp designed for kids to learn the “art” of fighting on skates in the hopes of teaching them how to defend themselves. There will indeed be some uproar involved with this as I’m sure people’s opinions will be split defending the need for such a camp and being down right disgusted with the notion. Fighting has always been a part of the game, but is it really necessary for kids ages 12 – 18 to be taught how to do it? Defenders will say things along the lines of ‘You put your kids in a Karate class what’s the difference?” and “It’s about time someone shows kids how to defend themselves.” Of course the people against it will be saying things along the lines of “ It’s barbaric.” and “Totally brainless acts of violence shouldn’t be glorified.” Just as a little experiment, I decided to tell my wife and my son that I signed him up for Boogaard’s “Goon School” to see their reactions. Right away, my wife said: “What on earth made you do that?” “I’m not sure he needs that sort of thing.” and my son’s comment was “Cool.” “Boogaard is an animal!” I of course, told them I was only joking before the conversation escaladed into a household split, but you get the point. As for me, well I have always defended fighting in hockey as it has a place in the game, but when I say that I mean in the professional game. It has always been against the rules but an element that needs to stay. However, I don’t believe that it is something that needs to be taught to kids. I will say that when I watch a game and Boogaard gets into a scrap I am on the edge of my seat as it is exciting to see, but if I was to see my son scrap with another kid on the ice at one of his games I would be sick to my stomach and feel shame. There is a difference in watching professionals fight and watching kids fight. If the camp was designed to teach 18 – 22 year olds heading into careers in the game I could understand the need for such a camp, but for kids in youth hockey I just fail to see any real purpose. What do you think?

LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT - TO A KID

It’s getting to be that time of year again. The getting up early, pounding down as much coffee as you can, getting the kids to the rink in time for a warm up skate and standing in a freezing building for a couple of hours while the kids tune up. I absolutely love it. Having done this all spring and summer bringing my son to his camps, you would think I would be numb to the experience but it is different this time of year. The season is fast approaching and crunch time is upon us. I love the buzz that surrounds the rink on game day and can’t wait for it to begin again. I realized this when I brought my son and one of his friends to a pick-up game on Saturday. Instead of the usual six or so kids on the ice, there was about 17 guys (ages around 20 – 30) all itching to get back into form. My son and his buddy went to the rink thinking that they would be working on a few things and instead found themselves playing a game with some guys just shy of twice their age. My initial thought was uh-oh the boys may be intimidated by the size and speed of these guys, but my feelings soon changed when they jumped right on the ice to start the game. Sure the guys playing were bigger, sure they were more seasoned, but they really weren’t that much faster and the boys had huge smiles on their faces the whole time. The older guys welcomed the two kids to play and involved them in the action. This of course re-enforced my belief that hockey players of all kinds are some of the best people you’d ever meet. After an hour of non-stop play everyone on the ice was completely spent except the two boys who just didn’t want it to end. They didn’t stop talking about it the whole way home and repeatedly mentioned how they can’t wait for the season to start. Taking my son to expensive camps during the off-season helps with his basic skills and keeps him skating, but he gets bored with just doing drills all the time. On Saturday, he got to get into some action and ever since he seems energized, feeling excited to get into game play again. For all of the money I have spent on camps this off-season, the $10 I spent on Saturday seemed to do the most good. Thanks to a group of guys who just wanted to play and didn’t mind a couple of kids joining in. Of course I’ll be spending another $10 next weekend as they were invited to play again with the same group of guys. It’s funny how sometimes something so simple can mean so much to a kid. That is a lesson for all of us and I’m glad that a bunch of hockey players reminded me of how great this game is. My son’s team starts it’s warm-ups in just under two weeks and I have a feeling the boy will be ready for anything.

INTRODUCING MY SON JAKE

I usually try not to write much about my son Jake. Mostly to save him from any embarrassing remarks that sometimes we as parents seem to do. Although I admit sometimes I suffer from PPS (Proud Papa Syndrome), when it comes to Jake’s game I tend to stay on the objective side (he would be the first to agree with that). Over my lifetime I have watched many kids develop their game as they march up the ranks. On the ice I view Jake as just another one of those kids. After practices and games he is indeed my son, but when he is on the ice he is subject to the same standards and critique I hold for everyone. With that said, I would like to introduce Jacob Hill. Jake was born during the playoffs in 1993 in California. He arrived just in time to see the Canadiens defeat the Kings in the final (well, okay so he slept through most of it, but he was in front of the set). A year later we both watched Messier end the 54-year drought for the Rangers and the love affair with the game began. That summer we relocated to Massachusetts so he could grow up in the same area as I did and be around more family. Fast-forwarding through his pre-teen years, at 12 years old he landed on a peewee team from nearby Amherst. In his first year with Amherst, he was named team captain for their tournament, won an award for showing leadership on and off the ice and his team went to the championship game in their league. Although they lost in a shootout, it was one of the best games of youth hockey I had ever witnessed. Jake had a great season under a great coach, who referred to Jake as “Exactly what this association and the game of hockey is all about.” He still views that season that he coached Jake as his proudest ever as a coach. Last season at 13, he made the jump to the bantam level where he faced some adversity (the team only won a handful of games and never really gelled as a team), but he still managed to put together a good season personally finishing second on the team in scoring while playing all three forward positions. Out of necessity, his defensive game tightened up and he became one of the better two-way players on the team. This actually fit in well for Jake, because he takes pride in his two-way game. He isn’t the type of kid who feels he needs to be the star of the team. He is just as happy preventing a goal or getting an assist as he is scoring a goal. He plays a sound positional game and has remarkable vision on the ice. He loves to make the smart play and will take a hit to make sure the play happens. This spring and summer he has been working hard to improve on a few areas of his game to be ready for next season. He is hoping to make the top bantam team in his league and try out for his high school varsity squad. Now 14 years old (5’9 – 150lbs.) he hopes his work ethic, leadership, playmaking ability, speed, size, smarts, vision and shot (well over 60 mph.) will bring him to the next level. In school, he maintains an A average while taking challenging courses (a condition per my order for him to continue to play) as he already understands how important a role education plays in a hockey players future. He still has a few rough edges to his game that he needs to work on, like shooting more (as he tends to look for making the perfect pass) and being more aggressive (as he doesn’t like to take penalties). He has been working on those aspects and has made strides to correct them. He has good hands down low around and in front of the net, he’s tough to move when he parks in front of the net and scores most of his goals from there. After this upcoming season he plans to try out for the NTDP (National Training and Development Program) as he has a dream of one day playing on a U.S. National team and wants to see where he stands. I’m not sure he is quite ready for that yet, but I admire his drive and dedication. Who knows, with the way he is working (and growing) by the end of the next season he might just be at that point. As a Father I will do what ever it takes to help him as he tries to realize his dream and he knows it. I am proud of all Jake has accomplished so far as each year he challenges himself in all aspects of his life. He is a humble kid who is mature beyond his years and is turning into a heck of a hockey player each and every year, I couldn’t ask for more.