Hockey- Social-izing

We had a fun night attending the hockey social for our youth association Friday night. We talked to lots of friends, stayed out way too late, and shared many laughs. Its hard to imagine this is our fifth year of belonging to the hockey program. Each year I think we find our involvement increasing. I think when the president of the association talked to us his words really stayed with me. He offered the simple reminder that this is OUR association and that the more involved you are the more long lasting relationships you create and the more you feel a part of the community overall. Even though he has a son at the bantam level he almost sounded nostalgic already.

I know when Rick was first asked to design and publish the high school hockey game program I was struck by two things. First of all I was blown away by the talented and ambitious kids at the high school level and even a little awe-struck if you will. But the second thing I noticed as I would chat with the parents of the high school players it seemed that they were always humble and wanting to know as much about our boys as we knew about theirs. Not only did they care about the current program, they were equally invested in the future of the hockey program. Over the course of the last few years they have at times offered to coach our kids, offered equipment if we needed it, given advice when we've asked, included us in their graduation parties and celebrations, and genuinely cared about us and our two little skaters. They also openly welcomed us when we were the first to admit we weren't deep in the hockey tradition. No Stanley Cups, Gold medals or NHL contracts in our history unlike so many others in our community. Make no mistake, the hockey roots in this area run deep.

So I've seen how it works from the high school level down. And Rick and I see that you may as well get to know one another now. Because our time together will only be increasing. These hockey families weather a lot of ups and downs together. And they've warned us, its over before you know it.

So I took advantage of the hockey social Friday night and made a few more acquaintances and grew more familiar with this community. I have no doubt we have big "shoes"... make that "skates" to fill. But as I looked around the room and saw all the new faces with hockey playing kids I realized we have all the right people to do just that.