Yesterday afternoon I took the boys to "Stick & Shoot" at the rink. Stick & Shoot is basically like target practice where you pay for the ice time and just practice shooting the puck at whatever random goalies show up. There are a few older kids who always show up at these sessions in merely a t-shirt, shorts or sweat pants and a helmet. I guess that's "cool". So every time we go to Stick & Shoot, my guys ask if they can they play without pads and then proceed to argue the 125 great reasons they should be allowed to go "sans gear.""Mom, can't we just play without pads this one time? Everybody else does." Hmmm, let me think about it....okay, no - hell, no! Even when there's no physical contact, I've seen too many men and kids alike get hit in unforeseen places with a flying puck. And since you're there just to practice shooting, that's the last place you're going to skate without pads.
I'm sure all Caps fans remember the playoff game where Flyer's player Patrick Thoresen (now in playing in Europe) took a puck below the equator. And the poor guy was wearing a cup (which shattered but at least there was some protection)! Note to self: Never lay down in front of one of mad Mike Green's sick 90 mph slap shots! And a Hockey Mom fist bump to Green, who like the stand up guy he is, called the poor chap the next day to see how he was doing....
So Hockey Mom's rules are here to stay: No gear - no ice. Put your big boy pants (and cup, pads and shin guards) on and deal with it!
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2 comments:
For young kids I wouldn't let them go to stick and puck without pads because they should be used to shooting, passing and skating wearing full gear.
I go to stick and puck in full gear from the waist down, but I rarely wear shoulder or elbow pads because it gets hot out there.
I play hockey and before one game I was out on the ice without my helmet just messing around, getting warmed up. The only people on the ice were my and one of my teammates. I some how got hit in the side of the face with the puck when he shot it. I had a really loud ringing noise in my ear all game long.
I now wear a helmet all the time, even in warm-ups.
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