Sunday, January 17, 2010

What hard work and effort can get you...

We weren't sure.  It was our first Squirt hockey tournament this weekend.  We had a lot of trepidation.  How do we stack up as a team?  Could we play with these other teams?  Could we compete?  Our first game gave us confidence.  It was a cautiously optimistic "yes," as we beat West Fargo, 6-2.

But then we saw them.  Our next team.  They were big, and physical.  And they were from... Canada.   Our boys started doubting their ability before they even stepped on the ice.  We suffered through a miserable loss at the hands of a Canadian hockey team that lived up to their reputations of being amazing competition.  But we weren't finished facing Canadian teams yet, our next team was also from Canada and they also proved to be a formidable foe.

But Sunday we got just a bit smarter.  When the boys asked if we were in fact facing Canada again, our coaches said "no, they're from Montana, and they aren't known for their hockey!" Now this could not have been further from the truth, but we saw a new glimmer of hope begin to simmer in their eyes.

We built a slow lead and managed to hang on, defeating, yes, a Canadian team.  After experiencing the sting of defeat twice yesterday, an early Sunday win was the perfect balm for our wounded pride.

The Championship Game for Pool C took place this afternoon.   We told Nolan to get out early and score some goals.  He looked at us, smiled, and then asked, "how many?"  I smiled back and said "a hat trick would be nice."

It was a hotly contested battle.  But the boys refused to back down.  As tired as they were.  As defeated as they had been.  They battled and fought.  And eventually when the time ran out on the clock... they won.  Not only did they get to hang blue medals around their neck, but they took home the first place trophy in Pool three.  True to his word, Nolan scored a perfect hat trick, as did two of his team mates.









It doesn't matter if I speak English and you speak French, because we both speak Nintendo DS!



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To me, the look on his face, says it all.








12 comments:

  1. That's such a great story today Vicky. And you are right, the look on Nolan's face says a lot. What great sport to be involved in. I'm glad you had a great weekend.

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  2. I get so teary when kids are working so hard for something! Even if they aren't my own! I am NOT a cryer but I will be a mess when Chloe is older! Great pics!

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  3. Ah trophies and blue medals. your boys must be over the moon and a hat tick for Nolan what more cold a mum want. He did exactly what you told him to do.

    Vicky I love the last picture and it's caption too :)

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  4. What wonderful experiences for your boys. It's good to be able to taste those bits of success in the growing years to give you confidence to keep trying in life.

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  5. Yea!!! Great job to the guys (and their Moms and Dads.)
    Tell Nolan that blue and gold looks good on him!
    Hugs,
    Jackie

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  6. Lisa, thanks :) They were one happy bunch of boys and won't soon forget this.

    Chelsea, it was a huge rollercoaster, but when they start to really believe that they can it IS emotional :)

    Liss, thanks, that last photo is the head coach's son, and Rick happened to capture it :)

    Crochet, I think you said it perfectly. It really translates into a good life lesson that you hope they will tap into later on in life :)

    Jackie, thank you :) I will pass along that message to Nolan :)

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  7. Couldn't have summed it up better Vicky! Thanks for taking the precious photo of Ryan...too sweet.

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  8. What a wonderful experience for the kids. I think it's great that they connect with kids from all over. Awesome pictures.

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  9. Vicky - we were there!!!!!!! We had no idea your team was playing until Saturday when we were looking at the program and then we saw "Westra" all over the Moorhead page :-) We were there supporting the BW Blades as my good friends son plays. We only made Saturday as Sunday I had something wrong with my foot and couldn't put a shoe on otherwise we would have been there. We looked for you guys on Saturday, but never did run into you :-( maybe another time!

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  10. Sara, oh that is too bad we missed you! We played at 8 on Saturday and 3:30... the whole Westra clan came for the afternoon game but it was not very fun to see them lose so badly.

    The bw blades game was pretty close... we kept a lead the whole time but they kept coming back! I hope your foot is better... too bad we missed you. One of our moms said she knew quite a few on the other team as well as she grew up there... small world!

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  11. Montana! I love this! This is such an awesome story!

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  12. Awww... that just made me so proud!!! Congrats, Nolan!!!

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