Hockey Mom – two words put together that I never thought would be applied to me. I hate the cold, am not a good skater, and love to sleep in. None of those things fit well with the early mornings at the arena.or getting out to skate with the kids. But as of last winter my house has been filled with skates, helmets and hockey sticks. I have come up with the Top 5 Tips to Survive Hockey Season.
Inviting hockey into your life does make things busy, but even I will admit it is rewarding as well. Seeing Monkey out on the ice learning new skills, building his confidence and being part of a team is priceless. But that doesn’t mean that that there are times when it all feels a bit crazy. Here are some ways to prepare for hockey season’s worst, to ensure it’s the best.
Tips for Surviving the Hockey Season
1) Develop a routine – Because the hockey season is so busy, establishing a scheduled routine is key. This includes balancing school, homework, practice and games. Make sure the hockey bag is packed ahead of time and coordinate carpool schedules if you can. Take the pressure off you, and give your child the responsibility of managing their own hockey bag. Even at 6 years old Monkey is responsible to making sure he has everything he needs when we head out the door. A small checklist might be helpful in guiding them for what they need to pack.
2) Banish smelly gear – It’s always surprising how such a big smell can come from a small kid! Hockey equipment is bound to collect sweat when your kid is skating their heart out on the ice so make sure you stop odors before they start. First, air out all equipment after each use. Do not – I repeat, do not – leave everything in a zipped up hockey bag! Second, regularly wash items that can be machine washed. Use a detergent that’s up to the challenge such as OxiCleanTM HD Liquid Laundry Detergent and Arm & HammerTM Plus OxiCleanTM Cold Water Power Paks – get rid of the smells and the stains together.
3) Maintain a positive attitude – The reason we take part in hockey is for Monkey to have FUN! Whether it’s a “win” or “lose” in the end, each game teaches your child how to work as a team and participate in friendly competition. While we want him to try his best we don’t take things to seriously. Don’t put too much pressure on results focus on skill development and having fun.
4) Get to know your fellow hockey parents – You are going to be spending a lot of time at the arena, it is a good idea to get to know your new “family”. Creating a network of other parents can add a fun social element to the experience for you. Plus, it’s a great way to stay connected and easily be able to coordinate carpools and call-in a last minute favour if you can’t make a practice.
5) Make some memories – As much you might groan about early morning practices and driving to games, too soon kids will be out of the house all together. Use this time to make some memories – before hockey chats on the way to the arena or after hockey breakfast runs are the stuff memories are made of. Create a pre or post hockey tradition for you and your child to share.
What are your tips for surviving the hockey season?
To help ensure you’re ready, pick up some great hockey season essentials for at home and on the road games:
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B00LM94874″ locale=”CA” tag=”litmiskat-20″]OxiCleanTM HD Liquid Laundry Detergent[/easyazon_link]
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B01BZQJLFW” locale=”CA” tag=”litmiskat-20″]Tide Pods Plus Febreze Odor Defense[/easyazon_link]
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B003M62QN8″ locale=”CA” tag=”litmiskat-20″]Arm & Hammer Baking Soda[/easyazon_link]
My little cousins play a bit of everything. Mostly football.
My nephew plays soccer.
A tip would be to keep organized with sport equipment and clothing.
swimming is their thing
My kids are into biathlon and marksmanship. My biggest tips are to make sure they have nothing conflicting with practice and to push them when they feel like giving up.
My youngest son is in beavers. My oldest was in hockey. My tip is to make sure you wear wool socks to the games. BRRRR so cold in those arenas.
Hockey. Have them clean out their bag right away so the mud room isn’t smelly from the sweat stained uniforms.
My kids play soccer. My tip is to be organized
Swimming and Soccer are A.J.s current activities…He does love hockey too.
My son has been playing hockey since he as 4,hes now 17 and in his last year of it. My tip is to make sure you dress super warm!!!
when my son was young he loved to play hockey, and some tips are to be orgaanized and dress warm
My boys play hockey and soccer. The weekend are super busy for us with lots of laundry to do.
My ‘kids’ are all adults now but one still plays hockey, another does rock climbing and yet another plays soccer. 2 of my grandchildren play hockey and baseball, another 2 play soccer and baseball. In all these sports a nice hot cup of coffee works wonders for the mums and dads 🙂
My older daughter is currently playing basketball. My tips for surviving sports seasons – stock up on healthy snacks because lots of eating gets done between activities; befriend other parents to help set up carpooling options; have an organized laundry schedule to ensure jerseys etc are clean for game days (and practice jerseys for practice days if applicable).
My son played hockey growing up and my daughter did everything from dance to equestrian. My Just about 4 year old granddaughter is in Gymnastic and we go watch her every Saturdays! She has been since she was 2.
Hockey, football, soccer, skating, dance, swimming. Our life is chaotic. A Mom Calendar is key to keeping us all organized
Both my kids play hockey. And my tip for the winter season is stay organized. My day timer is my friend! I have to keep track of my daughter hockey, my son’s hockey and my son’s high school hockey! VERY BUSY…
Nephew is hockey and niece is Ringette I don’t have nothing to get ready I am too old
My girls play soccer, my son horseback rides and does trampoline. My youngest daughter also is a competitive gymnast. I have everything loaded in my phone to keep track of where everyone should be. Our rep soccer teams use team snap to help as well!
right now it is archery and roller skating
Our girls are on the swim team and we just learn to try our best. The main thing is that they enjoy it and are still getting exercise 🙂
My girls do swimming and dance and soccer in the summer.
My son plays soccer and loves it ….to survive means must be organized at all times and do lots of laundry!
My girls are in swimming lessons and gymnastics. I survive with lots of snacks.
My grandson played football this year. He loved it.
My daughter and son both love swimming. My son just started taking archery!
Sophie is in soccer and figure skating. Keeping hydrated and eating is the best way to keep Sophie going.
swimming and karate. it always helps to plan out their schedule with ours
My youngest plays basketball
They are hockey players and baseball players.They love a lot of different sports but these two are first and foremost.
My tip is to keep organized.
My daughter plays soccer and my trick is to pack her snacks and cold drinks so she stays hydrated while playing! Make fresh juices they are much healthier!
We survive the endless soccer games with an enormous volume of snacks.
The sports season is a year round affair, unfortunately winter sports usually take place when it’s dark and raining out so the best tips for this time of year are to prep in advance, and leave early, especially if walking is advanced – we try to follow the there’s nowhere you need to jaywalk to get to and other traffic/parking lot rules especially at this time of year because daylight is in that weird not winter faze.
My kids don’t play any sports yet but I played hockey as a kid and airing out your equipment was something that I would recommend!
My kids are in swimming, lacrosse, volleyball and track & field. My tip is to make sure everyone is getting lots of rest during the sports seasons.
no sports yet. thanks
would imagine getting all the sleep one can will help with survival. thanks
My son plays soccer and does gymnastics. We try to stay on top of laundry, but have yet to figure out how to tackle the stinky shoes!
Plenty of sleep and hydration is a start. My son likes to swim right now.
Our oldest is currently playing volleyball (at school), other than that the two younger ones have not been enrolled in anything yet (two year old and three month old). I have never been involved in having to deal with sports season but when she was in tae kwon do a few years back 5 days a week I always made sure to have extra snacks and water bottles with me.
My nieces & nephews are into lots of different sports, I think being organized is an important tip to survive the sport season.
My niece is in gymnastics and loves it. I think organization, and warm clothes are great tips for surviving winter sports.
They play baseball, karate and have swim lessons. Best tip is have the same bedtime and wake up routine.
My daughter loves skiing. My tip is to always bring extra food wherever you are headed. Saves money and headaches!
My grandson plays hockey, swims, soccer, basketball, roller blades, t-ball and takes skiing lessons,
My tips for surviving sports seasons – organization is the key: put game schedules on calendar, prepare meals in advance for sport nights, have healthy snacks on hand and dress in layers for outdoor sports & hockey arenas.
My son played hockey and my biggest tip is to get the gear dried out as quick as possible and wash what you can. My grandchildren love swimming, skating, running and volleyball.
My son plays indoor soccer in the winter, my tip is to have dinner in the crock pot in the morning so that you don’t have to scramble and make bad choices
My son plays rugby so we are very busy in the Jan-May period although the games are usually right after or during school. I have to use make ahead meals many times since we come back from an after school game and there is very little time to make dinner