Tending the Goalie

The Washington Capitals do a lot with youth hockey in our area, both outside of practice and during games. I know many kids who have participated in the “Mites on Ice” event where a mite team gets to go out on the ice during an intermission and play a short game. My son did this once and really enjoyed it. His only comment at that time when asked what it was like to be on the ice in the Verizon Center was that “it was really white.”

This week he was on that ice again during the second intermission of the lockout-delayed home opener. Another event that the Caps hold is a shootout competition, which pits local goalies from different age groups against shooters through two preliminary rounds, with winners competing in the finals during a Caps game. They play it up as a “battle of the states” with the finalists from Maryland competing against the finalists from Virginia. My son was the VA goalie for one of the two Squirt divisions and thus made his second appearance on the Verizon Center ice.

A few observations from the evening:

• The Caps organization does this one up well – there are only 4 kids competing (as opposed to a dozen or more for Mites on Ice) so there is more individual attention. We were personally escorted down to the locker room to drop off his gear and, as the big “surprise” of the night, each child was presented with a Capitals jersey personalized with his name and number. That was a big hit and got a “whoa, that’s cool” out of my boy.
• There is whole little village down at ice level, below the stands, and people are scurrying around all over the place. We walked past the Wizards and Mystics locker rooms, as well as the Capitals and visitors locker rooms. We saw a bunch of Winnipeg Jets (the opposing team for the night) playing soccer in the hallway and passed one or two Caps players warming up. There’s almost a party atmosphere down there.
• My husband noted that when we did see the players, they were smiling and relaxed and having fun. I think that is a good thing – they are playing a game for a living, so they should have fun.
• The actual shootout event is very short and the tiebreaker is not ideal – they flip a coin in the locker room to decide which goalie will defend  for the tiebreaker, if needed. In our case, it was needed and the MD goalie and VA shooter got the nod. One shot – if it goes in, VA wins, and if not, MD wins. The latter happened in our case as the shot went wide. But I understand that they can’t let these things go on forever so it has to end somehow.

Making a save on the last shot.

My son is 10 so, in his mind, he was the top VA goalie in his group and that means that he is the best goalie in VA. We have worked to tone that down a bit considering he didn’t face EVERY goalie in VA and honestly didn’t have to compete against many in the early rounds. What I have stressed to him is this important life lesson: half (or more) of success is showing up. Many kids either couldn’t make it to the early rounds or didn’t know about them or decided that they did not want to participate in a shootout. It is simply not every player or goalie’s favorite thing to do. However, if you do want to do it and you can show up, you might just win. Of course, you have to step up and do your best – that part is up to you. But you may just end up in your own personalized jersey out on the ice in front of thousands of people.

Or, as my son called it, a ten-star night!

In When Harry Met Sally, Harry tells Sally that “there are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.” I would argue that the same can be said for hockey players. I should know – I happen to be raising one of the high maintenance kind.

The locker room is the best place to identify the types. You walk in there and see the kids who drag their own bag in, immediately open it up, and start getting dressed. They may, depending upon their age, ask an adult to help them tie their skates, but otherwise they take care of themselves efficiently and get out on the ice. They may joke around or banter with teammates, but that does not distract them from the task of getting dressed.

Then there are the “other” kind. Those who need prompting and prodding to stay on task or can’t find their gear or whine and complain about how their socks fit or that their skates are too loose/tight. On a good day, my son fits into this category, especially when it comes to how his socks feel inside his skates. That alone can sometimes require 2-3 tries before the skates can be tied. Of course, I have only myself to blame – before a run, I adjust my socks obsessively. This does not, however, make me completely empathetic. Particularly when in a crowded locker room.

And then there are the REALLY high maintenance days. Don’t even get me started on those. Suffice to say that we had one recently so it is fresh in my mind. We end up fighting in the locker room and both leaving in a huff. Not pretty nor particularly helpful. Who knows what sets those days off, but the locker room seems to be a great stage for them. I think it starts with a bad mood and is amplified by the amount of “stuff” that has to happen to get ready for practice in a short amount of time – bathroom break, street clothes off, socks adjusted just so, pants on, leg pads on and buckled and snapped the right way, etc., etc., etc. Thankfully, he is able to get himself mostly dressed so my involvement is becoming less and less.

I know that goalies are typically known as a bit “odd.” I haven’t researched the maintenance levels of well-known goalies, but from what I’ve read, I can imagine that if I asked their parents, they could relate some similar stories. Imagine Tim Thomas as a kid, having a fit like he’s had on the ice (you can get a taste of that from this shootout video).

I figure that by next year, my son will be on his own completely. Perhaps peer pressure will keep his high maintenance tendencies in check.

Or, perhaps I’ll see his coach emerge with steam coming from his ears. I can empathize with that.