Parents: Get involved in your child’s development as a goalie

I've alluded to parts of what I'm sharing this week in the past, but I want to collect and emphasize a few of them together today. Get involved in your child's development as a goaltender and a young athlete. Of course, you are already involved in so many areas of their life, but I wanted to share a few thoughts on how you can be actively involved in their development on and off the ice. I know you already work hard to provide them these great opportunities from earning the funds to support this expensive position and driving them to to rinks near and far and so much more. And in the busyness of life and already doing so much, we often forget the impact we can have by doing just a little bit more and more importantly, doing it together.

They love that you come to watch their games and practices, I'm sure, but that's not really a shared experience. Your kids won't remember the car rides much, and they certainly have no clue how many times you reach for that checkbook. But if you take ten minutes here and there during the week to do something as simple as toss a ball together or even learn a new skill like juggling alongside them or even have them teach you, those moments will be remembered forever. It's really that simple. If you hope your child will do some extra training at home and lead a more active life, why not do it with them?

Maybe you can't do every exercise or sport, but you can do some, and the act of modeling as a personal dedication to training will instill the same dedication in them. This isn't about pushing or nagging or requiring. It's showing them a shared love for something, and it can't be forced. People often ask how they can get their child more engaged, how they can get their kid to work harder, and my answer is always the same. Model it.

Set the example. Many will say it has to come from within, that they have to be born with the drive and so on, but I simply don't believe that. You can't force your child to love training or to be competitive on the ice, but you can model it right alongside them. Show them that the best way to spend free time is being active from a backyard game of badminton to a hike on a local trail to maybe even playing goal yourself. I've met several goalies who started after their kids did and even asked their young goalie to help them learn.

Now how powerful is that? Okay. I know some kids will still not be competitive. We aren't all wired that way. I get it.

But I think this is the best way to find out. Look. You can even learn alongside them in other ways, maybe sitting down and going through our weekly ProRead together or, frankly, any other type of goalie education. You show them how helpful and fun it can be. If you have the experience, you can discuss the ProReads together.

And if you don't, you can ask them to explain what things mean. Nothing helps you or them learn more than having to teach. And especially when they're just getting started or quite young, I've said it before, volunteer as a coach if you're able. And as long as you can lace on a pair of skates and have the time, you can do it. Take the Hockey Canada or USA hockey first level of training.

They are designed for people just like you who've never coached goalies. And if your child is miles ahead of you in both ability and experience, you can still help. Simply being an advocate for goalies on a team and being available to support them if the coach will give you any amount of time to work with them can help. If you're not feeling confident, simply ask the goalies themselves. What do you need?

How can I help? Whether it's ten minutes here or there doing something like tossing a ball or investing in the time by committing to coaching or anything in between, it's the moment spent together that you will cherish forever. So go out there and make some time together this week.

I teased just your journey with, with your daughters. What did what did you learn during their path? It wasn't hockey. It wasn't goaltending, but, but we could all kind of relate and, and saddle up our own experiences alongside this this sport of hockey.

Well, I think and and Hutch touched on it. There's great pieces of advice. And I think when you hear something like get involved in your kid's development, like, you might be like, oh, really? Like, we don't want like, do they want us to be involved? Do we wanna be too involved?

But Hutch had so many great takeaways in there. They're gonna help you build the relationship. It's an experience, a positive experience when you get involved like that. But, also, how many times and this is mine. Like, how many times do we want them to work harder?

We want them to train harder. We're adults. We've seen what it takes to make the next level. Sometimes they're not aware of it. Telling them, let's be honest, it's not always the best way because they don't always listen.

Showing them. It's an old journalism rule. Show me, don't tell me. And so for me, it started last summer with my daughter who's now playing, div two college volleyball in The States, about the sort of the the habits required off the court. She loves practice.

Didn't always love training. And so me nagging her to train, not necessarily the best way to do it. Me committing to getting in much better shape myself and doing a similar level of workload and her seeing me doing that on a day to day basis, it sets the example. It's show me, don't tell me. Don't just tell your kids to do something you're not willing to do.

I put the work in myself to feel better physically. She followed that lead. My wife went to the gym with her so they would do. She can't do the same training. My wife can't, but she was there with her helping, you know, spot her on certain sets.

And so just again, seeing other people who used to tell you to do things doing it themselves, seeing them put in the work, it absolutely inspires kids to wanna do a little more. And and as Hutch said, I thought so eloquently, at the end of the day, it's the moment spent together that you get out of this, but there's ways to do it. You know, don't just get mad at them for not working hard. Show them what it looks like.