A couple weeks back our little guy got into a jam on the ice during a hockey game.
An awkward hit from an Orangeville player saw him land in a heap. When he didn’t jump up and needed to be steadied by the trainer to make it back to the bench, we knew it was serious.
Luckily, after a couple days off the ice, he was back at it.
Leading up to that game, a bunch of the boys who go to school together but play for different teams were doing what teenagers do. A bit of chirping and pre-game bravado included speculation about who was going to win, score goals and hit other players hardest. The rivalry between Caledon and Orangeville is longstanding and games are known to get a little rough.
The mood from the stands mirrored what was happening on the ice. Groans and adulation bounced around the arena. Their end, our end, goals, penalties, power plays, hits – every movement of the puck had parents reacting.
Since this is the first year of body contact, kids are trying to figure it out. Take the hit, give the hit, take the puck – it’s a very new dimension. Two games into the season, much work lies ahead to master this skill. The stands and benches erupt on hits that will never form part of a Don Cherry highlight reel. But, in a moment when a hit went bad, the cheers soon stopped. No one likes it when a kid gets hurt.
The redemptive moment to this little story was an outreach by the Orangeville kid through a mutual friend. It was something like “Tell him I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt him,” to which our boy responded, “It’s all good.”
We shared this little story on our team chat. Hearts and thumbs-ups came back. “Very sportsmanlike,” one commented. “Kudos to that kid for reaching out,” added another. Indeed.
Hockey of course is part of Canada’s national psyche – heck, an election battle was waged with the slogan “Elbows up”. The notion of playing hard to win is synonymous with the Canadian experience, as are the merits of fair play, striving for excellence and coming back to play again.
We never saw a big life lesson coming from kids playing hockey, let alone an exchange between two 13-year-olds. But it is big for those who care to recognize it.
If you make a mistake, own it and don’t be afraid to say sorry. And for the aggrieved party: accept an apology with grace and move on. It’s a pretty simple formula for success.
