Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1348405
R I N K RAT ILLUSTRATION BY Darren Gygi BEH I N D T HE G L A SS 16 // MARCH 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM "WHY IS IT THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU S CREAMS HOCK- EY PARENT?" asked a non-hock- ey parent friend. " You give your daughter's age by the year she was b o r n . Yo u h a v e b l a n k et s i n t h e back of your SUV— in the summer. You're the only person I know who sets her alarm on the weekend ear- lier than during their work week, and you give out hand warmers to anyone who looks cold." And her point is? Are we real- ly that obvious to everyone else? Sure, all of my Facebook photos come from inside a hockey rink, s o I p u t t h e q u e st i o n o u t t h e r e and discovered it's true — there are telltale signs that we might be hockey parents. Well, here are a few more signs that you might be a hockey parent if… • Fashion comes in a distant second to functionality when it comes to staying warm. • Repairs around your house are done with hockey tape, not duct tape. • You give out helmet stickers to reward good grades and complet- ed chores. • You forget about all the money you've spent this season when you see that huge smile on your hockey player's face. – Liz Mernick Burri, Warwick, R.I. • You show up to the car dealership with the hockey bags to m a ke s u r e t h e y fi t y o u r n e w v e h i c l e . – Shana Smegelsky, Oswego, N.Y. • Every room in your house has some sort of hockey gear in it. – Nicole Graw- Metro, Niagara Falls, N.Y. • Your kids know which hotels have a pool and free breakfast. – Tom Groat, Unadilla, N.Y. • Someone asks how old your child is and you answer with their birth year. – Michelle Benson, Mercer, Wis. • You show up early to be first in line waiting for your triple-triple at Tim Hortons and realize it doesn't open until 6 a.m. – Aaron Wallace, Buffalo, N.Y. • You plan your Thanksgiving dinner and when to put up the Christmas tree around your hockey schedule. – Tina Macdonald, Geneva, N.Y. • You are more worried how your child will look for hockey pictures than for school pictures. – Stacy Schavis Doherty, Honey Brook, Pa. • Yo u s l e e p i n d u r i n g t h e w o r k week because you have to be up early for games on the weekends, and you've met all your friends across the country and around the world through hockey. – Christy Dougherty, Levittown, Pa. • You refer to what rink you are going to by the best things to order at the concession stand. – Sam Schleman, Lakewood, Ohio • You schedule your vacation around y o u r h o c k e y t o u r n a m e n t s a n d camps. – Diana Flores, Odessa, Texas • You plan your whole life around the team schedule, work, vacations, holidays and your meals. – Julie Kreb, North Syracuse, N.Y. • You always have hockey tape in your glove box and in the junk draw- er. – Justin Johansen, Ohio • You've spent more time drinking with friends in hotel hallways than the local bar. – Matthew Darois, Liverpool, N.Y. So cheers to my fellow hockey moms and dads. And here's to better times are ahead. We've got this. P JEFF LINDALL Age 58 Anchorage, Alaska Hockey has been in Jeff Lindall's blood since he picked up a hockey stick and laced his first pair of skates. These days Lindall is passing along that passion to the next gen- eration of players as he coaches a 10 & Under team with the South Anchorage Oilers. After years of working along- side fellow coaches, he decided it was time to take over the reins and lead his own teams. It goes without saying that the work Lindall has done for each one of his teams in his 25 years of coaching has not gone unnoticed. "Jeff values skill devel- opment and life skills that the game of hock- ey teaches," said Keith Morris, the program director of the South Anchorage Hockey Association. "We are better with coaches like Jeff." It is not for the sense of personal accomplish- ment, but more seeing a group of young hockey players develop their skills and have fun while doing it that keeps Lindall coming back to the rink after more than two decades coaching. "It's just the love for the game, wanting to con- tinue to give back," he said. "I like seeing the kids improve and develop." COACH OF THE MONTH More Signs That You Might Be A Hockey Parent If… THE HOCKEY MOM By Christie Casciano Burns "You know the smell when someone says 'glove hands.'" – Amy Kenyon, Virgil, N.Y.