Ice hockey

I am all about the kids trying different sports and activities while they are young to see what they really like. I think it is really good for them. Up until this point Kade has tried soccer, gymnastics, karate, tball, and swimming. I saw an ad for a free ice hockey clinic on Saturday and I thought it would be fun and Kade said he wanted to try it. I figured if he liked it then I would sign him up for the class after the first of the year. Up until this point Kade has always done really well at most sports and he just loves to be active so anything that keeps him moving he loves. 

He has only been ice skating once before and while he had trouble figuring it out, if he took his time then he was able to do a basic skate. I asked someone in charge of the clinic and she said he sounded perfect for Saturday. So we woke up really early and were at the rink by 7am. They had equipment to wear and it took a good 30 minutes to get him all dressed and ready to head out. 

Once he got out on the ice we realized that it was going to he really tough for him. He couldn't stay on his feet if his life depended on it. The coaches were so sweet in helping him learn how to stay up and how to easily get up if he does fall. But most of the boys in his group were literally skating circles around him. We think in 45 min he had at least 50 hard falls. It was pretty painful to watch. About 30 minutes in we could tell he had already improved but not long after that his body was done. He couldn't even stand up and he was exhausted. We normally wouldn't ever let him quit in the middle but with this we did. He gave it his all but was so mad and frustrated so with 15 minutes to spare he had enough. He stuck it out long enough and we didn't want him to hurt himself. 

Afterwards we took him out to breakfast and he told me he never ever wanted to do that again. Atleast he tried his hardest! We can't ask for anything else! 

Just a tiny example of how painful it was to watch.