The Net Minder

A few weeks ago, early in the morning...

Sam had a hockey game, BIG SURPRISE. But we got up and headed over to the rink with smiles on our faces. I think we were smiling, anyway. Like I said, it was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy early.

In the past few games and practices, Sam has shown a lot of interest in playing goalie. Now, I have nothing against goalies in general, but I'd rather not stick him in the net just yet. First of all, he needs to learn to skate better, and being in the net the whole game isn't going to help that. Second off, goalie pads are crazy expensive. Especially for a lefty. So, yeah, we aren't super enthusiastic. But Sam is, and if we want to be good parents we should at least let him try, right? Plus, at the age and skill level where he's playing, none of the kids wear goalie pads, so we don't have to worry about that one yet.

So early in the morning, my son got himself a big stick and headed to the net. And guess what? He was actually kind of good at it.

Good enough that other parents from the team commented about his skills. Good enough that he ended up playing goalie several times since then. Part of the reason he likes it, according to him, is that he gets to be on the ice the whole game instead of playing shifts. And he also likes that he gets to grab the puck with his hands and the other players don't. I'm not entirely sure those are good enough reasons to be the net minder, but since he still gets to rotate through the other positions, we'll let him try it out for a while.

But he looks so cute as a little winger!