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Snippet of My Saturday

Here’s a little snippet of my Saturday so far.  We started our morning off at the rink bright and early, which is always fun.  My stomach was not loving the antibiotics, so that was fun.  I hate that nauseous feeling, however, my sinuses and head are feeling much better this today.  Moreover, since the antibiotics are doing there job and I’ll just have to deal with the nausea.

I had quite a few visitors to the box, which made for an interesting third period.  In the end, the boys came up with the W in a solid team effort.  The beautiful thing about youth hockey/youth sports is that life lessons abound.  Things aren’t always as they seem.  Someday I’ll  expand on this is in much greater detail.  Nonetheless, one of the reasons we love hockey is that it teaches lessons that will last them ages.

Post-hockey the Mayor headed to paint ball birthday party.  Thankfully, my friend AL (funny right) is keeping an eye on the Mayor so I can keep out of the sun.  Apparently the antibiotics make my skin more sensitive to the sun, which is amazing because I’m already inclined to burn.  It looks like they’re having a great time from the pics she just sent me.  If I was feeling better, I definitely would have been out on those fields playing paintball with my boy.

As we move towards the evening hours, we’ll be headed back to the rink for another game.  Unfortunately, we’ll be down a man as we lost a guy to a broken clavicle this morning.  Please keep him and his recovery in your thoughts and prayers.  We’re definitely sending our well wishes his way.   I hope you enjoy your Saturday, I’ll probably check in after Goalielocks’ second game.

Today’s song is “One” by Metallica.

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Giving Tuesday

As we wind down a glorious Cyber Monday, may we give our full attention to Giving Tuesday.  Tomorrow is all about paying it forward and supporting causes that are near and dear to our hearts.  November, for me, is all about building awareness and funds for Pancreatic Cancer Research. When I run, however, I use charity miles, so for every mile I log a donation is made to the ALS Foundation.   Undoubtedly, it is a wonderful way to tie my training and important causes together.

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This month our Purple Stride Team, Deb Force Five, raised almost $10,000 for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  A lot of this important came from the tight knit hockey family, which has rallied around Debbie and her family since diagnosis.   The support of the hockey community continued last weekend, which was great to see.  Debbie would have been proud.

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In addition to the Purple Stride event, the Mayor’s team also collected food to donate to families in need this Thanksgiving.  For my kids’ it is almost incomprehensible that their are children in their community without a bite to eat.  I’m so happy the Mayor had an opportunity to participate in this initiative.  A big thanks to VM, SF and JF for organizing it for our team!

Speaking of bites, I’m gonna make bake some cookies tonight.  I wanted to bake them for the boys’ lunches yesterday, but ran out of time.  While they bake, perhaps I’ll finish the copious amounts of laundry that went undone this weekend or perhaps not….

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In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, here’s the link to Team Deb Force Five.  While the race and competition is over, the need for funds is not.  Consequently, you can donate here: Team Deb Force Five.

Tonight’s song is “Buddy Holly” by Weezer.  This video was one of my favorites when it debuted in the mid 90s.

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Cue the Exhaustion

Cue the exhaustion folks, it’s Sunday night after a major holiday and hockey tournament.  Undoubtedly, I am exhausted beyond belief along with all of my fellow hockey parents.  I’m positive I’m not the only one regretting not taking tomorrow off to recover.  It’s month end, which means I cannot afford to miss a minute let a lone a day.  So I’ll be back to work tomorrow at 8:00 am with bells on.

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Our Thanksgiving holiday was marvelous.  We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at Jon and Brandi with family and friends that have become family.   After a great dinner, we played some Right Left Center and another game with a box.   Jake had a great night and walked away with some moula after winning two rounds of the game.  After playing games, we watched Star Wars “The Force Awakens.”  I know I’m late to the party here, but I enjoyed the movie.  Although, it is sad to watch knowing we lost Carrie Fisher way too soon.

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I wrote about our early hockey games on the blog earlier and today was no exception.  We were back to the rink by 9:00 am and didn’t leave until after 4:00 pm.  It was a fun weekend at the rink with our hockey family.  These tournaments are exhausting, but are much like a family reunion.   Its a great opportunity to catch up with former teammates, their families and other friends we’ve made throughout the years.

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Yesterdays games were awesome, but I still had quite a few visitors yesterday in the Sin Bin with a lot less (thank goodness) today.   At U-14  body checking is legal and these hits are incredibly loud and percussive.  I’m pretty sure they build the boards to amplify the noise of the hits and increase the hockey moms collective anxiety.

Our boys finally clicked this weekend, after a couple of painful months, which was awesome to see.  These kids have so much potential there aren’t enough superlatives in the English word to adequately describe it.  Nevertheless, I am beyond proud of each of them for their efforts.  As the team went into the championship game, they were definitely the underdog. In the end, we lost a nail biter to a strong Russian team in sudden death OT.

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Of course the bitter reality of leaving the rink at 4:00 pm on a Sunday, is that I still had to grocery shop, finish the laundry and finish all my other errands upon leaving the rink.   I’m pretty sure I heard a collective ugh as us parents left the rink to head home and on to our errands and chores.

Tonight’s song is for my Goalielocks.  Enjoy “May We All” by Florida Georgia Line.

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Hustle Like an Underdog

 “Attitude of a champion, hustle like an underdog.”  I saw the Daily Prompt and couldn’t believe my luck with today’s word.   This pretty much sums up this morning’s game  the Clarington Toros.  Goalielocks team came out with hustle like an underdog, but the heart of a champion.  The team’s first period was absolutely brilliant as they worked together scoring five goals.

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The squad was beset by a number of penalties in the 2nd and 3rd, which kept me quite busy.  We didn’t net nearly the number of shots as we had in the 1st period, but the boys still played well.  B2 was solid between the pipes while his defense did a great job protecting him.

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We didn’t expect to win this game against the hearty Canadian squad.  Today the team played with heart, hustle and for each other and the results speak for themselves.  Post game we headed home for lunch – more leftovers – and I got in another 3 mile run.  Today’s run was markedly better than yesterday’s, but I’m still slower than molasses in January in Minnesota.

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In a few minutes, we’ll drive back to the rink in a few for the second game of the day.  If the boys play like they did this morning, particularly in the first period, the sky is the limit for this crew.  Lastly, I’m hopeful that I have significantly less visitors tonight than I did this morning.

Today’s song “Feel Invincible” by Skillet.

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Black Friday

Unlike many Americans, we spent our Black Friday morning at the hockey rink at not the mall.  Quite frankly, I can’t stand the malls down here in season let alone on Black Friday.   Unquestionably, the normal rudeness and ineptitude ramps up a couple of notches when season kicks in.  If there is anywhere someone would get shot over a cheap TV, it would be here.  Needless to say, I’ll be avoiding Best Buy and the mall for the next month.

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I think that’s probably why Cyber Monday is more my thing.  No crazy people or horrible drivers to contend with as I surf the web, what could be better?  Nonetheless, the younger two and I did venture out to Dick’s and PetSmart.  Neither store was incredibly packed and both were well staff to handle all the shoppers. My boys left the stores empty handed much to their chagrin.  To stores was all I could handle, however, so it’s back to shopping online.

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We started out morning at the rink.  If you ask me, a 9:45 am game is way too early for bantams.  I thought the scheduling Gods would be smiling on us by bantam and we’d get later games.  Honestly, I prefer the later games as I am not a morning person.  This morning, Goalielocks was excited and relieved to have been dropped off at the right rink at the right time.

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Their first game was against the Florida Bulldogs, who Goalielocks played for 2 seasons ago.  Our squad went up handily in the first period notching 3 goals and only allowing one sort of shot on their net.   The rest of the game was much more even although we continued to out shoot them 2-1.   Moreover, our goalie came up with some clutch saves down the stretch.  As the final buzzer rang, the boys rushed the Goalie to celebrate their 4-1 victory.  We’ll be heading back to the rink shortly for their second game of the day against the Everblades, which should be a much tighter contest.

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After eating my weight in Thanksgiving goodies yesterday,  I was committed to getting in a run.  Consequently, the Piggie and I headed out for a 3.25 mile run around the neighborhood.  As with my last run, it was a bit laborious and a tough go of it.  Certainly, today’s run wasn’t fast! Hopefully, these runs will start to get a little bit easier and a little faster.

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Today’s song is “Walk on Water” by Thirty Seconds to Mars.  I love this song! Who remembers Jared Leto from MY So Called Life?  Leto still acts, but has also found success with his band Thirty Second to Mars. 

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Super Saturday

Today was definitely a super Saturday as I spent it at the rink with the Mayor and his team.  Fortunately, we were local playing two games down in Coral Springs.  Moreover, the scheduler did a great job as his games were perfectly scheduled.   Consequently, I was able to pick up the race packets for the Purple Stride event after the team lunch.

The Mayor came out on fire this morning in game 1 against the Panthers scoring a beautiful goal on his first shift.   He ended the first period with a goal and an assist.  His team has come together nicely and really plays for each other.  In the second period, his line-mate BK came to visit me in the Sin Bin.  The ref sent him to the box for for interference after he took down the kid that had just leveled the Mayor.  He came into the box and said “there’s no way I was gonna let him get away with hitting the Mayor.”   Honestly, when a kid comes to the box for defending their teammate, I’m never mad.  Sticking up for your teammate is what good teammates do.

That penalty was in the second period, but BK would be back to visit me in the 3rd.  The Mayor took the puck on our blue line and started heading towards the offensive zone when a linebacker of a player boarded him in the neutral zone.  The player really should have been called for a 2 and 10, but whatever….

Fortunately, the Mayor wasn’t hurt.  He skated hard down to the offensive zone, where the same kid had just checked his line-mate BK into the boards.  The Mayor laid this kid out.  I gotta be honest, I was proud of him for sticking up for himself and his teammate.  The hit was a real beauty and would have been perfectly legal if they were bantams.  While the Mayor may be small in stature, he is large in personality, strength and presence on the ice.  Undoubtedly, the player he laid out will remember him.

Afterwards, we headed to Lefty’s for lunch with the team.  My brother met us for lunch, so the Mayor was totally stoked.  Originally, I hadn’t planned on staying at lunch because I had to pick up the packets.  My bro was able to take the Mayor back to the rink, so I could go to Boca to get the packets.  Meanwhile, the Mayor was super excited to spend some time with his uncle.

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Both J&B and then Rich were able to join us for the second game, which was a much tighter contest.  It was a fun game to watch and the kids worked hard together.  They enjoyed watching him play.  The Mayor use his new stick even if it was a little tall for him.  He was just a little excited about it.   At the end of the day, I love watching the Mayor’s squad play.  They create an atmospheric experience at their games.  Undeniably, there is nothing better than watching these kids come together and start playing for each other.

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Now it’s off to sort shirts and put together the packets for tomorrow’s race.  Undoubtedly,  I’m nervous for the race since my training has been non-existent and I hate sucking.  If you haven’t donated to the team or still want to join (it’s not too late), you can donate at this link or register at tomorrow’s event.

Tonight’s song is “Machinehead” by Bush.

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Hockey Culture

One of my favorite aspects of hockey culture is the commitment of older players to encouraging and mentor the younger players.  It manifest in a number of ways.  When Marty St. Louis played for the Lightning, his son played travel hockey here in Florida.  There were a number of tournaments we attended that when he was there, he’d offer his encouragement to our boys.  As loud as these hockey players are the minute an NHLer walks in the room, you could hear crickets.

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You may recall from my blog a couple weeks ago that Goalielocks had skate courtesy of a professional rehabbing here in Florida.  Well, today was our boys turn.  Goalielocks’ team was offered the opportunity to volunteer at the Panthers’ Learn to Skate program that is being hosted at our rink.  Goalielocks equipment was still in the truck, so he helped them set up.  Meanwhile, the Mayor was more than happy to go out on the ice and help.

Dressed in their black tracksuits, the Mayor, his friend Justin and a handful of Goalielocks’ teammates took to the ice for learn to play.  We watched from the glass fondly recalling how they were all that little once.  By comparison to the learn to play kids, even my Mayor looked gargantuan.  Our bantams looked like giants next to these little players.

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Unquestionably, these boys are tough on the ice. Most of them visit me in the box at least once a game (my Mayor included.) Nonetheless today on the ice, they were gentle giants.  It was awesome watching them help the up and coming hockey players throughout the hour.  As tough as they can be, they were patient, caring coaches.  For my boys, it was a rewarding experience.  As we left the rink, they were excited to return next week to help coach.

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Post learn to play, I got my second coffee of the day from Dunkin’ before heading to the pet store.  Our first stop was a Tanks A Lot, which sells aquarium and a wide array of marine life.  For my boys, it was like a candy shop.  This store had everything from sea horses (I want one) to two different shark species.  Unquestionably, my boys wanted to take home both of the sharks.  Unfortunately, we don’t have an aquarium large enough to house the sharks.

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After our trips to the pet store, we headed home for Goalielocks to setup his new aquarium.  He got several small fish to cycle the thank.  Meanwhile, I was hoping to run, but the weather and my hamstrings were not cooperating.   Instead I chose to cuddle on the couch with the Mayor and watch the Office.  It was a solid choice.  Nonetheless, it also means I’ll have to run more miles tomorrow.

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Lastly, we’re seven days out from the Broward Palm Beach Purple Stride and still $3,500 away from our fundraising goal.  While it looks doubtful that I’ll be logging a PR at this race, due to poor preparations, I do not want to fall short of my fundraising goal.  If you’re in S. Florida, join us at the event.  If you’re not local to S. Florida, please consider donating to Team Deb Force Five.  You can join the team or donate to the team via this link:  Team Deb Force Five.

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Tonight’s song is a flashback to the 80’s.  It’s also one of my kids’ favorite song after it was featured on Family Guy.  Enjoy Toto’s “Africa.”

 

 

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Demand Better

One of PanCan’s most powerful slogans is demand better.  Demand better for patients and for survival.  Pancreatic Cancer is now the 3rd leading cause of cancer related deaths in the U.S.  By 2020, pancreatic cancer is forecasted to be the 2nd leading cause of cancer related deaths surpassing breast cancer.  Meanwhile the 5 year survival rate for pancreatic cancer has increased from 7% to 8%.  While the increase is welcome, the survival rate for pancreatic cancer is still way too low.

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The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer to anyone’s friend or family member is horrifying.  What I respected so much about Debbie is that she lived her life fully not allowing the disease to define her.   I’m grateful to have had her in my life and for the example she set.  Additionally, she was the epitome of grace under pressure.  In the midst of her treatment, she was committed to making the future brighter for all pancreatic cancer patients.   Our commitment to the cure steadfast driven by her absence, which is felt profoundly by all of us.  I promised her that I would never give up the fight that I would always wage hope as her proxy.

Join us or donate to Team Deb Force Five here.

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Gratitude

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Cicero.  I drove to the rink to watch my youngest play to hockey games today with a heart full of gratitude.  First of all, the game was at home – a total godsend.  Secondly, there’s nothing better than watching your kid play the game they love.  No  matter how we hockey parents feel, we’re still gonna show up at the rink to watch our kids.  It didn’t hurt, of course, that they won both games.  Excitedly, the Mayor had the game wining goal in the 2nd game.

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Yesterday, during the torrential rains of Tropical Storm Philippe, Goalielocks and I went to Dick’s and PetSmart.  While driving to the store, we started talking about the current state of youth sports.  For instance, when I was growing up most kids played multiple sports.  In contrast, today’s kids are specializing in one sport by age 12.  Moreover, the cost to play for today’s kids has become astronomical.  In order to stay competitive, many kids play on tournament teams, attend clinics, take private lessons and go to camps.   This, however, comes with an extremely colossal price tag that puts youth sports out of reach for many.   This was mind blowing to Goalielocks.  As we drove home last night, I think Goalielocks understood how lucky he’s been having played travel hockey since 2011.

My heart is full with gratitude for the boys’ opportunity to play hockey.  Our boys have been playing travel hockey since 2011.  In the year since, we’ve had incredible experiences with their teams.  Moreover, the boys had the fantastic opportunity to travel with their teams to Boston, Minnesota, Ottawa, Washington D.C., and Quebec.  This season we will be travelling to Chicago, Atlanta and Boston.  Needless to say my boys’ are extremely excited for these trips.

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There are many things that fill my heart with gratitude, but none more than the incredible people in my life.  From my parents and in-laws, to my brothers, my hockey family, my friends and my work squad, I am lucky to be surrounded by incredible people that make my heart sing.

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$15 Billion

$15 billion is a heck of a lot of money.  Coincidentally, $15 billion is the size of the youth sports market in  America.  This figure includes league fees, travel costs, apps to manage teams/organizations and live stream games.  Consider that DropBox and AirBnB are both worth only $10 billion, while SpaceEx is worth $12 billion.  That’s a lot of freaking money.

At this point, I feel like our family alone has contributed $1 billion.  With all three kids playing travel hockey, I feel like we’ve been “hockey poor” for most of our adult life.  When I was growing up, our sports followed well defined seasons.  Year round participation in one sport, which drives up costs significantly, simply didn’t exist in our youth.  Now kids are specializing in one sport early often by the time they’ve started middle school.  The problem with specialization in one sport early on is for the increasing incidence of overuse issues and burnout.

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There’s a ton of pressure on kids to make both club and school teams as they pursue college scholarships.  Its a vicious cycle.   As parents we complain about early specialization, but we’re also a big driver in extending the seasons of sports.  I read an interesting article on this topic today in the Star Tribune.  The author wrote how many high school coaches had been pressured into offering off season training for their programs.   This, in my opinion, created a vicious cycle where athletes feel that they have to specialize and work at their craft year round, while coaches feel pressured to coach and offer programs year round.

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How do you solve this problem? I certainly don’t have the answers.  But somewhere in the middle, there’s gotta be a balance.  All I know is that its exhausting and rewarding for everyone involved.

Meanwhile, we had our 5th game of the weekend this morning.  My morning was more than a bit hellacious.   Sadly, my phone wasn’t working correctly and I couldn’t get the rink info off of it.  I sent a text to a group text, but alas we’re all super sarcastic so that didn’t work.  Coincidentally, it didn’t help the lack of mimosa situation either, but I digress. As a consequence, I drove Goalielocks to the wrong rink.  He was livid (to put it mildly.)  Sadly, the game, much like my morning, was a charlie foxtrot.  Nevertheless, I’ve added a 16th bullet to my hockey mom wisdom blog reinforcing the importance of showing up at the right rink.

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The rest of our day, ascended from the ashes from a crazy morning.  Sometimes its all about perspective.  Midway through the first period, one of Goalielocks’ teammates got kicked with a skate leading to a deep laceration on the inside of his ankle.  In the end, medics had to respond to the rink and his teammate ended up in the ER at the local hospital.  Its amazing how insignificant  my untimely rink tour of S. Florida became against the back drop of this serious injury.  It truly is all about perspective and realizing even our worst morning isn’t that bad.