There's no rest for the wicked, and no rest for ringette players even on a holiday weekend. Last night we were back at the rink, and to be honest, I was dreading it a little bit. Ringette has not exactly been going swimingly these past few weeks. We'd heard great things about the program but have been a little underwhelmed so far. The first part of the hour is a free skate and after that the kids are split into groups based on skill for instruction. The way things have been going is that Mallory stands around doing nothing during the free skate, and then doesn't know who to follow during the lesson, and usually winds up skating over to us to start gesturing through the glass that she wants to get off the ice. Part of the problem is that parents are allowed on the ice with the kids and we have no idea who is an instructor and who is a parent. One night I ran out and bought a helmet and got on the ice with Mallory, thinking that would help... but all that happened is she wanted me to pick her up when she fell. And she is very capable of doing that on her own. I got back off the ice when I realized what was going on.
Anyway, to make a long story short, it's been a bit of a struggle. But last night we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. For the first time, the kids were allowed to take their sticks out on the ice with them, and there were rings a-plenty.
Although she started out dragging the stick (and the ring) behind her, she quickly got the hang of pushing it in front. During free skate time she took that ring up and down the ice several times. During lesson time, she went through the drills with the kids on her side of the ice, but then got sidetracked with her stick and wandered over to the faster kids' group, where she stayed for the rest of the night... keeping up with them and their drills just fine.
She did come over to me at the side of the ice one time, and I was worried she was throwing in the towel. Nope: she just had to pee. That was an endeavour in and of itself, getting her out of all that gear and then back into it again, but she happily went back out onto the ice and resumed pushing her little ring around. I'm hopeful that this bodes well for the rest of the season. We have an extra practise night this week, so here's hoping her enjoyment continues.
There's no rest for the wicked, and no rest for ringette players even on a holiday weekend. Last night we were back at the rink, and to be honest, I was dreading it a little bit. Ringette has not exactly been going swimingly these past few weeks. We'd heard great things about the program but have been a little underwhelmed so far. The first part of the hour is a free skate and after that the kids are split into groups based on skill for instruction. The way things have been going is that Mallory stands around doing nothing during the free skate, and then doesn't know who to follow during the lesson, and usually winds up skating over to us to start gesturing through the glass that she wants to get off the ice. Part of the problem is that parents are allowed on the ice with the kids and we have no idea who is an instructor and who is a parent. One night I ran out and bought a helmet and got on the ice with Mallory, thinking that would help... but all that happened is she wanted me to pick her up when she fell. And she is very capable of doing that on her own. I got back off the ice when I realized what was going on.
Anyway, to make a long story short, it's been a bit of a struggle. But last night we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. For the first time, the kids were allowed to take their sticks out on the ice with them, and there were rings a-plenty.
Although she started out dragging the stick (and the ring) behind her, she quickly got the hang of pushing it in front. During free skate time she took that ring up and down the ice several times. During lesson time, she went through the drills with the kids on her side of the ice, but then got sidetracked with her stick and wandered over to the faster kids' group, where she stayed for the rest of the night... keeping up with them and their drills just fine.
She did come over to me at the side of the ice one time, and I was worried she was throwing in the towel. Nope: she just had to pee. That was an endeavour in and of itself, getting her out of all that gear and then back into it again, but she happily went back out onto the ice and resumed pushing her little ring around. I'm hopeful that this bodes well for the rest of the season. We have an extra practise night this week, so here's hoping her enjoyment continues.
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