My Dad made me cry at a kids hockey game

Let me set the stage. There’s 2 minutes left in the game. Her team is down by one. We need a goal here to tie it up. It’s very tense. Did I mention that she’s 8? We’re feeling the pressure as the coach pulls the goalie and sends our girl out to make the big moves for her team. She jumps out the door like someone just lit a fire under her and knocks the puck off the opponents stick. It’s a real kerfuffle. She gets it free from the crowd. I’m shaking. She gets it around the last defender, but it gets caught up in her feet. It’s not looking good. She turns, back to the net, picks up the puck on her back hand, turns to face the net, puck still on her stick. Backhand, forehand, winds up, she shoots……

 

SHE SCORES!!! The game is tied. The crowd goes WILD!!! Yes - I’m still talking about an 8 year olds hockey game. 

 

Luckily, I have my camera on for this whole ordeal, and I have the ENTIRE thing on video. My kids get a real kick out of these videos because if you turn up the volume you can hear me screaming. Not cheering, screaming. It’s visceral. Real Momma bear stuff. (Screaming in a positive way, not an insane hockey parent way, I promise.)

 

As I’m screaming, I look over and my Dad is laughing. LAUGHING! He’s so blown away by my girl that he can’t help but laugh! His reaction was so genuine and full of love that it made me cry. I’ve watched it back 100 times because it just brings me so much joy to hear our collective cheers that are laced with excitement for her as well as amazement at how far she’s come in just a couple of years.

At that moment I realized something. No one loves my kids as much as their Dad and I do, except for their grandparents. Nobody roots for them the way we do, except for their grandparents. No one is more “in their corner” than us, except for their grandparents.

The other parents on the team were very excited for her goal. Hockey is a team sport and it takes effort from every kid on the ice to have success, so if my daughter succeeds, so do theirs, and vice versa. But, other peoples’ joy for my kiddo is a product of joy for their own kiddos. If we were on different teams, they may not feel so much joy watching her play. And that’s expected. You don’t see me in the stands cheering for the other teams' players when they score. Even if it is a sweet goal. 

 

Do you think I’ve stirred the youth hockey politics pot enough yet? If you’re reading this and our kids are on the same team, please don’t put me in hockey parent exile. I love you guys. Seriously. 

 

My point is that while I might be the President of the Emie fan club, her Poppa is a lifetime member. To know that someone, other than me and her Dad, loves her and roots for her as much as we do brings me so much peace and happiness. 

 

Sometimes it can be tricky to tell who is truly rooting for you. It can be difficult to know who will show up when you need them most. I find that a lot of answers can be found in the little things. The little things that people do or say that show you how much they care. Their excitement at your success, how they pick you up if you fall down, and how they show up for you again and again, no matter what. 

 

If you’re lucky enough to have people in your life that are always in your corner, no matter what, hold onto them tightly. These are the people that matter most. These are the people to surround yourself (and your kids) with, and be sure that you let these people know how much they mean to you as well. (Hi, Mom & Dad!) 

 

And before you ask, “So Alex, are you a crazy hockey parent?” 

 

The answer is no. I’m not a crazy hockey parent. I’m a super fan of my kids in anything they choose to do. I am their biggest supporter, their loudest cheerleader (literally), and their fiercest protector. So if hockey is what they love to do, I’ll bundle up, hand over our life savings, and sit in that rink every chance I get.