I Am A Grandmother - Cheering at the Championship Game

This weekend my grandson, Gabriel, brought his ice hockey season to a close.  Gabe is almost 10 years old and has loved hockey since he was a toddler

Gabe with his first skates and stick!

and has been on ice skates since he was 3 years old.  When he was three he took to the ice with Daryl Evans as his coach.

Milli carrying Gabriel out to the ice when he was 3.

Little Gabe on the ice with his dad and Daryl.

The fact that his dad works for the LA Kings may have something to do with it, but this boy loves hockey.  He knows all the players (his favorite is Anze Kopitar!),

Gabe and Anze Kopitar

He follows the activities of the team, the trades and the player injuries.  He spends hours every week on the computer maintaining the stats for the King's team. For the past few years he has participated in the LA Jr. Kings teams.  He plays games every weekend and we rarely miss a game.

Gabriel's dad and uncles grew up very involved in youth sports.  Whether it was Jr. All American Football, Little League Baseball or Golf they attended the practices and played in the games and I spent many hours as a young mother at practice fields in the evening and putting in my hours in the snack stands during the games.   While I know that there are many who think that organized youth sports put too much pressure on kids to perform, my experience is that these activities give youngster an outlet for all their energy, teach them the ways of working as part of a team, and help them develop physical skills and a sense of personal confidence.

His team, the Gold Kings, won this season's championship.  This was Gabe's second championship win.  His first was last year when he was on the Black Kings.

Gabe with his dad, Michael, Uncle Joey, Poppa and Uncle Marc

Gabe with his grandmother, Lola

Gabe with Mima!

Today, Gabe had a great game, he made the first goal and got an assist...and a large part of the family was there to cheer his team.

The family in the stands...parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins!

The games provide an opportunity to bring the family together to surround that boy in their support and love.  Gabe always has a "fan club" at all his games and he knows that his family is proud of him. 

When my sons were growing up, we lived in a typical suburban neighborhood.  When they came home from school, they could go out to play.  They just had to be home in time for dinner.  They could safely ride their bikes to the local park and play on their own.  They could walk to school on their own.  They made friends with the other children in the area and traipsed through each other's houses and yards.  That is not Gabriel's experience.  He also lives in a typical suburban neighborhood, but  parents do not allow their children to wander the streets without an adult.  Since he has no siblings, his parents make great efforts to arrange for play dates with friends from school to make sure he has all the interaction he can with children his age.  The world is different now.  Organized sports is one way for young children to interact with other children in a safe environment.

Gabe with his teammates before taking the ice.

Gabe played well today.  He was fully alive on the ice.  He played with his head and heart.  I am a very proud grandmother!

Gabriel with his Championship medal