Sunday 11 December 2016

Sunday December 11th, 2016 Hockey

My name is Joanna and I’m a hockey mom.  Ten years ago I did not know what “off side” meant, thought “icing” was only for cakes, and that “PeeWee” was something you did in the bathroom.  Now thanks to a great deal of learning on the job and a few good books, I know the ropes.

If you’re a novice or professional hockey mom, grandpa, aunt or supporter of any kind, your Library can help you learn more about the game our kids love.  We have all sorts of books about hockey:  handbooks for coaches, hockey history, biographies of great players as well as fiction books for all ages.  Here are a few of my favourites.

The hockey sweater by Roch Carrier
This Canadian classic tells the tragic story of a young boy in Quebec who suffers the humiliation of having to wear a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey sweater. This quote from the story is on the back of our five dollar bills:  “The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places - the school, the church and the skating rink - but our real life was on the skating rink.” Enchanting for both children and adults.


My day with the cup by Sidney Crosby
Hockey moms will appreciate the photos of Mrs. Crosby’s puck-marked dryer in this book! It’s filled with great pictures of Sid and the Cup on his sea doo (both wearing life jackets), at his elementary school and Sid washing the Cup with his parents’ garden hose.


The hockey dad chronicles:  An indentured parent’s season on the rink by Ed Wenck
Ed Wenck is a real life hockey dad who took notes throughout one season of his ten-year old son’s hockey career.  Cleverly written, Wenck sheds insight onto why we sign our kids up for a sport that involves “strapping knives on a kid’s feet, hurling a hard rubber disc at him, and telling him to smack it with a club.” One of my hockey mom friends has been known to take notes at games – I wonder if she is working on a book like this?


The hockey coach's manual : a guide to drills, skills, tactics and conditioning by Michael A. Smith
If you want to get the most out of your back yard rink, or take the kids to the ODR (Out Door Rink) for some quality time, plan ahead with this book.  Learn a few fun drills to put the kids through their paces, and sit back and watch their skills improve during games.


King Leary by Paul Quarrington
I have recommended this wonderful fiction book to many of my hockey friends. You may remember it as the 2008 Canada Reads winner. MacLean’s magazine noted it is “a dazzling display of fictional footwork....the author has not written just another hockey novel; he has turned hockey into a metaphor for magic.” I think that says it all. Quarrington artfully weaves the story of kid who grows from a delinquent sent to reform school into a hockey super star. You may find yourself trying to prefect the "St. Louis Whirlygig" on this ice this winter after reading this book.


Don’t forget your noisy mitts, warm blanket and special coffee to make this hockey season the best yet by enriching your experience with one of these books. See you around the rinks!

Joanna Aegard






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