Summer vacation is finally here, there’s a heat wave in most of the country and the Stanley Cup playoffs are (finally) over, so now is the time to talk about hockey, right? Believe it or not, it is.
I just did something and as soon as my finger pressed the send button I was filled with dread.
Believe it or not, I just signed both of my kids up for house league hockey.
My carefree life (what carefree life?!?) of one or two programs a week is over (here’s hoping they suck at hockey!)
As a “new” hockey mom, I have no idea what I am getting into. Before signing up I talked to several parents. Just deciding what league to join was ripe with options – and opinions.
Then I actually had to get ready for the sign-up day: May 17, at 12 pm sharp! Signing them up was a whole other bundle of stress. I waited and waited then finally tried to submit my registration. The problem is hockey has a whole new language all its own and being a newbie I hadn’t studied it yet. And, there doesn’t seem to be a cheat sheet or Coles Notes to help them get through it.
What is an atom? What is a minor atom? How do I know what my kid is? Where does it say if I’m even registering for house league? That is different than select right? (Insert sighing that you thankfully can’t hear.)
And of course, I was told (by an experienced hockey mom) that not only do they have to do house league but they should also be doing some extra lessons in hockey skills. That is an additional three days a week. I’m going to have to become the crazed hockey mom chauffeur.
I was told that most kids do hockey six days a week AND hockey camps throughout the year. I can’t even imagine doing that. I like the idea of my kids being active all year long (even if that means I’m freezing my butt off at the arena at 7 am Saturday morning) but I’m scared. What happens if they are actually good?
Oh my goodness…what have I gotten myself into?
