WWTBAM Bored

My baby is now a freshman in high school. Or, more to the point, a freshman high school hockey player. (Yes, Clem - girls do play hockey... )

And, in her first year in the high school program, she did not make varsity. This was no surprise for several reasons: The team lost only one player from last year's state championship team; there are more players this year than varsity slots available; and - while she is by no stretch of the imagination a bad player - she is a much better distance runner than a hockey player.

So she wound up on junior varsity. Or, as our athletic director has dubbed them, the "varsity reserve" squad. Now, I like and respect our athletic director, and I mean that sincerely; he is a good man who has to deal with many times more crap than the athletic directors of our day ever had to. (I am specifically avoiding use of the abbreviation "AD" here...) And I get the chance to talk to him a lot, what with working the games and all; we get along very well, and find ourselves on the same page about 99% of the time. But "varsity reserve"? Political Correctness strikes again.

Just don't tell that to my daughter. Her comment - and she told me that her teammates feel the same way - is "'Varsity reserve???' We're JV's! And if we don't have a problem with that, then neither should anybody else!"

Of course, this is coming from the same girl who huddled with her teammates several years ago for a pre-game on-ice quickie cheer. And it wasn't "Go Team!" or anything like that. No...their pregame chant was...

"We don't do figure skating!" *

And now you know why Clem looks the way he does on his avatar...


* Yes, I know that there are a lot of figure skaters/figure skating fans here on the Bored. And I realize that FSing does require an awful lot of athleticism. I'm just sayin'...

I am one of those people who have taken figure skating lessons along with my daughter. After watching hockey practice and games at our rink, I have to say it is so much easier to do figure skating than hockey. I don't think I have the stomach to ever watch her play hockey. Just doing the lutz jump was beyond my threshold of fear.

After a young boy was knocked to the ground during a hockey practice, I heard his dad come over and tell the boy to "suck it up and for pete's sake, don't tell your mother".

Hell yeah Lil' AD!

I had a coach who used to say that the most important attribute a defenseman can have is attitude and it sure sounds like your daughter's got that.

BTW, if you bring her (or send her) over to New York in the next month, I will personally tutor her and make sure she gets varsity next year. Just sayin' but I wouldn't offer that to many people, but any girl that's got the cojones (figuratively of course) to play hockey with some attitude is worth the time. I'll even show her how to lure an opponent into a fight and what to do once you get into one. Seriously.

I want updates on how she does this year and seriously if she ever needs help on anything that I can give long distance please ask.

On the Ice Hockey v. Figure Skating: Both are very difficult obviously and I'm not sure one is more difficult than the other. You will never catch me leaving my feet on the ice...it just doesn't happen. But we do have to do a lot of things that figure skaters have to do while also chasing a rubber disks and avoiding getting crushed by people who (in my case) are twice your height AND weight. So both are difficult and I can't pick between 'em.

I think my New Year's resolution is gonna be more gratuitous hockey threads. I like them.

AlphaDummy wrote:My baby is now a freshman in high school. Or, more to the point, a freshman high school hockey player. (Yes, Clem - girls do play hockey... )

And, in her first year in the high school program, she did not make varsity. This was no surprise for several reasons: The team lost only one player from last year's state championship team; there are more players this year than varsity slots available; and - while she is by no stretch of the imagination a bad player - she is a much better distance runner than a hockey player.

So she wound up on junior varsity. Or, as our athletic director has dubbed them, the "varsity reserve" squad. Now, I like and respect our athletic director, and I mean that sincerely; he is a good man who has to deal with many times more crap than the athletic directors of our day ever had to. (I am specifically avoiding use of the abbreviation "AD" here...) And I get the chance to talk to him a lot, what with working the games and all; we get along very well, and find ourselves on the same page about 99% of the time. But "varsity reserve"? Political Correctness strikes again.

Just don't tell that to my daughter. Her comment - and she told me that her teammates feel the same way - is "'Varsity reserve???' We're JV's! And if we don't have a problem with that, then neither should anybody else!"

Of course, this is coming from the same girl who huddled with her teammates several years ago for a pre-game on-ice quickie cheer. And it wasn't "Go Team!" or anything like that. No...their pregame chant was...

"We don't do figure skating!" *

And now you know why Clem looks the way he does on his avatar...


* Yes, I know that there are a lot of figure skaters/figure skating fans here on the Bored. And I realize that FSing does require an awful lot of athleticism. I'm just sayin'...

Are you supporting one of your local dentists?

I think I love her as well.

I know I love her way of being.

ulysses5019 wrote:

AlphaDummy wrote:My baby is now a freshman in high school. Or, more to the point, a freshman high school hockey player. (Yes, Clem - girls do play hockey... )

And, in her first year in the high school program, she did not make varsity. This was no surprise for several reasons: The team lost only one player from last year's state championship team; there are more players this year than varsity slots available; and - while she is by no stretch of the imagination a bad player - she is a much better distance runner than a hockey player.

So she wound up on junior varsity. Or, as our athletic director has dubbed them, the "varsity reserve" squad. Now, I like and respect our athletic director, and I mean that sincerely; he is a good man who has to deal with many times more crap than the athletic directors of our day ever had to. (I am specifically avoiding use of the abbreviation "AD" here...) And I get the chance to talk to him a lot, what with working the games and all; we get along very well, and find ourselves on the same page about 99% of the time. But "varsity reserve"? Political Correctness strikes again.

Just don't tell that to my daughter. Her comment - and she told me that her teammates feel the same way - is "'Varsity reserve???' We're JV's! And if we don't have a problem with that, then neither should anybody else!"

Of course, this is coming from the same girl who huddled with her teammates several years ago for a pre-game on-ice quickie cheer. And it wasn't "Go Team!" or anything like that. No...their pregame chant was...

"We don't do figure skating!" *

And now you know why Clem looks the way he does on his avatar...


* Yes, I know that there are a lot of figure skaters/figure skating fans here on the Bored. And I realize that FSing does require an awful lot of athleticism. I'm just sayin'...

Are you supporting one of your local dentists?

I will be able to retire soon to a state where the temperature never dips below 50.....

We don't do hockey!!!!

RAH!

ulysses5019 wrote:Are you supporting one of your local dentists?

As a matter of fact, there are an awful lot of sign boards up at the local rinks advertising various dentists' services. And the assistant varsity coach is, in fact, a dentist. (Of course, Jessica's coach last year was a urologist...not quite sure what to make of that...)

geoffil wrote:After a young boy was knocked to the ground during a hockey practice, I heard his dad come over and tell the boy to "suck it up and for pete's sake, don't tell your mother".

I think she would be OK with it. One of the first things they teach you in learn-to-skate is how to fall. And, besides, there is an awful lot of truth to Sarah Palin's "hockey mom" quote...

peacock2121 wrote:I think I love her as well.

I know I love her way of being.

kayharris wrote:She's a winner in my book.

Yeah, she's a keeper. And seeing Pea's quote made me realize that the two of them do share some personality traits...

clem21 wrote:I had a coach who used to say that the most important attribute a defenseman can have is attitude and it sure sounds like your daughter's got that.

OH yeah...she's got a whole hockey bag full of 'tude. She's been playing wing pretty much full-time this year, though. (Last year she split time between wing and defense.) And thanks for the offers; I'll definitely keep you updated on her exploits.

After making the OP last night, I went to chat for a bit, where SC called me out for not bragging about Jessica's cross-country exploits. So, to keep Jusy on my good side, here we go...

I mentioned earlier that Jess was "a much better distance runner than a hockey player". This might have implied that she is not too good at hockey. But, FTR, she isn't bad at all; she made some key contributions to last year's U-14 girls team (which finished third at state) and she gained recognition from her coaches as very much a clutch scorer with a knack for putting the puck in with the game on the line. But back to CC:

She began the season as the #5 runner on the varsity cross-country team this fall, which was a pleasant surprise; over the summer I had guessed she would have been on the bubble between JV and varsity, something like the 7 or 8 runner. Anyhow, she kept improving and, by the end of the season, she had become the legitimate #3 runner on the team.

And then, at sectionals (last meet of the season), she shocked a lot of people (including her coaches and yes, her parents) when she finished first on the team. It was not nearly enough to qualify for State, unfortunately...but it was still enough to make her the Most Improved girl's runner.

Yes, that last race was a surprise (although I would not call it a "fluke"), and right now I would still not go any farther than to say she should be one of the top three runners on next year's team. Still, not too shabby.

And - so as to make sure all bases are touched here - I should also mention that her brother Tim was named both "most valuable" and "most dedicated" on the boys' CC team. And he was also the first male runner in the history of the program to win the "1200 mile" patch, which is given to runners who complete 300 miles of summer training each of their four years. (And yes, I love him too...although he and Jess have completely different personalities...)

Okay. Gratuitous bragging over...back to your regular programming...

You should be very proud of your kids. They take after you, hard workers with a tiny bit of 'tude for good measure.

How many kids at their school excel in more than one sport?

Do your kids want to play at the collegiate level?

geoffil wrote:You should be very proud of your kids. They take after you, hard workers with a tiny bit of 'tude for good measure.

How many kids at their school excel in more than one sport?

Actually, a pretty good number do letter in multiple sports. A lot of that has to do with the fact that our high school is on the smallish side (9-12 enrollment right around 700), but still big enough to offer a good variety of sports from which to choose. (Girls' hockey is a special case; that team is a co-op of four schools with a combined enrollment around 5000.) So, as a rule, you have a much better chance of making a contribution here than you might at some of the larger schools in the area.

Do your kids want to play at the collegiate level?

At this point in time, the only one that might have a shot at the collegiate level would be Tim as a distance runner. (That may change, of course...you just never know...) He will be going to a small four-year college in the UW system this coming fall, and I have been encouraging him to at least look into it. Right now, though, he seems more inclined to run at a club level rather than trying for the school's CC or track teams. I am trying to walk that fine line between encouraging him to give it a shot (hey, what do you have to lose?) and being the Overbearing Parent. He is a big boy now, though, and will make his own decisions. Of course, that doesn't stop Dad from hoping he will give it a try; Tim is the shyest of the three (which isn't saying a whole lot if you know Dan and Jessica) and my wife and I are encouraging him to try not just for the competetive aspect, but also for the social aspect as well...this will give him a chance to get to know some people right away, which will help get him settled in.

Like I said, though...we will see...

Bragging about one's children is never gratuitous. Congrats to both, and to the proud 'rents.

Now that AD has bragged more completely about his wonderful daughter, I have taken him off my Foes list.

No brag, just fact.

Evil Dentist wrote:I will be able to retire soon to a state where the temperature never dips below 50.....

I hate to tell you, but there's not such a state.

You're all ridiculous.

Chaz Michael Michaels IS Figure Skating! BOOM!

And anyone who thinks hockey players are cooler has never seen an Eiffel Tower with Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski. BOOM!