The First 6 Months Of Skating In A Nutshell.

The end of September 2013 and the beginning of October, Andrew was spending nearly 10 hours a week on either the ice or he was practicing by way of roller blading. He was determined to be a good skater.

1 month into hockey and he's already wearing hockey jerseys all the time.

As I try to figure out how to put my mobile phone videos on blogger, I will just put the pictures on for now.
During the first 2 months of hockey, Andrew learned how to roller blade and he was learning how to do hockey maneuvers. (hockey stop, weaving in and out of traffic, cross over skating, backward skating). He was able to skate one end of the ice to the other end in about 9 seconds. Andrew was interested in speed first, and had to be pulled back and refocused many times in order to progress. Balance and skating on his edges were more important. However, to an 8 year old, speed was the most important thing.

His favorite NHL player is Marian Hossa (not a bad role model) and I find him in the apartment pretending he is Hossa. He started to slack a little bit on the rollerblading during November and December. He got content with the ice. Because Andrew is getting a lot of guidance, and he loves the game, he follows what the coaches, older players and parents say….with a little nudge of course.

Like all kids, what makes him feel important,…or feel like a hockey player is all the equipment and the hockey jerseys. I recall the first time he came to the car with his school buddies, and they didn't believe he was a hockey player…..when they found out,…it was "oooohs and aaaaaahs"…and "Andrew you are so cool", "Andrew you are so lucky". Well, this makes an 8 year olds smile go from ear to ear. So, pushing Andrew was not even a case because he enjoyed all the attention and accolades. During the incredibly rainy December and January, Andrew wasn't outside much. It was time to pick up his ice time during those rainy months, so that he didn't forget how to skate. Come February, Andrew was making friends near our apartment and was rollerblading almost every single day. FOR HOURS. I noticed that improvement as he started to hit the ice come March.

Only 3 weeks on the ice. He was coming to the ice nearly 4x week for 4 hours a day during this stretch.

Andrew had to learn a few things about "etiquette".  He saw too many hockey games. In fact, he was learning way more about the actual game then the present children on the team. Other than Crosby or Ovechkin (who they couldn't even pronounce), many didn't know a single NHL player. Ok,…that being said, Andrew needed to learn about not crying during a game because he got checked too hard, or learn how to dish back a good check of his own…or worse yet, not to "be dirty" on the ice because he got "slashed' or "hooked" or "checked too hard". Over the past 3+ months, this has definitely been improved upon.

During our first 6 months of playing almost solely in Jakarta, Andrew has played at J-Cube in Singapore (where we purchased his new Bauer skates and a new stick), and the new rink (soooo unfinished) at Bintaro. Nobody liked the rink in Bintaro. Smog machine heaven. Nobody could see across the ice, it was loaded with first time skaters that were dangerous to be on the ice with because when they fell, they looked to grab on to someone to keep themselves from falling.

It is apparent that Andrew will need TRUE coaching if he wishes to get to that next level. We have looked into schools/camps in europe that would help Andrew further develop.  That is going to be our next step in development.

One thing that many people don't see across other parts of the world, is that players from the tropics sometimes have an advantage because HOCKEY is all they do. In Jakarta, there isn't much else to do. Sports in particular are not heavily pushed. This therefore means the ice hockey and inline hockey world in Jakarta is a small world. Everyone knows everyone (for the most part), and for someone like Andrew, he will get the coaching when and if necessary ALL YEAR LONG. Unlike Canada, where they may only be on the ice 6 months, in Jakarta, Andrew will be on the ice for all 12 months. His game will progress slower, but his skating ability will progress faster. As he progresses in the skating, the other things will come in time,…so I am not worried much.

Now, it's time for me to figure out how to post these darn videos.

-until then. Keep skating' !!!