Hockey parents root on their kids at Novice Tournament

 

 

Whitecourt Minor Hockey hosted a Novice Tournament on January 14 and 15 at the Scott Safety Centre. Teams from Edson, Grande Prairie, High Prairie, Hinton, Josephburg, Redwater, and four Whitecourt Wolverines teams took to the ice over the weekend.

#1 IGA Wolverines, #2 Stitch ’N Time Wolverines, #3 Jaron Water Hauling Wolverines, and #4 Whitecourt Transport Wolverines were the four local teams in the tournament. Parents cheered on their children on both rinks and enjoyed the comradery regardless of teams.

Hockey mom Kelsey Miller spent the weekend rooting for her young son, River LaPointe (#60) as he skated alongside his teammates on the Whitecourt #3 Jaron Water Hauling Wolverines team. “I love watching them because of their spirit. They can go from losing to winning or winning to losing but they always try and it’s really awesome to see that.”

River is seven and is playing in his third year of hockey, first in novice. “He has improved massively and it’s great to see all the other kids doing the same thing. This year, River is getting the puck and going down the ice with it which he didn’t do last year. He knows that he has to get a goal and its lovely to see him have that skill set now.”

When asked who River would pick as his favourite team, Kelsey gave a laugh, “His favourite team is the Nordiques. He watches reruns all the time but we’re trying to convince him that the Montreal Canadiens are a better bet.” Where would a seven-year-old get such a love for a team that ended in 95? His hockey loving grandfather from Quebec.

Throughout the season, parents flock to the rink, kids in tow, for weekly practices and monthly tournaments both in town and out. “Being a hockey mom is pretty awesome. We can be loud and crazy cheering for our kids, and no-one blames you (laughing). The schedule is pretty rigorous but it’s good to have them on a schedule because it teaches them a lot of things:  to be at their practice on time, to have discipline, about doing something and finishing what you’re doing because you can’t just give up, you have to keep going,” said Miller.

“We are rowdy. We are always laughing and having fun. We are banging on the glass and loudly supporting our kids. We basically adopt each other’s kids for the season. We help each other out and even teams we played with years ago, we still support each other and are pretty tight knit, I would say.”