More Hockey

What did you expect?  I got a new video camera for Christmas and I just figured out how to upload it to the blog.  And for two more weeks, hockey is our life.  When my parents were here, they had their names and numbers screen printed onto the back of their jerseys.  Luke is number 54 and Jack is 11.

Hockey Country

 

Here in Grand Forks, hockey is a big deal.  The parks department doesn't offer much else besides it during these winter months.  Even though basketball is a winter sport, it has to wait until hockey season is over.  I'm amazed at how much the boys have learned.  Their practices are efficient and well organized.  And the competition is pretty tough during games because these Kinders are practicing constantly in their backyards or in the flooded and iced over parks.

Hockey

 

A few weeks back, Luke and Jack started hockey.  For their first practice we didn't get them shoulder pads or breezers because the info sheet said those were optional.  Whelp, I guess people here take their gear seriously.  Every kid had all of the required AND optional gear on, so we had to head to the store.  It was better in the long run though because they fall...a lot.  The breezers are especially good for keeping their bums bruise-free.  Just for your enjoyment here is the gear list:

skates

skate guards

shin guards

hockey socks

breezers

shoulder pads

elbow pads

gloves

practice jersey

neck guard

helmet and mask

stick

Needless to say, it is an art getting them ready for practice.  We've shaved off about 20 minutes since the very first pre-practice prep.  I'm pretty proud of that.

 

Jack had a rough time the first practice but since then, he's gotten the hang of skating and doing all the drills.  He quit the first practice about 10 minutes before it ended but has since finished every other practice.   At the end of each time, they come off the ice drenched in sweat and say they had tons of fun.  Entertainment, physical activity and two very tired out boys.  Score.

 

Terra, Lilah and Collin came to cheer the boys on.  What good friends.

 We've made it a Saturday morning tradition of grabbing coffee and heading out to hockey practice.  We are loving this winter tradition, all four of us.