Try Hockey For Free Day is this Saturday

If you thought Olympic hockey was inspiring, then you can come be inspired in our own hometown at Try Hockey For Free Day on Saturday, March 1, 1:15-2:30pm at the Harvey School.  Try Hockey for Free Day is a national program in which over 400 local programs across the country encourage kids ages 4 to 9 to try out this fun, fast and exhilarating sport.  Our local program is the Bedford Katonah Hockey Association, also known as the Bedford Bears.

We went last year on a lark.  Really!  A friend told me about it just that morning and since Evarts Rink is so close and accessible for us, I brought two of my sons (aged 6 and 8) in their winter coats and figure skates.  We didn’t have any hockey gear, not even hockey skates.  I was clueless about the sport.  They threw on these extra-large practice jerseys and wobbled onto the ice.  The rink was full of kids having fun in a rather organized fashion.  I was impressed by how many coaches there were and did not learn until later that they are all volunteer dads!  But still … I was casually enjoying the scene when they tumbled out of the rink one hour later, exclaiming, “We love hockey!  We love it more than soccer!”  (Sorry, I’m not dissing soccer, but that happened to be the only organized sport that they played at the time.)  I still remember how red and glowing their cheeks were and their glistening wet hair.  It took a bit for me to register how they were truly enthused by this sport.  We soon went shopping for all the gear (they call it “armor”) and I figured if young boys will actually dress themselves up in all that stuff, then they must really care.  One year later, they still suit themselves up and ask to go to practice.  They even enjoy some of the early morning practices.  As for me, I enjoy the warm upstairs viewing room above the rink.

You can register for Try Hockey for Free Day here: http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?EVENT_ID=2122721&CHECKSSO=0.