I just Googled the words “stress hockey” and came up with a bunch of hits on hockey pucks and Stress balls.
Are you kidding me???
As only one Hockey Mom in Canada, I can think of a number of stress inducing issues or events that get people riled up. Tell me if you’ve ever experienced stress from one or more of the following: 1. I’m trying to juggle work, kids, and practice -when exactly does my house get cleaned? 2. We’re in tryouts – how do I support my child if they don’t make the team? 3. How am I going to PAY for all these tournaments? Equipment? Fundraising activities? 4. Am I pushing my child too hard? Am I not giving him/her enough opportunities? 5. How do I deal with conflicts with the coaches without coming off like an idiot? 6. How do I deal with conflicts with other parents? 7. I have two (or more!) kids in hockey and they are in different games/tournaments in different arenas/cities/provinces and I can’t be in two places at once. 8. I need to get my child to pass the puck more. 9. I need to get someone else’s child to pass the puck more. 10. What do I do if I really can’t stand that kid on my child’s team? (Yes, folks, it happens) 11. I (or my husband/partner/significant other) am/is on the executive and we keep getting these damn phone calls at all hours of the night. 12. My child is telling me that they don’t want to play hockey…now what? 13. My child wants to play AAA. 14. Oh my god I can’t take these playoffs anymore it’s too close. 15. We just finished the season and now we have to think about summer hockey?
These are only some of the issues that arise for Hockey Moms…and you are telling me that the biggest hits for “stress hockey” are Hockey Pucks and Stress Balls?
So, if the information is not readily available, then how are hockey parents supposed to learn to navigate these situations? As far as I know, there is no mandated course for becoming a hockey mom (although Hockey Canada does now offer a great resource called “Chevrolet Safe and Fun Hockey” and your Association can even host a seminar).
As this website develops, I get more and more feedback from Hockey Moms in Canada who want to learn how to deal with the stress. And, even if you don’t consider hockey stressful, there are lots of unanswered questions that Hockey Moms have to deal with. How can we cope?
I was lucky enough to have the ultimate Hockey Mom (and now Hockey Grandma) growing up, so I watched her navigate many of the above situations 30 years ago, and I still think of those situations even today. I’m grateful that she modeled the following: loud cheering during games, speaking her mind when situations required it, and respect for other opinions even when they differed from her own. She never told anyone they didn’t try hard enough, and though she would rather win than lose, she knew that learning how to handle (and come back from) a loss were also important lessons. And, most importantly, she was (and is) not one of those moms who rallied support from the other hockey parents for her cause whenever she had an issue, because too many of us have seen how destructive that can be!
If you are a hockey mom, I KNOW you have experienced some stress. If you have any comments, know of any good resources, or want to tell us how you dealt with it, we’d love to hear your comments here, or email us at hockeymomincanada@gmail.com In the meantime, because we all love hockey, we’ll keep trucking those kids to games and practices all in the name of the game!
In the process, maybe we’ll even find some suggestions for how to handle all that hockey stress!