Lacrosse goalies have different sticks than players – news to me!
So I’ve been a goalie mom for a couple of years now – a hockey goalie mom. I have gotten better at dressing the part with warm socks and extra layers and have even gotten better at not needing to pace during every game (just some of them). It has been, and continues to be, an adventure and, while I have learned a lot, I still need to know so much more.
My hockey education, however, may have to take a backseat for a little bit while I climb my way up a new learning curve – for lacrosse.
My son has joined up with a lacrosse team this spring, with the intention of being – what else? – the goalie. Mind you, he has NO knowledge about the game and his experience is limited to tossing the ball a few times with a friend. Once. OK, maybe twice. But he went to practice the other day (in his hockey helmet, hockey shoulder pads, and hockey gloves – because that is how we roll) and jumped right into the net and had a ball. He loved every minute of it, with the exception of the couple of times that the ball cracked his shins, leaving a pretty impressive bruise, I must say.
Today he went back, but was more prepared. This time he wore his hockey pants and his shin pads, which I have to say made his look a bit doofy. But he was happy and it didn’t hurt when he got hit, so I suppose the lesson is that looks really don’t matter as long as you are safe. Yes, I realize that, as his mother, I should be the one teaching that lesson, not learning it from him. Nobody’s perfect.
So it appears that the next few months are going to involve tending a whole new type of goalie. I will be learning right alongside of him – as I told him today, he needs to learn how to play the game and I will work on figuring out the gear and all the other things. Like the rules.
Wish us luck!
Tending the Goalie 