Baseball is NOT Hockey

My hockey player decided to try a new sport...Baseball. I have nothing against the great American past time but it's kind of a slow game. For me, Major league games are slow. When I go to the Rockies games, I try really hard to concentrate for the first inning...or two...but then I get really distracted. My binocs are usually scanning the crowd for people I know or I'm looking for the guy dancing like a lunatic on the Jumbo-tron. Before I know it, we are standing up for the 7th inning stretch singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and I have to make a mad dash to the beer stand for last call. That's the Major league...Rec league is a whole 'nother ball of wax.

First off, teams in the rec league are usually (not always) made up of kids who have A) never played baseball or B) never played a sport. My son falls under Category A. Second, the teams are usually coached by a volunteer father. Our coach was my son's father. Third, because of the teams talent pool, not only are the basic baseball fundamentals taught but so are the ones you just don't think about: Swinging the bat in the dugout (a no-no) scaling the top of the dug out chain link fence is not acceptable, the importance of listening when the batting order or positions are being called out and of course the appropriate way to spit sunflower seeds...I could go on. Fourth, they do not keep score. Huh? Of course they keep, score. Those kids know exactly what the score is and who made the runs...on BOTH teams.

Needless to say, the games were a little slow...and long. Again, I really tried hard to concentrate but my mind wondered. I love my son dearly but I will be the first to admit that I missed him at bat a few times because I was playing games on my iPhone, checking out Facebook or watching the dogs that were at the park.

This is not to say that I didn't watch the games because I did and there were some very exciting times. There is nothing better than a team of 10 an 11-year olds making a double play. The look of accomplishment, satisfaction and JOY after a well thought out play is over and successful is truly priceless. The player who continually strikes out at bat hits a homer with bases loaded...we still lost but he'll never remember that and he shouldn't. The catcher (my son) who caught the pop fly for an out and stands there with a look of awe and disbelief...he won't remember that someone ran home while he showed the ball to his coach. It all makes me smile and laugh to think back on.

The season is over and, for my son, in more ways than one. He has decided to retire his glove and go back to playing Lacrosse next spring. No, baseball is not hockey but I do believe that every boy should play at least one season of the great American sport. It's a rite of passage, in a way.

PLAY BALL!

6 a.m. practice

Not for me - I'm doing next week's shift. While my aspiring hockey player was up and at 'em I was dreaming away in my ambien-induced sleep. When he was walking into his classroom, I was walking around in my flannel pj's waiting for my first cup of coffee. It does amaze me that my child - who is dead weight every morning that I try rousing him for school - will wake at the crack of dawn to go to practice. I used to be that way. I would wake early to get my daily run in. Now it's all I can do to get up in time to get my offspring to school.

I find that with hockey, I am learning so much. I do need to clarify this statement because I think in general, a parent, if open to it, can learn so much from their children. They teach us to appreciate the simple things, living in the moment, that water was not meant to stay in the bathtub, eating dessert first...I could go on. What I am learning from my son's experience with hockey is commitment, fortitude, teamwork, perseverance. I'll be honest, my son's team had a less than stellar record. To be frank - it sucked doggy doo-doo. It was a long, losing season but my little guy didn't give up nor did he complain...much. He kept going to practice, day after day, week after week, month after month. He did it for the love of the game. I'm not saying he didn't have his moments, because he did, but after his mini-meltdowns, he would pack up and we would move out for the hour long trek to the rink for the 3+ hours of practice.

I have also found that this behavior is not unique to my hockey playing son - every player on every team he has been on is like this. This "thank you sir, can I have another" behavior is characteristic of most hockey players ranging from the tiniest 4 & 5-year old Mites to the 17+ Midget Majors. It's kind of a bizarre phenomenon. Perhaps it occurs in other sports - I don't know because we have been hockey obsessed to the exclusion of other sports (with the exception of lacrosse which is just like hockey but with less pads and warmer). All I know is what I see and what I see is just like the Mastercard priceless ad from a few years ago...and you hockey parents know exactly what I am talking about.

Intro Blog

Why am I doing this? A few reasons...my 11 year old son has been playing hockey for 4 years. That means 4 years of driving to practice, waiting, and then driving home. Some may say "so" and this is a valid response. What I am doing for my little bundle of joy is nothing more (or less) than any other mom or dad would do for their offspring. The thing is...I get bored. Yes. There. I said it. I know my son is having fun but guess what - I'm not. Driving to the various practices and then sitting through them is not my idea of a good time especially after working all day. I do it for the love of my child and because of that I try to come up with various ways to entertain myself. My past activities have included running, knitting, reading, crossword puzzles, walking, grocery shopping and sometimes I actually watch the practices.

We have just completed year 4 of hockey. Notice I didn't say season because to me, that is such a broad term when it comes to hockey. In my opinion, the hockey year consists of various teams: travel team, all-star team, spring team, summer team. These teams just cycle and recycle every year with a few weeks rest in between. But it's not really rest because there is Stick & Puck, drop ins, lessons, various clinics and camps and tryouts for the teams. So really, the only true time designation is the year which for us runs from August to August. Right now we are in between the travel and all-star teams. I have decided that for this new team, I am actually going to make an attempt to watch the practices and maybe try to learn something. A feat in itself considering I'm pretty sure that I was born without the "hockey knowledge" gene. I figure that by doing this blog, I will somehow hold myself accountable.

We'll see.