Sunday, March 15, 2015

Gear Creep, the "Make sure you put it on in the right order" Edition

Today was Nick's first day with the Little Sharks Learn To Play program. He had a great time. He saw Sharkie. He got to skate, shoot, and practice passing. Did I mention Sharkie?

Mom got to carry around a giant bag of equipment and figure out how to attach it all to the child, in the correct sequence, under time pressure. The day before we were all sent a "How to put on your hockey equipment" email. It was multiple pages long. There was a strict ordering and admonitions not to skip steps. There were suggestions to use tape to attach some things.

I suppose if you give 40 kids sharp skates and big sticks, it's better to make sure their equipment stays on. So tape it is.

Ready to go. No, he didn't carry the bag. I did.

First time in the locker room.

Starting to gear up. 
It took me about 25 minutes to get everything put on, strapped, fastened, adjusted, and re-adjusted (note to self, undershorts go on before hockey socks, because hockey socks attach to them, also remember to make sure the velcros on the undershorts are closed before putting on hockey socks, otherwise everything becomes a huge snarled mess). And everything seemed to stay in place, so no tape was required.

All geared up and ready to go.

Mouth guards serve dual purpose: protect the teeth, and prevent kids from
talking. Maybe I can convince him to wear one all the time!
The practice itself was very well organized. They had several areas to practice different skills: skating, stick handling, passing, and shooting. All while cheered on by Sharkie!
High-five with Sharkie!

Practicing jumping over a barrier. Much falling on face happened. All teeth
seem to be intact, still.

Serious hockey face (tm). Waiting for a pass.

Passing practice.

Skate/shoot practice.
After ah hour, the child was pretty baked.
Whoa!
Of course, back in the locker room, we needed to give a post-game interview.


 For a bazillion more pictures, check smugmug.




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