My contribution to Killams entry for Kraft Hockeyville 2014: #18 for the Killam Atom Warriors leaps out of bed with a grin on his face – got a game today! Mom’s already at the rink. It’s not just any Saturday in January… today is Killam Minor Hockey Day and there is work to be done! Dad’s running through the checklist: skates sharpened, stick taped, equipment checked and loaded in the car. His four year old sister, just beginning to read, checks the signs Mom left out for her today and gathers all her special things for another day at the rink. Dad’s running the clock today. He remembers playing against the Killam Warriors at this arena in his youth. After set-up is complete, Mom’s got a shift at the prize table – she, too, learned to skate on this ice, and grew up watching her brother and her dad play hockey here (or at the very least running around the rink). Papa and Grandma C. drive up from Castor – good roads today! Papa C. carries a dessert, a contribution to next week’s Critters fundraiser at the arena. He remembers watching his own son take to this ice, and remembers playing against a tough Killam Old Chiefs team in his younger days. Papa wants to know when last his favourite player’s skates were sharpened. Grandma wants to know if our boy has had a good meal to keep his energy up. Papa and Grandma S. arrive from in-town. They, too, know this ice well. They cheered on their own son from these very stands, and Papa S. just may have been one of those tough old-timers back in the day. Now they watch a new generation hit the ice. Papa S. has been a life-saver, helping #18 dress for every practice in the four years of his hockey career while Mom and Dad are at work. It’s getting easier – by now, our player can dress himself, and Papa only needs to make sure those skates are tight. Little sister is thrilled to sit with her grandmas to watch the game. Will she someday play hockey like her big brother? Right now she’s learning to skate; Grandma S. has been taking her to lessons. Sometimes aunts and uncles from Sylvan Lake and Wainwright are able to make the games. Today there are cousins from Wainwright to sit with in the stands. Papa C. stands to watch, so he has a good view of the whole ice. Papa S. chooses to sit further down all by himself, so he can focus on the game without distractions. All this fuss, you’d think we were all gathered to watch the next 99. But that’s not the case. #18 is not the top scorer or the best skater on the team. He does not strike fear into the hearts of the opposing team when he steps on the ice. What he does have, is heart, hustle, and a love of the game, and that’s what’s going to keep bringing the generations of our family together at the Killam Arena, game after game, week after week, year after year. He has the spirit of Killam Minor Hockey, and man, it’s fun to watch
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 04:31:15 +0000
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