“Hockey Season Reflections"
“Behind the practices, promises, and pressure — a mom’s view.”
Hockey season’s here again. Every year it pulls me back — not just to the rink, but to the nerves in the stands, the quiet tears in the car, and the lessons I never expected to learn as a hockey mom.
I still remember those early tryouts when my son was small. The skates squeaking on fresh ice, the anxious faces lined up at the boards, the parents whispering in the bleachers like the fate of the world hung on each shift. Honestly, sometimes the kids handled it better than we did. I hated the pressure they were under, but if I’m honest I got swept up in it too.
As he got older, the pressure didn’t disappear. It just changed shape. Suddenly it wasn’t about making a team, it was about choosing the right Junior program. The phone started ringing with agents and coaches, each promising him the moon: You’ll be a first-line player. Our facilities are the best. We won’t charge you a thing.
At first, it sounded thrilling. But for a teenager? It was too much. Too many voices. Too many promises. Too much weight on shoulders that were still growing. And I would sit back and wonder: Why did I do this to my child? Why didn’t I let him just have a normal childhood? Will he regret this path one day?
My husband understood more, because he had lived it when he was young. I hadn’t. So I smiled and stayed strong on the outside, then cried in private, because sometimes the reality of it broke my heart.
Other parents would ask me: How can you send your kid away? How can you let him live like this? I found myself defending our choices more than once. Their words made me feel like a bad parent. But then I’d remind myself: they weren’t in our situation. They didn’t know what it felt like. The parents who did - the families living this life as well -they never asked. They already understood.
What I’ve Come to Realize
There’s no perfect way to do this. I don’t think there’s a single “right” answer. But here’s what I’ve learned over the years:
Our kids need us to be their safe place, not more pressure.
The outside world sees the offers and opportunities, but not the stress on a teenager’s face.
People will judge. Let them. They’re not living your life.
It’s okay to cry, to question, to worry. That doesn’t make you a bad mom. It makes you a real one.
To Other Moms Walking This Road
If you’re in the thick of it right now -the tryouts, the team decisions, the endless schedule please know you’re not alone. It’s messy. It’s emotional. And sometimes it feels like you’re carrying just as much as your child.
But in between all that stress are the moments that make it worth it: the friendships, the discipline, the lessons, the memories. Our kids are learning things that will last long after the hockey ends.
And us? We’re learning too. To let go a little. To trust. To stand behind them instead of in front of them. To love them through the good games and the hard ones.
One day, when the skates are finally hung up for good, they won’t remember the stats or the standings. What they’ll remember is this:
That their mom was always there. Quietly cheering. Always in their corner. No matter what.
Because in the end, it isn’t the goals or the trophies that last - it’s the unwavering truth that we never stopped being their safe place.