I had to post a follow-up to yesterday's entry. Shane and I went to the evaluation at Incredible Ice. We got there early enough to get his skates sharpened and get him ready to try-out. When we got to the bench, I gave him some simple instructions, keep both hands on your stick, do everything the coach tells you and have fun. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he took the have fun comment seriously. He did everything that was asked of him, he just wasn't the most intense skater out there, and at some points he seemed to be playing in the same way he does when he is in the Atoms program. I think he may have been thinking he is doing the same drills as Atoms and not realizing (possibly by my not enforcing it) how important this was for him to move to Mites. Anyway, when he was finished, I asked him to go ahead to the locker room so I could get some information from Phil who was doing the evaluating. He asked my if my son was out there, I said yes, he asked me his name, I said Shane, his response was "Not a chance."
I am so glad that I sent Shane to the locker room because that response was entirely out of line. He could have said to try again next time, he could have qualified that with something like he needs to work on "x" instead all I got was, "Not a Chance." I'm still trying to figure out what to tell Shane because there is no way I am going to tell him that the person said he didn't have a chance.
I spoke with Avi afterward, and I guess we do have options. We could sign him up for Atoms one more time, and he could do the same drills he has done before. We could sign him up for Learn to play hockey, but I think that will be the same as Atoms. We could not sign him up for anything, and just let him keep taking lessons from Avi, or we can go to a different rink and see if he can play in Mites.
Brenda spoke with Shane this morning and she said when she told him he didn't make Mites, he just had this dejected look in his eyes. This is where it really sucks that Incredible Ice is the most convenient rink. All Shane wants to do is play on a team where he practices during the week and gets to play a game. Being that Shane is 6, I think he wants to be an NHL star. However, being that Brenda and I are older than 6, we have a good feeling there is a pretty good chance that he may not reach that level. I'm not trying to be negative, just realistic. I will definitely encourage Shane in any endeavors he undertakes, and stand behind him 100%, and if it turns out he is good enough to try for that level, I will encourage him. For now, I am trying to do whatever I can to get him to at least play on a team.
I have e-mailed another rink that is not as convenient, but may be more open to letting kids play instead of expecting them to be the next Sidney Crosby or Wayne Gretzky before they are allowed to take the ice on a team. I believe Shane is at the point that even if he is not the best kid on the team, he will be challenged and step to the challenge by being on a team. He is no longer being challenged in the "drills and scrimmage" classes. When Avi sees him on Friday's, he challenges Shane, and Shane does great. When it comes to Sunday's at Atoms, Shane does well enough, but seems to be distracted and bored. The evaluation yesterday was much like Atoms drills.
We will see what happens from here when the person at Glacier responds back to me, but as of right now it seems like my $695 for my son to play in Mites was not good enough for Incredible Ice, maybe the $325 that Glacier charges will be good enough for them.
I must point out you're at the most difficult rink to do this: the official Panthers rink. That has to change the talent level and what they expect to move on. It also means it's run by the same people who run the Panthers,
ReplyDeleteso you know what that's like.
And I'm sorry Phil is an insensitive prick. But you can at least turn this in a lesson for Shane that you don't always get what you want no matter how hard you try. Find a rink with a lower quotient of assholes.
Just keep this guy's comments on a piece of paper in a safe place. When Shane plays his first big game somewhere, at whatever level, get video of it and send a DVD to this douche and remind him what a dick he was to you about your son.
ReplyDelete"Not a chance" is something you say to someone when they ask if you'll forget to pick them up at the airport... It's not something you say to the father of kid trying out for something that's important to him.
$695 is a ridiculous amount of money for a youth program of ANY kind. Just as I said in the comments of your previous blog; these people need to realize that they're talking with a "customer" and treat them as such. Rudeness is unacceptable and should be met with immediate and superior rudeness!
Keep in mind there's a difference between a pushy parent and someone who has to fight for his child to be given a chance. The sad truth is that there are plenty of youth sports programs that are ultra-competitive and don't really give the kids a chance to be kids. Sometimes you have to shop around for a different program, team or coach because the first is unsuitable.
ReplyDeleteI have never been athletic by any stretch of the imagination, but I did play soccer for a years. The first team I was on, everyone got a chance to play. The better players played longer in the games, but we all understood why and we wanted to be a winning team, too. The first year, the team came in fourth in the league. The second year we were in the middle somewhere. During the summer, we moved and I changed teams. The new coach (who had two sons on the team), was a bastard. Because of the way he behaved, it was no fun and I dropped out after the season and haven't played an organized sport since. (I would have been about 12 at the time).
You have another challenge in that it appears Shane gets bored when he isn't challenged, and slacks off. That's a hard thing to deal with. I know because I was that kid and I never understood that I had to work at things even though when they were dull or I thought they were beneath me. I really wish someone had gotten that through to me when I was younger. I got it, eventually, once I entered the world of steady employment. I think by the time I was 18, I had a decent work ethic, but I sure didn't when I was younger.