Meditation on a Losing Season

Oh it’s the end of a very long, very losing season (they were about 2-40-2), and we are now entering that stressful time before tryouts when hockey parents everywhere enter a period of reflection. You know the questions we contemplate: Is my kid on the right team? Should he try out for Defense or Offense? Is he working hard enough? Is travel hockey all it's cracked up to be? Why is there so little money in my checking account?

Travel hockey requires a family-wide commitment that goes beyond the financial. Supporting your hockey player costs every family member time, energy and sleep! So when I think about these questions, particularly after a losing season, how can I convince myself that these sacrifices are worthwhile? I decided to take a cue from the self-help industry and consider all of the good things that came from this season – even though they lost and lost and lost and lost… it was really bad. Really, really bad. So here it goes – my Hockey Gratitude Journal entry

I am grateful that:

• My son worked hard at his hockey skills and he improved.
• He learned how to play forward again, even though he prefers defense.
• He made a lot of great friends.
• The parents and coaches were very nice, everyone was nice. I feel like I made friends too.
• There was almost no locker room nonsense the entire season. That was blissful.
• There is a gym in the Ice House so I get to work out regularly during practices. This allows me to eat and drink more, so that is good. (I can now do 24 push-ups too! Isn’t that awesome?)
• My son learned how to read a map. I still haven’t gotten a GPS and when we are looking for rinks in faraway places, my 12 year-old is a great navigator.
• During this school year, my son has stopped kids in his school from picking on other kids quite a few times. He is not the biggest kid in the 7th grade and he's almost the youngest. But I think his losing season has given him a certain empathy for the misfits, and I’m proud that my hockey player recognizes what’s right and has the courage to risk some of his social capital defending them.
• The night before the last game of the season, he decided he needed to get to bed early. As he hit the stairs, he looked at me and said “You know Mom I have to go to bed so I can get up in the morning and do something I love.” I don’t know a lot of people, young or old, who could have that kind of attitude in the wake of a 2-40-2 record, but I am very sure that my son really loves hockey and he plays for the joy of the game. He really believes any day is a good day for hockey, win or lose. How’s that for a kid?

What would you add to this list? What are you thankful to hockey for?