1. Did you remember to pack a book to read in the hotel room between games?
2. I wonder if he really thought about the consequences before punching that guy in front of the ref?
3. Can you believe he wore a red helmet when his team colours are orange and blue?
4. Maybe you should order a salad with that instead of fries.
5. I waved at you from the stands, did you see me?
6. Check this out!  There’s a sale at Williams and Sonoma!  Wanna go?
7.  Are you going to listen to your iPod all the way to Toronto?

At the time, these all seemed sensible questions or comments to me.  I have since learned, however they should either be texted in private or not even uttered (insert sad emoticon here).

Not long ago, out-of-town hockey tournament weekends were a family event for us.  During the 2009-10 hockey season, however our 3 kids participated in a total of 10 tournaments averaging about 3 each.  Five of these tournaments involved hotel stays out-of-town.  As the kids get older, they are no longer content to sacrifice their own busy hockey and social schedules deferring to that of the tournament child, so we now travel alone.  The parent left behind must contend with the busy home schedule and the travelling parent gets to fork out hundreds of dollars for uncomfortable beds, bad food and paper thin walls.  These miseries are all initially alleviated by substantial amounts of alcohol, but that too eventually leads to another traditional hockey tournament weekend legacy.   Hockey tournaments all seem to start on Friday, so they also involve vacation days off work or school so the impact is felt even deeper than the wallet or the hangover; there’s just a lot of catching up to do on Monday. 

Nevertheless, ask any professional hockey player his favourite childhood hockey memory, and he will no doubt reminisce, “The away-tournament weekend”.  I am sure my kids, though not destined to be professional hockey players, will also one day recall these unforgettable weekends among their most cherished memories…perhaps even the fact that I was there to share it.

Go Team Go!

What started as a pretty small international event (deemed international because there was one team from upstate New York) has grown to close to 500 teams from all over Canada (including the Iqaluit Blizzard), Germany, Finland, Switzerland and the United States.  Three years ago, the participation of 510 teams earned the Bell Capital Cup a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest hockey tournament.  The championship game of each division (and there are 26 divisions ranging from Major PeeWee AAA to sledge hockey) is played at Scotiabank Place and is televised. 

In a gesture of friendship, competing teams exchange hockey pins before each game.  Pin-trading is had become a very common a side sport throughout the tournament and its 21 venues around Ottawa-Gatineau.  While the pin-trade might be just another Disney-inspired capitalistic venture to some, to my kids it’s just the ice-breaker needed to speak to your opposing goalie from the Geneva Moskitos (Geneva, Switzerland that is, not Geneva New York). 

Speaking of memories, the 2009 NHL draft boasted 9 Bell Capital Cup alumni, including John Tavares.  Participating team coaches in this years’ Bell Capital Cup included Tom Glavine, Keith Primeau, Matthew Barnaby and Derian Hatcher. Aside from these notables, the 2,000 volunteers who make this annual event possible also deserve a couple Hip-Hip-Hoorays.

 This past Bell Capital Cup marked our family’s 5^th and possibly final year of participation, making our boys veterans of the tournament.   It has spawned great memories and numerous traditions including spaghetti dinners with the Andersons of the Clarington Toros.  This year, our son’s team finished round robin play with a respectable 2-1-0 record including a win against the Geneva Moskitos, but did not advance to the elimination rounds.  Our family’s future participation hinges on the hopes, dreams and will of our 9-year old daughter whose eligibility is only possible should she succeed at the competitive girls Atom AA level. 

I realize Canada has just suffered a crushing blow to its hockey supremacy with a World Junior Championship loss to the United States but the world has not seen the last of our great young players… and the Bell Capital Cup has hopefully not seen the last of the Chisholms. 

The Bell Capital Cup – the holy grail of hockey for thousands of 9 to 12 year olds. 

www.bellcapitalcup.ca

Tournament weekends are always a source of great anticipation and excitement for young minor hockey players because they are usually kicked off with a Friday off school.  I look forward to them quite selfishly too since I am not usually summoned for kitchen duty or other household chores.  The packing list can be intimidating as thought must be given to how the beer will stay cold and the hockey equipment warm, your wardrobe must span warm arena attire to lifeguarding in the pool area in sauna like heat, sensible foot ware for shopping (if I’m lucky), and the right clothes for restaurants without golden arches (if I’m lucky).  I think there is more free space in a van packed for a week long camping trip than one packed for a hockey weekend.

The CanAm tournament was a huge success with my son’s team winning the Gold Medal – a fitting feat in this Miracle of miracles Olympic Village.  Though I wasn’t able to witness the win, text messaging and emailed camera phone shots kept me in the loop – almost like being there! 

Although our Toronto weekend was not as successful as hoped (we were one goal shy of advancing to the semifinal with a 1-1-1 record), I was reminded of the same lesson I learn after every loss:  get over it – the kids already have!  We took in the King Tut exhibit at the AGO on Sunday morning which made up for any other disappointments during the weekend.  I found the exhibit rather expensive, crowded and slow moving but my budding Egyptologist’s intense review of each and every display and careful attention to the audio guide (he never listens to me so intently) was as rewarding to me as his hockey wins.

Research for my upcoming memoir of a hockey mom has spawned a new chapter:  the Hapless Hockey Manager.  I am the protagonist.  I have taken on the added challenge of team management for my daughter’s hockey team this season.  A Team Manager handles every off-ice duty including making sure the team has ice time.  There is an expectation from the coaches and parents that I actually know what I am doing.

As I recently posted, my daughter’s team participated in their first hockey tournament of the season.  Many of the preliminary details had already been arranged by our very experienced head coach:  the tournament registration itself and blocking group hotel rooms.  A defining moment of my hockey manager haplessness occurred following our third and final round robin game.  While looking over the tournament results board with another parent, she turned to me and said, “What do they do when there is a tie?”  It dawns on me as I look at her expectantly that no punch line is forthcoming; she really is waiting for the answer.  “Uh oh, “I think to myself, “Don’t look stupid, think fast”. I embarrassingly recall the tournament rule package I picked up at the registration desk, suddenly realizing I was probably supposed to read it and not use it as a placemat at the snack bar.  So I knowingly nod, and my eyes wander over to the rule board seeing if I can fake this… Aha!  There it is!  Tie Break Rules (in red).   “A tie in overall points is settled by highest goal differential.  Most tournaments, in my experience, settle tie breakers by goals for and against, but I guess not this one”.  I am saved; she walks away and relays my professional expertise to her husband.

At dinner that evening (which I pat myself on the back for organizing), the head coach mentions to me that our round robin ranking will determine who we play in the semi final game and when that semi final takes place (as there are 2 semis played at 2 different times).  Again, it dawns on me again that it is my role to determine what our final standing is, and to communicate the time and location of our semi final game to the rest of the team.  Since not everyone has access to email while away from home (this age of Blackberrys and iPhones makes my job decidedly easier), this will require old fashioned communication:  phoning people’s cell phones and hotel rooms.  This exercise will also require some level of sobriety for the rest of the evening – a state of which I am not always accustomed during hockey tournament weekends. 

As the rest of the story goes, the team does manage to all show up at the right arena and at the right time but we lose in the semi final to another rival Nepean team – a fact which is not being blamed on my haplessness I hope.  I have managed to stave off those who doubt my competence for yet another weekend.  There are many more challenges for me to overcome this year, the next big one being our December practice schedule!   I am certain that by the end of the season I will have to rename this chapter in my memoir.   I simply cannot remain stupid all year!  Go Fireblades Go!