Xavier's Hockey

Over the summer I felt strongly that I need to sign Xavier up for Hockey. After all, he does come from the hometown of Wayne Gretzky and my father played consistently for years until his knees finally gave out. Although Xavier barely knew the word hockey, let alone ever seen it played before, he was destined to get on the ice and shoot a puck. He'd be a natural, right?

I never really spoke about signing up for hockey to Xavier. I just knew that it would tire him out, and he needed to expend some of his excess energy. Once Xavier got a whiff that I was going to sign him up, he asked every single day until we finally showed up at the Villagio and bought him all of his wear. The kid couldn't wait to get on the ice.

The day finally came for the hockey camp. I was told that this was for beginner kids who needed extra instruction. Xavier definitely fit that category. He honestly didn't know what 'that black thing on the ice' was for and he had never really been exposed to an ice rink before. I understood that this camp was going to take care of everything.

Xavier arrived at the change room wide eyed. You could see on his face that this was one of the most exciting things he was ever going to participate in all of his short life. He eavesdropped on all the boys and looked like he wanted to fit into this kind of crowd so badly. When I brought him into the change room I realized I didn't even know how to dress him. I had seen my dad put on his hockey gear, but I never paid attention to where everything went and what purpose each item had. I didn't buy the 'Idiot's Guide to Hockey' and regretted it so. Luckily, everyone there was friendly and understanding--like, 'Oh how cute, this young American girl doesn't know about our Canadian sport.' Shhhh...

All the children stood at the door of the rink. Many of the kids were much smaller than Xavier. There were 4 and 5 year old children who were obviously just beginning their hockey careers. The door opened and the kids flew through the gate racing to get on the ice. They skated in every direction eager to get to the pucks. Xavier was one of the last children to enter the rink. He carefully put one foot on the ice and SLAM. He pulled his body back up and tried to get his balance. Two seconds later, WHACK! SMASH! BAM! BOOM! He looked like his body was made of rubber and his legs would not hold his body let alone all the gear that was covering it.

At that moment, one of the coaches yelled, 'Looks like we got a beginner here, someone grab a chair!' I was very confused, weren't all of these kids beginners? How are the 4 and 5 year old kids spinning figure 8s around my almost 7 year old son? The coach grabbed a chair and carefully worked with Xavier. The other boys received instruction while Xavier was learning how not to get any more bruises. My son was the retarded kid in the corner trying to learn how to keep his body straight and not break any bones. I thought this was going to crush Xavier. How could it not? All the other kids, many who were much younger, were competent in skating and could maneuver their bodies in all the right ways. After a long, and tiring 20 minutes, he finally shuffled his body to the side door and came out. He looked exhausted and thirsty.

As I lifted his helmet he looked up at me with his drenched face and said, 'Mom! Did you see me! I went a little far! I only want to take a little drink because I want to go out there again!' He was beaming. It was like he was doing what he was meant to do. He was horrible, but oh so happy. For the following hour and half Xavier fell over 100 times. His little body would try to so hard to get back up and two seconds later it would collapse. He did this over and over again until it took 5 seconds for his body to fall. To him, that was an accomplishment. Every little stride he took, made him push further.

Although the other kids were doing much more than Xavier, I don't think there was a kid on the ice who worked harder than him. He was determined. I have never seen Xavier push harder than I did that day. Every time he came off the ice I was convinced he would say, 'That's it, I am done'. But, it was the opposite. He came off the ice and his heart raced with excitement. Even though he was obviously the special needs child, he was only competing with himself. No mother could have been prouder.

He has been playing hockey for 4 weeks now and his desire and determination remains the same, however, something has changed. He can now skate like a fairly normal kid. He can slightly mix in with group of kids and it is a true miracle. Don't get me wrong, there are times he does the 'bowling effect'. Without knowing how to stop, he will topple 5 kids at once. But every practice and game he improves. He said he tries to go close to kids who fall and smile at them so they don't feel dumb because 'Mom, that is what hockey is all about!'

Axel and I beam each time we go to the rink. Although I know my son isn't the strongest candidate for the Stanley Cup quite yet, he is by far, the most special kid on the team. LOVE my Xavier!