The New Year brings with it a fresh outlook; an opportunity to reset goals and expectations; to continue to learn and grow. These are admittedly a wee bit late, but I’ve taken some time to reflect on the year past to come up with a list of rink-related New Year’s resolutions many of my hockey-parent brothers and sisters will no doubt be able to identify or perhaps sympathize with. I, a veteran hockey dad and rookie head coach, do hereby resolve for 2012 I will:
- try to limit the number of teenage girls I make cry in tense practice, game and/or locker-room situations
- try to give the ladies and gentlemen in stripes (i.e. the refs) the benefit of the doubt when they inexplicably blow their whistles signalling phantom calls against the Boy’s or Devil’s teams or when those same whistles are muted in the face of obvious infractions on the part of the other side
- shield my ears from the often nonsensical exhortations of opposing hockey parents who are obviously watching some other contest or have a distorted point of view when they cry foul on penalties, hits or other such on-ice occurrences
- resist the urge to chuckle out loud when the Boy performs some in-game gaff (it just slips out every few games)
- work harder on encouraging my charges to consistently compete at the level to which they have proven they are capable, which will in turn result in more positive outcomes
- not always make the Devil the first choice to send to the penalty box to serve a bench minor or an extra two minutes sometimes doled out by the aforementioned stripes
- attempt to limit keep my intake of rink fries and gravy within acceptable levels under the Canadian Nutrition Guide, though who can really resist those deep-fried boxes of deliciousness
As with every other year only a few, if any, of these frosty affirmations are likely to be honoured despite all of my best intentions. The passion of the game, the heat of the moment, the smell of crispy fried strips of potatoe topped with beef gravy are all likely to get the best of me before too long.
#imahockeydad