Hockey Weekend

I have talked about teachers, and coaches in past posts.

This time, I would like to talk about teams.

The players, their families, coaches, and everyone who contributes to the team.

My son plays hockey. 

He LOVES it.

He loves it so much that he has decided that he must be Canadian, since hockey is so popular up there.  

(He is serious about being Canadian.  He cheered for them all during the Olympics, and asked to learn the words to their national anthem.)

My point is that he LOVES hockey.

He has been playing for 2 years here with our local team.

Hockey is not a big deal here in Central Pennsylvania.  Most people don't even know that we have a hockey team.

Last year, we attended a tournament in State College, where we had the chance to play against other teams of the same age.

We were decimated.

I can't remember how many games we played (it had to be over 10), and we won 1.

And the ones we lost were not close at all.

I likened our team to the Mighty Duck (from the movie) or the Bad New Bears.

This year, there were many parents who noticed our lack of support and really stepped up.

This past weekend, we attended another tournament, this time in York.

My only hope for this tournament was that we didn't end up in last place.

We started on Saturday with a loss.

But then we won the next game, and Caden actually scored some goals.

(He is not usually a big scorer.  He is definitely not one of the superstars.)

We played 6 more games and only lost one more time.

We were all so thrilled.

We ended up placing 2nd with our cross ice team.

Our half ice team played for 3rd.

This was one of the most intense games I have ever watched.

We came back from 1-5 to win in overtime 7-6.

I was almost in tears.

It was just so amazing to see how far all the boys have come in the past year.

And to come back from a 4 goal deficit took some serious heart.

They really left it all out on the ice.

One of the reasons I think our team played well is that they really functioned as a team.

Our boys (for the most part) did not try to take it to the goal every time.

They passed well, they played smart.

I have really loved these past 2 years getting to know all the other hockey families.

And I love going to the tournaments with them, and getting to know them better.

I look forward to many more years of hockey with all of you.

I am having trouble writing all that I am feeling (I am NOT a writer), but just know that my heart was made so full after this weekend.  

I am still grinning.