Another hockey season...

is done. We didn't make it the state play offs this year, but we gave it a good run for the money. Max has finished his career as a Pee Wee. Which means he'll be a Bantam next year. Faster game, more checking, last 2 years of youth hockey..that's what Bantams are all about.

It seems strange to me that I have started book marking my children's life by what level they are in sports. "Oh, that was when he was a Squirt", like that should mean anything to the majority of the population. But, say that to a hockey parent and they say, "first or second year"?

Wasn't it only yesterday that Max hit the ice as a mini mite and he was 4 years old? SO excited that he was finally old enough to follow into a game that Dylan played. His favorite thing was doing Supermans...they would skate hard and when they got to the blue line, they would fling themselves forward Superman style onto their stomachs and see how far they could get.

I don't know that he has a favorite thing anymore, he loves most of it. We had a coach his final year of Squirts that shaped him into the player he is today. Max had made the A team and everyone knew this coach. He played in the Olympics, he had coached youth hockey for the past 40 years. He was old school, he was tough, he made the kids accountable on and off the ice, he accepted no excuses and he had them at the rink 6 days a week. Max loved his line, "I can do anything you can do except take a knee because I'm old".

And, I will never forget what he said at our first parent meeting. "This is the year that your boys will figure out if hockey is for them. I will work them to the point of exhaustion but yet they'll be excited to get back to the rink the next day. If your child doesn't feel that way, maybe you should find a new sport". It was that year that I decided, Hockey is more than a sport, it's a lifestyle.

This year I:
Put approximately 1800 miles on my car driving to and from games and practices
Spent approximately $3000 on everything from gear to hotel rooms to fees to skate sharpening
Max consumed approximately 108 bottles of Gatorade, not counting the G1s he had before games
AND, I made over 60 dozen cookies for our celebrations!

Highlights of the year:

Being named one of the captains.

The Outdoor Classic and beating the rival Highland!
Beating the number 1 ranked team in the state.

No injuries!!