When your child makes a competitive hockey team, so do you.
Competitive hockey is a family affair. Your child may be the only one to lace up their skates and take the ice on game days, but they sure aren’t the only one to put their heart on the line in order to be the best they can be. This is where your passion for your child’s endeavour shines through.
Competitive hockey is the level you hate to want your child to make. Choosing the competitive hockey lifestyle, you are committing to a minimum of eight hours a week in a bitter cold rink, travelling all over the city or province, with many weekends spent in hotels. You are forced to adapt to the fast-paced life of a competitive hockey parent instantaneously. You can say goodbye to your spare time in the evenings and on the weekends.
On the odd night that you aren’t taxiing around your little hockey player, you may have to work late at the office, putting in overtime in order to pay for the endless expenses of competitive hockey. Hockey isn’t cheap. There are equipment costs, team fees, travel and hotel expenses, as well as any other outside ice time or coaching you may put your child in. It all adds up!
Not to mention the emotional toll competitive hockey takes on you. You can count on sleepless nights from the stress of wanting your child and their team to succeed, losing your voice between October and March from cheering on your little #7 so loud, and when your support from the stands doesn’t quite push them to a win, you too are shattered on the inside feeling badly for the team’s fate.
However, nothing amounts to the reward you receive of seeing the joy on your child’s face when they hit the ice. The life you are choosing to live when your child plays competitive hockey may not be easy but it sure is worth it. Competitive hockey families are a different breed and they should be celebrated!
