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 LA Kings
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It is official, all youth athletics are nuts. Hockey may have earned the
right of getting there first, but every other sport has now fallen in place.
They are all too organized, travel too much, too expensive and too time
consuming. We place put too much emphasis on keeping score and winning and too
little emphasis on having fun.
As another youth hockey season descends upon us I have some simple advice for
parents to help make your hockey experience more enjoyable.
Skip tryouts. Leave the rink, go to a movie, have dinner with your spouse, just
stay away. If your child makes the A team, be happy and humble. If your child
makes the B team, be happy and calm. Next to skill, the most important quality
of a good athlete is confidence. Benefit: Stress Reduction.
Every rink has a water fountain. Save time and money on the Gatorade, because
I’m not certain that 10 year-olds even have electrolytes. And if they do, I bet
they have a lot of them. We only start losing things when we get older. Savings:
80+ games & practices @ $2.00 = $160.
They can carry their own bag and if they can’t it’s too big. You don’t carry
your kid’s backpack to school for them; you shouldn’t have to carry their hockey
bag either. Donate your wheelie bag to a stewardess and get one that has to be
carried. Benefit: Increased leg strength.
Kids can dress and undress themselves—go get a cup of coffee and relax. Once
they have been through it a few times they can figure it out. And if they can’t,
that is why they have teammates. Eventually they will get it on or off. Be
patient. Benefit: Team Unity. (PS: Coffee is cheaper then Gatorade)
Teach them to tie their own skates as soon as possible—good skaters have loose
skates, so let them get use to it early. As long as you keep tying them they are
going to let you. Haven’t we learned this “helpless” lesson before? Benefit:
Ankle strength.
New equipment is for Christmas, maybe a birthday—but should not be a birthright
of every new season. Buy used equipment—a 58lb squirt doesn’t need the support
of a $300 pair of skates. A $300 pair of skates could be worn by a 58lb squirt
for ten years and still not be worn out—it’s basic physics. Today’s skates are
as rigid as marine core training. Savings: $200+.
On the subject of skates, as soon as they are old enough to drive, they are old
enough to get their own skates sharpened. If they tell you they don’t have time,
compare your schedule to theirs, then hand the skates back to them. Benefit:
Time for you & responsibility for them.
Buy wooden sticks. Force dealers to put them back on the stick rack; it is
supply & demand economics. A 9 year old doesn’t need a composite stick unless he
is 6’ and 200lbs, or you can buy a 10 flex. A wooden stick will do fine. Save me
the sales pitch on response and feel. Until they can feel the difference between
clean and dirty hair save your money. And like tying skates, they can learn to
tape their stick much sooner than they would like you to believe. Savings:
$200+. Benefit: Wrist strength & eye-hand coordination.
Kids believe that the concession stand is an essential part of hockey—like their
skates. If they go out and skate well, have fun and come off with a smile on
their face—they don’t need a reward, except maybe a pat on the back. Walk past
the concession stand a few times—I know we need to support the rink, but it
shouldn’t be the place where you eat most of your meals.
They also don’t need breakfast at Coco’s or lunch at Mc Donalds after every game
or practice. Let them learn that the reward is hockey! It is a privilege to be
able to play and if they don’t make their bed and feed the dog you will take it
away. Benefit: Discipline, help around the house, more money for coffee.
Herb Brooks said it best, “The name on the front of the jersey is a heck of a
lot more important than the name on the back”. This is a team sport; the sooner
kids learn that, the better. Names on the back of jerseys are for when you get
to the NHL. You should be able to figure out which one is yours without that
visual aide. If you can’t, remember that is why we put numbers on the
jerseys—those numbers aren’t a ranking system—they are for identification.
Nobody wears two nametags at work, right? Benefit: Team Unity & Humility.
Don’t watch every practice—let them tell you about a few—they’ll enjoy it. Send
them the message that you have more important things to do than watch the
practice. This is not neglect, but common sense. If parents spent as much time
helping kids with their homework as they do watching practice, our kids
would all be getting straight A’s. This is their experience—not yours. Turn them
loose. Benefit: Time.
Let your kids have fun. If their best friend calls on a Friday night and wants
them to: a) go to a movie, b) go to the outdoor rink, c) go sledding, don’t say
no because they have a game tomorrow, or in most cases three games. They are
kids, if you haven’t noticed they don’t get tired. Do you ever remember being
too tired as a kid? Let them go swimming at the motel, play football in the
snow. AJ Hawk might need to sleep in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but your kid
doesn’t. Benefit: Balance, & a Happier Child.
Don’t try to coach—your team already has one. Pat them on the back after a tough
loss and thank them for their time and effort. Buy them a cup of coffee and talk
about anything, but hockey. Benefit: Respect.
Last, but not least, at an athletic contest you can be a player, a coach, a fan
or an official—but you can only be one. For those parents who are confused, you
are a fan. Cheer when your team does something well. Drink coffee the rest of
the time, it tastes better than your foot. Benefit: More friends, fewer enemies.
Enjoy your season!
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