They Won!!!

After 19 games, the last game of the season... my son's hockey team finally won a game!  My son played 17 of the games as goalie, and it's really tough to lose that many games as goalie.  He really got down on himself, and he's only 7... seeing him so disappointed is frustrating as a parent.  He needed a change, so we switched him to left wing and put one of his best friends in goal.

We didn't have high hopes for the game today, the last time we faced this team they spanked us pretty good.  None of the kids on our team can consistently lift the puck in the air above the goalie, and about half of their kids can pick a corner of the goal and hit it.  Their team scored first, we tied it up into the end of the 1st period.  At the end of the second period, we were up 3-1.  In the 3rd period, we fought off some extremely aggressive play, the first time that I have seen the team actually play defense all season.

The most exciting part was that the team really looked like a team for the first time all season.  They didn't really practice many skills this season.  The focus was much more on having a good time than winning, and the results reflected that.  For the past 2 weeks, they focused on basic skills (passing and positions), and for the first time ever we outpaced the other team on shots on goal.  They had some really good kids on the team, but none of them really knew where to be, where not to be, how to work as a team.  They played offense, but more importantly, they played defense and cleared the puck out of the defensive zone.

Yeah, the focus is on having a good time, but it sure feels good to see my son come off the ice jumping up and down happy.  What a great day, to see my son so happy to be part of a team.

Comments

• Anonymous
  March 16, 2008
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• Anonymous
  March 17, 2008
  Congrats! I know how frustrating the game can get for a youngster when there is no coordination around teaching the game. My son who is six gets frustrated b/c his own teammates will try to take the puck away from him.  Granted it's cute watching first time hockey players go at it but they have no concept of where they need to be or how to pass.  I always told my son not to take the puck from his own team mate, and when his team mate has teh puck to get open for a pass.  Unfortunetly not many of his team mates pass when he gets open.... Anyway, glad to hear they finally one a game!  That's fantastic. :)  There is nothing more sweeter then winning.

• Anonymous
  March 17, 2008
  That was one of the most frustrating parts of this season... the other Mite teams did have a concept of position, and their forwards would pass and shoot well.  It was obvious seeing that the only difference between our team and the opponents was only a basic understanding of offense and defense. Seeing our team actually pass, get open, play positions, and most importantly, clear the puck out of the defensive zone... it was amazing to see the complete change in the kids after such a short time.

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2008
  And I bet it would only get better. :) Hopefully your coaches recognize what they did wrong and will correct it next season.