Posts

Sport Chek Bauer Vapor

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey, Hockey. Hockey All The Time!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

I’m not exactly sure when it happened but my son went from lukewarm about playing hockey to being an absolute monster who eats, sleeps and breathes the hockey life. I made a promise to myself that I would not push him to do anything he doesn’t want to do as far as hobbies go but if I’m being completely honest, I am so excited that he loves hockey so much.

I’m not just talking about playing ice hockey, either. This kid loves watching it on TV, playing road hockey in our free moments, mini sticks in the basement, practicing his shooting and possibly my favourite of his addictions, collecting hockey cards and stickers! No, seriously, I have a collecting problem that might actually need professional help…

There’s something about the fraternity of hockey that I can’t help but love. I love the smells associated with hockey. Yes, even the stinky hockey bag smell. I love that I get to lace up my skates next to my son and take to the ice with him. I love watching the kids grow and develop their skills. I love knowing that I may have had a small part in their development. I love watching the little puffs of breath in the air after a hard fought shift. I love hockey so much that I don’t even mind getting up at 4:30 in the morning for the 6am practices. You know, within reason.

Now that I am a grown man with a job and his own money, there is something else I love about hockey season. Shopping for hockey stuff! With last season being my son’s first in hockey, we opted to go with used skates in case he decided that he didn’t like it. In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea because the skates were fitted to someone else’s feet and he never really grew into them. This year we went all out and grabbed him some brand new form fitted Bauer Vapor X900’s from Sport Chek and the difference has already been night and day from last year. Just look at his concentration above!

A funny thing happened that day at Sport Chek. The goal was get in, get skates and get out, but that is not exactly how it ended up going down… You see, my wife saw the FitBit Charge and snuck it into the shopping cart. I can’t claim innocence either as I used my new found title of assistant coach as reason to purchase a brand new coaches tracksuit. But I mean, c’mon, it was worth it, right? My scratch and save card says yes!

Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful hockey season!! Don’t forget to pop in to Sport Chek to check out their awesome hockey selection! You can also visit them on Facebook and Twitter for more contests and great deals!

Sport Chek Coach Gear

Looking all coach like with my new Under Armour threads from Sport Chek.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program, however I did in fact spend it all in a single trip to Sport Chek. But man do I look good now!

Just Call Me Coach

/7 Comments/in , /by

“Coach Chris”. That’s what the kids are calling me these days and I have to say that it feels pretty good. I guess you could say that I was destined to take on this role. You see, I was raised by one of the greatest coaches to ever step on a field. That man was my father and also my hero.

Truth is, I didn’t even sign up to be my son’s coach for his first year of T-Ball. It was only after we received an email from the league telling us they were short that I decided to throw my name in. I don’t have an official reason for why I didn’t sign up in the first place. I rationalized it by telling myself and my wife that it was because I was way too busy to take on coaching two nights a week, but I knew what the real reason was.

It’s been almost 6 years since I lost my father and while a lot of things have become easier, this is the one that I have been dreading most. He had coached me in multiple sports for as long as I can remember. We traveled a lot. We won championships together. He helped me develop my skills, not only as an athlete, but also as a man. Sports were the major reason for our great relationship. It was our bond.

It’s not that I didn’t want to coach and share that bond with my son, I just wasn’t sure I was ready for the emotional overload that was going to come with it. As it turns out, I couldn’t be happier with my decision. As I grew older, I often wondered what had compelled my father to put so much effort into something that seemed to come with nothing but high costs, upset parents and the stresses of dealing with a team full of kids. I found the answer.

It has only been half a season so far and I already love every one of the kids on my team. They all have different skills and quirks and smiles that make each one of them unique and amazing. The innocent joy on their faces when they catch the ball or win the game of freeze tag, is something that changes you. It changes your whole outlook on what is important and I like to think that this was a secret that my Dad would have shared with me had he still been round to see this.

As for my son, I try not to be too hard on him. I know exactly what it feels like to be the coach’s son and it’s something that he is going to have to get used to because I’m not going anywhere.