Tag Archives: hockey

day 3411: hockey tryouts!

day 3411: hockey tryouts! I.

a year ago odin was an 8 year old trying out to play with 9 and 10 year old “squirts” and he made the squirt B team. this year, now that he’s 9 and has a season of playing with the older squirts under his belt, the question is whether or not he has the skills to make the squirt A team.

the day of tryouts has finally arrived! i think he definitely has the skills to make the A team, but there’s a big difference between 9 and 10 year old skating skills, so who knows. on the one hand i think he’d do well as one of the better B team players and would thrive as a leader on the ice. on the other hand, he pushes himself when he’s around better skaters and he could learn a lot by being on the A team ( he’s in the red socks ).

day 3411: hockey tryouts! II.

he has a pretty good perspective on the whole thing and claims to be relatively unconcerned with which team he ends up on. it’s neat to watch him have the inherent motivation to just do his best and be happy with whatever happens.

laying down the line(s).

laying down the line(s). I.

you know you’re deep in the “hockey parent” life when you find yourself at your local hockey arena helping to lay down the lines. a few layers of ice have been put down and a few more will be put down on top of the lines.

the blue line is relatively easy as it’s continuous cloth fabric, but still, it’s a little nerve wracking to get it perfectly straight!

laying down the line(s). II.

the faceoff spots are even more nerve wracking to do because they’re painted in by hand and painting on ice is an art not for the faint of heart!

i didn’t paint this portion of one of the faceoff circles but the person who did was having a time overcoming her desire for perfection with the reality of rolling out circles on ice 🙂

day 3278: A Brief Break in The Neverending Hockey Season.

day 3278: A Brief Break in The Neverending Hockey Season.

a mere thirteen weeks after The Beginning of The Neverending Hockey Season and twice a week trips to the big city so odin could practice with the heat hockey club, he had his last practice for four weeks off before starting up again in a league that will run right up to when the regular season starts.

he loves it so i guess that makes standing around hockey arenas all year round worthwhile 🙂

( odin’s wearing the red socks near the center of the photo. )

day 3256: The Neverending Hockey Season goes on and on.

day 3256: The Neverending Hockey Season goes on and on.

yes, it’s june and The Neverending Hockey Season just keeps going and going and going.

odin’s having a great time. i’m not sure where he got his love of running drills but he likes them as much as playing games which are still plenty fun too ( he’s in the red socks ).

we’re all going to be a little bummed when the the heat hockey club season ends in a few weeks even though it’ll mean i get to spend a little less time in the omnicenter in shivering in my shorts.

day 3185: The Beginning of The Neverending Hockey Season.

day 3185: The Beginning of The Neverending Hockey Season. I.

normally at this time of year, we’re closing out another fun hockey season. the last games are played and the ice is melted at our community arena and we enjoy a few weekends with nothing much to do as the weather warms and spring sets in.

but this year, odin has been enjoying hockey so much that he decided he wanted to join the heat hockey club in the big city of onalaska, wisconsin.

day 3185: The Beginning of The Neverending Hockey Season. II.

they have enough players and money to keep their ice year round and they had their first practice of the off season this weekend and continue through june! which means, in all likelihood, we’ll be gearing up for hockey on 80+ degree days. and it also means we’ll be making a trip to the big city twice a week and giving up a good chunk of our weekend days. but odin had a great time at the first practice running drills and meeting kids from around the area so that makes it all worthwhile.

day 3175: the annual kids versus parents hockey game!

day 3175: the annual kids versus parents hockey game! I.

it’s the end of another hockey season, which means it’s time for the annual kids versus parents hockey game!

which is really an opportunity for the kids to skate circles around the parents while trying not to crush us too badly. and an opportunity for the parents to try not to crush the kids, literally 🙂

i couldn’t help sneaking over to the kids bench for a photo op with odin.

day 3175: the annual kids versus parents hockey game! II.

the parents didn’t do too badly against the kids. we sort-of held out for two periods of the game and kept the score to within a few goals but the kids pulled away in the last period and won 12 to 4. sigh.

but i did score a goal, didn’t fall down, and even got an honest steal away from my own son! whooohoooo! and, odin scored three goals!

a fun time was had by all. i can’t believe another season has come and gone. maybe next year we’ll beat the kids, but i’m not going to place any bets.