G.O.A.L (Part I)

It has been a year since our last attempt at organized sport. A year of maturity, a year of growth and so we thought hey let's try again. Raif found this amazing hockey program sponsored by the Nashville Predators called G.O.A.L (Get Out And Learn). It is 4 week, 100% free program- they supply everything from mouth guard to helmet to all his pads. At the end the kids even get to keep their sticks and their jersey. And depending on their schedule some real Nashville Predators might stop by to teach. We thought this was a great way to test out hockey without spending a ridiculous amount of money on ice time and gear. We also invited Greyson's best friend Yohannes to join us figuring that Greyson might be a little less anxious with a buddy on the ice.

So last night was the first practice. Raif suited him up (seriously could he be any cuter?).

And Greyson was good to go.....until he realized that Daddy wasn't coming on the ice...then the waterworks. Raif brought him off the ice talked to him for a bit and then convinced him to stand on the ice and watch and then move a little farther out and watch and eventually he joined in for a bit albeit still crying but a least not hysterically.


At the end they did a little scrimmage and Greyson started crying again because no one would give him the puck. Raif said it was so sweet because he came over to him and said "They won't share. I used my words and asked for the puck and they wouldn't give it to me." How do you explain to a 4 year old the difference between sharing and competitive sport??

When he got home (I didn't go but had a girl's night with Quinn) I asked him how it went and he said "Good" and I asked if he wanted to go back and he said "Yes" So we are going to work this week on trying to go out on the ice without crying.

The highlight of the evening, according to Raif, was that Greyson did a great job skating. He managed to skate all the way across the ice by himself and if he fell he got back up all on his own. Hopefully he can gain some independence from us and then watch out hockey world....