The week before last the boy started his hockey lessons.? After we made it through our trial run with the single blade skates we were a little skeptical as to how the first session would go.? As it turns out our fears weren’t without reason.? Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.? There is very little in my life that I will actually give up on.? About 30 minutes into the “lesson” I was ready to give up.? So much so I was nearly in tears.
My little boy, the one who has talked of being so excited to start skating screamed the whole time.? We are talking sca-reemed.? The coaches were awesome and did everything they could to get him to stop.? They let us onto the ice without our skates on, they pushed him around in a chair, they carried him around.? They did it all.? Nothing helped.? Finally we let the boy stand at the door and just watch.? Every so often the coach would come by and ask if he was ready.? “No,” he replied, “I don’t know what I want.”
We finally got him to interact with the coach by asking him to show him his mean hockey face.? The coach played right into it.? By this time I needed to go upstairs since I was sick and a 40 below hockey rink is not good for someone with recurring bronchitis.? I watched through the windows and after a while I could see my child out on the ice with his dad and the coach.? Then he let the coach take him around the ice.? Victory!? In the end he spent 50 minutes screaming and 10 actually having fun.
I thought I would help him make the transition by taking him skating (just the two of us) on Tuesday.? I promised I’d bring my own equipment and help him learn how to skate.? He was game for that.? We got to the rink, dressed (which is not an easy feat) and headed toward the ice.? Then the child broke down.? Oh dear lord with the screaming.? Again, 50 minutes of screaming and 10 minutes of not.? But I did get him to skate on his own without crying.
Now the normal parent would say this child is just not ready.? And frankly I was there.? It was the coaches that changed my mind.? They said it is the children who can’t even walk in the skates who are just not the ones who should be trying at that time.? The boy has no problem walking in skates, even with his equipment on.? He’s just scared of falling and the sliding sensation on the ice.? They said give it a few more trys.
The boy and I cut a deal after our scream-fest on Tuesday.? Daddy would be the one to take him and Mommy would stay home.? You heard that right.? I had to send my baby off to hockey lessons with his father.? Not that his father is incapable of taking him to lessons.
The goal for the lesson was no crying.? It didn’t matter if he sat on his bum the whole time.? We just wanted to get him through without crying.? I bit my nails for the 2 hours they were gone and when they walked in the door… the boy was thrilled.? He made it through sans screaming.? He was worn out after the first 30 minutes, but he made it through.
The trick was letting Derek onto the ice with his skates.? The coaches worked a little bit with him, but most of the time it was the trusty husband.? We are trying to tell the boy that next week daddy can’t go onto the ice, but I’m not thinking that is going to fly.
For now, I’m going to sit at home and bite my nails.? The boy has plenty of years of hockey for me to enjoy I suppose.
Seems like you are handling this very well, sometimes a boy just need his daddy, as much as it hurts us moms.