Vol 3_No 1 Guts.indd - Rubber Magazine
Vol 3_No 1 Guts.indd - Rubber Magazine
Vol 3_No 1 Guts.indd - Rubber Magazine
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28<br />
THE HOCKEY MOM:<br />
A summer of hardwood heaven?<br />
With summer upon<br />
us, a break from the<br />
ice was a good idea. We<br />
agreed that a trip to the<br />
old hardwood would be<br />
a great way to have fun,<br />
make new friends, and<br />
stay in shape.<br />
One would think<br />
growing up in the heart<br />
of the ACC, hoops would<br />
have long ago entered<br />
into our realm of youth<br />
sports activities. ‘Round<br />
those parts you had no<br />
choice but to declare<br />
yourself a Tar Heel, Blue<br />
Devil or Pack fan. I was<br />
rebellious and joined the<br />
ranks of “piracy” at ECU.<br />
But folks, this recreation<br />
youth basketball<br />
thing was a whole new<br />
world of enlightenment.<br />
You arrive fi ve min-<br />
utes before<br />
game time, your<br />
kid dribbles,<br />
shoots, and runs<br />
for less than 60<br />
minutes. He or<br />
she gives the<br />
“good game”<br />
hand shake and<br />
you and your<br />
player are D-O-N-E done!<br />
Sounds like heaven, eh?<br />
Having dedicated<br />
much of our extra-curricular<br />
life to hockey over<br />
the past few years, it has<br />
become second nature to<br />
leave the house and get<br />
to the rink 30 - 45 minutes<br />
ahead of practice or<br />
a game. Then, of course,<br />
comes the dreaded “whatthe-heck-could-he-be-doing-in-that<br />
locker room”<br />
post icetime wait.<br />
Wilson<br />
So are we<br />
crazy for doing<br />
this hockey<br />
thing? Is it time<br />
to jump on the<br />
“done in 60<br />
minutes or less<br />
bandwagon?”<br />
Our experience<br />
was that<br />
the time commitment<br />
was much less, and<br />
alright, the fee was less<br />
expensive, but here’s the<br />
point. I, unfortunately,<br />
can’t say I held one<br />
meaningful conversation<br />
with any parent. I<br />
really wasn’t even chatty<br />
- shocking news for those<br />
who know me.<br />
Is the sometimes additional<br />
time commitment<br />
and cost of hockey worth<br />
it? You’ll get an unequiv-<br />
ocal YES from this Mom.<br />
The value of the relationships<br />
and great times our<br />
family has experienced<br />
with hockey in our lives<br />
is incomparable.<br />
I realize comparing<br />
the two may not be fair.<br />
<strong>No</strong> question; basketball<br />
is a great sport and my<br />
son wants to play again.<br />
And hockey defi nitely<br />
translated well to the<br />
court as my son’s coach<br />
called him “highly effective”<br />
in the defensive<br />
mode - minus the checking,<br />
of course. ❂<br />
Julie Wilson is a local<br />
freelance designer and<br />
writer whose son plays for<br />
the PeeWee 96 Jr. Coyotes.<br />
She can be contacted<br />
at jjcjwilson@aol.com.
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