Chay Plays Hockey

Every time Chay starts a new activity, we go through a period where he is scared and does not want to participate. I expect that lots of kids are very similar. When Chay did a skating class last winter, we had a hard time getting him on the ice. This summer, when Chay took swimming lessons, he wouldn't participate unless I was in the pool with him. This fall, we enrolled Chay in soccer. He wanted me to be on the field with him at all times, which is kind of hard to do when kids want to play soccer. But he eventually warmed up to it and learned to have lots of fun playing soccer.

We enrolled Chay in a two-week Intro to Hockey camp. This camp doesn't even require previous skating experience and runs the days a week for two weeks. The first day, Chay was super excited to go. I was still nervous about how well he would take to it since I knew I would not be allowed on the ice. We got Chay all dressed up in his hockey gear and went to the arena. He seemed pretty excited even though the place was packed with kids, adults, and coaches. Then came the moment they opened the doors to the ice and Chay got super-scared and refused to participate. Poor guy started bawling. So we sat in the stands and watched the other kids.

Last night was the start of the second and final week. I asked Chay if he wanted to go and he said "yes". I asked him if he wanted to play instead of just watching and he said "yes". I was thinking he would change his mind like has been his usual custom. We got to the arena and he still said he wanted to play, so we got his pads and other gear on. They opened the door to the ice and Chay went right out there! Where was this scared little boy?!?!?

I think that while he was on the ice playing, I was happier about this turn of events than he was. But he had a great time. As you can see by these (short) videos:



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Chay wasn't the best skater, but he wasn't the worst either. He seemed to handle the stick pretty well for his age. His coach was surprised to learn it was his first day playing hockey!

When it was over, we took off his pads, put on his coat and were getting ready to leave. Chay then saw the zamboni and we needed to stay and watch that. After the zamboni cleaned the ice, a group of older kids had hockey practice. Chay wanted to stay and watch them too. He refused to leave. On the way home, I asked him if he liked hockey or soccer better. Without hesitation, he said "hockey". When Chay got home, he picked up one of his sticks and started hitting a ball around the house. I think he's hooked on the sport now.