Last Christmas, we gave our son equipment to play inline hockey. Several of our adult friends play inline hockey, and the kid wanted to play. We finally decided to get him the equipment. We debated on this decision for quite some time, because hockey is not a cheap sport, and we weren’t going to take this lightly.
In January, the BFF, Stacey and I took the kids inline skating at Irvine Inline. It was pretty much one of the first few times that Angry Kid had been on his skates. He was still getting used to them and very wobbly.
I added a video of him that I took that morning. He is a hot mess, but he did not fall down a ton, which is a good thing.
In March, my husband decided that it was time for some “formal hockey lessons” rather us just taking our son out to skate, and playing around on some of the local outdoor rinks.
While attending one of our friend’s hockey games, he picked up a flyer for The Rink’s “Learn To Play Program”. He then went online and signed our son up for the next session.
He would be attending four lessons, every Thursday for that month. My son already had all of the gear, so he did not need to check out any from the facility. He also had a hockey stick, which was really a broken adult stick from our friend, Alex. It was a little short, but it did the job.
The Anaheim Ducks offers a “Learn To Play Hockey” program, FREE OF CHARGE, for first-time hockey players which also includes equipment rental. Participants in the Anaheim Ducks Learn to Play Program will be provided with an equipment bag, helmet, shin guards, hockey pants, elbow pads, shoulder pads, gloves and a jersey to use for the four week session in order to be fully protected on the rink. They offer the program monthly at all of their ice and inline hockey locations in Southern California, and it is recommended for children under 10 years of age.
Obviously, my son got a good workout after his first lesson. He was super sweaty, and very tired after. But he loved it!
He continued on with three more sessions and graduated the program. He was definitely into it and wanted to play hockey. He asked to play on a team, and we decided that we would try out hockey leagues in the summertime.
After he finished the “Learn To Play” program, we got him a stick for his birthday which is perfect for his size, and worked on his skating and other skills.
We felt more confident in him and signed him up for the summer league which started in July. Ironically, the playoffs for that league are today. Wish us luck!
Photo courtesy of Irvine Inline’s Facebook Page
The graduates of the March 2013 “Learn To Play” program at Irvine Inline.
