305 Parents: Is it OK to Take Time Off in the Summer?

Hutch, how are you gonna help out mom and dads this week?

Well, I might have been grumpy earlier, Daren, but I'm not grumpy when I'm doing the parent segment, especially today because it's actually a question from a young goaltender. And there's nothing more that I enjoy than teaching and coaching and hanging out with young people who want to learn. And so we got this question from a young goaltender, young listener, young reader. Is it okay to take time off in the summer? And it might be a parent segment, but answering a young goaltender's question, I think, is great for parents as well.

I actually sensed in this question reading between the lines that there might have been a little conflict between mom, dad, and son over this question. I don't actually even know what direction. Maybe he wanted to play more and mom and dad didn't want him to or maybe the other way around, but I felt like there was a discord between son and parents. And the question was, is it okay to take time off in the summer? And I think we've touched on this before.

Maybe we haven't answered it exactly, guys. But, again, since it's from a young listener, I thought I would answer it directly. Yes. We could probably end it right there. I was tempted to end it right there because Daren doesn't want me talking too much.

But, of course,

I'll do when you talk. It's just when I when I'm

Daren, like just stop interrupting, please. Three two one's already happened.

Yeah. Yeah. Apologize.

Yes. It is okay to take time off. In fact, it is essential. No matter how much you love hockey, you need a break. No matter how much you feel you might fall behind others, you won't.

You need a break. It's a mental break because even if you love every minute of hockey, you need that time to reset, to refresh, and to get even more excited about getting back on the ice. And if you're tired and need a break, that's okay too. The longer you play in the game of hockey, the longer the seasons get, the higher the pressure gets, and you need to find a way and a time to release that pressure. By the way, guys, it's completely normal to feel a little bit burnt out or stale wondering if you even want to keep playing at this time of year.

Don't worry. It's okay. Goaltenders, if you're feeling stale, it's okay. Mom and dad, if your kid doesn't seem excited about going on the ice, it's okay. If little Johnny doesn't wanna sign up for that summer skate, that's okay.

Our goal is raising happy, confident kids. So let them skip out on that stuff and do something else. Maybe even something that isn't competitive and is just fun. It's a mental break. It's also a physical break.

The game is hard on your body. And while you're young and growing, it's hard in one way. And when you're older and you've gone through all those repetitions of butterflies and RVHs, it's taking its toll in another way. But we all need a break to let our body heal. Elite athletes in all sports at all levels take breaks.

The fancy speak is to periodize your training. Of course, it means a heck of a lot more than taking breaks, but it does acknowledge that you need recovery time. And that recovery time, by the way, does not mean sitting on the couch and watching TV or flipping through your phone. By all means, take a week or two of complete downtime. It's not gonna harm you.

But even when you take a break, it's good to be active. Ride your bike. Go for a hike. We're not scheduling a different workout here that's gonna feel like work, but do some active things that are fun, refreshing, relaxing, still moving. Put the phone down and get outside.

How long should you take off is the question that I actually got in response when I gave my answer via email to this listener. Honestly, however long you need and maybe even a little bit longer. Woody's told the story before, of course, of Carey Price telling us that he puts the gear away until August. That for a professional goaltender who plays deep into the playoffs is still taking a good two months away from the ice. And even if you love goaltending and think you can play all summer long, please don't.

I can't tell you how long that you should be taking off, but I can promise you that if you go twelve months a year hard, you will eventually go backwards in your development. Your body will feel it, your mind will feel it. And again, as Olympic athletes from all different sports can attest, you will develop more quickly if you give your mind and your body some time to rest. So take some time off. Okay, Daren.

You can speak now.

I'm just gonna say, this person hasn't listened for the entire time of this podcast because we've we've mentioned it several times. You you you do need breaks. You need a you need a chance to miss the game. Right?

That's what Carey used to talk about. That's funny. I was looking trying to see if I could find the quote as soon as Hutch wanted his answers, and I'm glad he mentioned it. Like, one of the greatest goaltenders of his generation, if not the, and did not touch the ice. The gear went into the back of the garage until August 1, and that is late by today's standards at the National Hockey League level.

And he always talked about not just resting the body because Hutch is right. Like, your body, if you do this twelve months a year, the human body was not designed. It was not designed to for the hips to internally rotate into a butterfly. And if you do it nonstop, you will develop repetition patterns that that lead to injury. There's a better chance of it at least, even if you're doing all the work you should be doing, the James Wenland five damn things every time before you get on the ice.

You're still gonna run into problems if you never give your body a chance to rest. But also the passion and the drive, like, wanting to put the pads back on. Carey really felt that that fueled him not not being in them until August 1. So and last time I checked, I had a pretty damn good career. So it's important to try other things.

It's important to get away from the game. It's something we talk about a lot, and I I I appreciate Hutch responding to this young goaltender because I think it's a message that both goalies and parents need to hear, you know, more than on an annual basis. Every time we get to this time of year and there's pressure to compete with and keep up with all the other kids that aren't taking a break, I agree. You'll be better off in the long run if you take a well timed break.

I just wanna underline that I made the point that it's okay if you're not enjoying it right now. Because when we say what what Daren said is quite right, you need some time to miss the game. But I think for a lot of people that sort of implies that you want to play all the time, take some time off so you're really driven to get back on the ice and you're just chomping at the bit. But it's also normal to come off a season and say, I'm done for a while. Mom and dad, if your kid doesn't wanna get on the ice, don't look at them and think, oh, what's wrong?

What have I done wrong? What should I be doing differently? Let them have the break. It's okay. There's all sorts of different levels of loving hockey and it doesn't have to be twelve months a year and you don't all have to be driven like an elite Olympic athlete.

Just take some time and and if they come back, they come back.