State of Hockey = No Time for Ice Fishing

So after Deer Season a buddy and I built a nice 8 X 6 spear house with a 5 X 2 hole. We were going to put it in spots where we could spear and angle to keep the kids entertained. We set the house and saw quite a few Pike the first couple of times out and a few panfish; that was middle of December. Since then I have been out once; one flipping time in a month.

Having two kids in Hockey pretty much has me running around here and there constantly. Practice, games, and tournaments pretty much keep us busy 7 days a week. To make matters worse all my buddies are slaying walleyes and crappies on local lakes and taking trips to Red Lake and LOTW. I have had several opportunities to go on these trip; but wait for it oh yeah hockey games and practices on the weekends . Then when you get a moment of free time you have to take care of normal household crap (which I hate doing even when I am not busy running around).

Would it be wrong to tell the kids to take up bowling or ping pong cause their is a slim chance you will be a professional Hockey player; cause that thought has crossed my mind over the last two weeks. I know I wouldn’t be a very good parent but this hockey crap is really cramping my personal fishing time. Call me selfish but a guy has to have some time for himself.

I usually don’t gripe about things that involve the kids cause I am pretty involved in what they do cause they are only young once; but do you really think that these kids need to practice 7 days a week. Our 12 year old is on a 13 day stretch of Hockey and Our 7 yr old goes 3 to 4 days a week . Maybe I should change my motto of “if you commit to a sport you need to be there all the time” to “if you are in a sport you will go when I feel like bringing you”. Back when I was in sports we didn’t travel all over the place and were still competitive in High School and played in Section Finals and State Tournaments. Maybe I just need to accept the change to modern times.

Anyone else have kids in Hockey experiencing the same dillema I am in?

Keep talking Mike. We are trying/hoping to keep our son OUT of organized sports like Hockey and Baseball. To much traveling and family commitment, especially on the weekends.

I hear it is getting ridiculous for you guys up in GR. Traveling tourneys for the little kids now. Extremely early ice times.

I am hearing your exact same story from parents all over MN. You are not alone. It is out of hand if you ask me.

Sorry for your pain.
my son is a young man now but every night i still drop to my knees and thank the good lord my son never had interest in hockey.
before you know it they will be grown and on there own and the lakes will still freeze every winter and there will still be fish to catch so hang in there and good luck.

I watch my neighbors chase all over the place with two hockey players under the age of 13. Ice time at 6AM on Sundays or 9:30PM on Sat nights. Umm NO.

Got a wife who drives? Or get a girlfriend who will do anything for you.
Or both.

Rule was in my family get the chores done then do whatever you want but we ain’t a taxi service….

Been there done that.
we basically put everything on hold for ten years.
Saw a few youngsters just get burned out & called it quits.
As a coach I can say it gets to be way to much!!!!

Did this with my daughter in gymnastics. Not quite on the level your stating ,but every weekend tourney’s , lots and lots of pratice and club fees. She quit when she was 16. I was in shock ,but could do nothing as I realized I pushed too hard. She came back to it her junior year and went to state as a team her senior year. One of greatest highlights of being a dad was that year,and she is happy she came back on her terms with not mine ,but her goals. Sports are great ,but 99.9 percent of kids do it cause its fun and hard. Take the fun out and it is just hard and most will quit. Hope you find that right balance

I’m not a parent, but I did coach for a year.

You basically better be prepared to have your life revolve around the sport. What free time there was after work was spent at the rink and planning the next practice or dealing with parents (I actually got lucky and had for the most part a great group of parents to work with. There were only a select few who made it challenging at times). Time left over from that was eating and sleeping to start the process over again the next day.

I grew up playing hockey and will always be a fan of the sport, but after that experience part of me is almost hoping my future kids will just stick to fishing.

If your kid enjoys them, dont take them away because of the traveling or team commitment. Traveling sports were the most enjoyable parts of my childhood. We had basketball tourneys every weekend in the winter, and baseball tourney every weekend in the summer and it may have been a pain but i couldnt how boring life would have been if i didnt have those chances. Im no parent, im in no position to tell you how to be a parent.. but i think of all the positives it gives, if you ask me it far outweighs the negatives.

You guys gotta stop!!!! My little guy is turning 4 in a few weeks and we are excited for him to play hockey. He loves going skating….mostly still just me pushing him around but he loves it. I played hockey growing up and there was a lot of travel and expenses back then but my parents refused to let me miss school to go on the traveling tournaments…so it’s all their fault I didn’t get a pro contract.

Hockey is a great sport, it is one of the few you can truly play all your life. I still skate a couple times a week at least and love being on the ice.

I’ll probably be singing a different tune when PJ gets there because for him to play we are going to have to drive to Waconia, Chaska, Hutch or even EP to get him in a program since our town can’t even maintain an outdoor rink let alone organized hockey.

Personally….if the kids love it stick with it…you never know, they hit the bigs you retire and they pay for all your fishing trips as a trade off for all the time you spent hauling them to practice.

but i think of all the positives it gives, if you ask me it far outweighs the negatives.
I agree! my son is on the Football team/traveling baseball/Ski Team/ La cross team.
It will only be a few more years before graduation.

I can only say it is really cool to see our two sons play different sports. They are now in high school, representing their community athletically and they are having a ball doing it…even though they are not stars for any of the sports.

My wife and I are football- hockey-, track- and baseball-parents. No major complaints. It just comes with the territory. In theory, it keeps them busy and out of trouble. As parents, that works well for us.

Your time will come. Relax and enjoy your kids. Go South St. Paul Packers!!

Enjoy the kidos while you can. The next thing you know they will be out of the house and you will wonder where the time has gone. lots of fish to catch later

I live in White Bear Lake, I have two step kids in sports one on them is hockey. Hockey in White Bear is as big as hockey in Grand Rapids. As a step daad I really dont need to go. But I choose not to be a step dad not involved with his step kids. My wife and I would not have it any other way between the 3 boys we are going 7 days a week like others. We have met some great friends over the years and still hang with them outside of sports. My boys span in age from 4-16 years old. I still go fishing and hunting. We say no practice is more important then fishing or hunting. It keeps our family close.
EXCEPT the 16 year old he already knows everything so he dont need us anymore.

Hang in their and take the kids fishing and hunting and go with your buds.

paul

One of the reasons I just sold my fish house. I myself play three times a week plus my 5 year old practices a few days a week and I coach. It will only get worse. Man I love hockey!
DT

I wouldn’t trade my organized sport experience for anything. Can’t tell you how mad I would have been at my parents if they didn’t let me play sports.

I will say that I was smart enough to not play any sports in the summer and since I am not that big on ice fishing it worked out perfect. Sports all winter and fishing all summer.

No kids for me yet. So who knows what they will be into.

I am sure everyone’s personal experience is different. I remember growing up doing all that traveling and now I regret it. I am sure hockey taught me a lot. However I cannot help but think about all the stuff I missed out on while I was at some tourney 120 miles from home. Of course I grew up in the country where I could hunt/fish right out the back door. I wonder if someone with a more urban childhood would have a more positive memory of organized sports.

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I wonder if someone with a more urban childhood would have a more positive memory of organized sports.

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Ok Grizzly. We all know there is nothing to do in a city

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Ok Grizzly. We all know there is nothing to do in a city

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Well of course there are things to do in the city. Dodge cars in the street. Play in the concrete pond. Go the park and climb THE tree.

Grouse out the back door and walleye out the front door. Darn glad I am a country mouse.

I was a hockey parent for three kids and thank the lord they enjoyed playing the game. I coached all 3 of them from the time they sarted to the end. Will always be thankful for the great parents and friends we met through being involved with the kids. I also would never give up a moment of the times we had together. They are now grown and my son the youngest of the 3 plays on the club team at Bemidji State. The way I looked at it the more they were involved the less time they had on there hands to get into trouble. They are all great kids and I think partly because of there involvement in hockey. They met a lot of great friends also and still stay in touch to this day. I myself have volunteered as a coach at the High School level for a total of 10 years. 8 with no kids involved and 2 while my youngest was playing. I will never forget some of the great kids I have met through being involved with the game, also I will never regret having to get up and be on the ice at 6am with some great kids. Love the game. Just my 2 cents.

Hockey is about the worst for time and travel but if nothing else its better than running the kid to drug treatment.

You give things up to have kids and raise them right. Money. Time. Career. Suck it up…its not forever.

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Hockey is about the worst for time and travel

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Talk to the parent of a competitive swimmer someday and your opinion may change.

And one day you’ll be sitting on the ice fishing thinking to yourself, dang I miss watching the kids play hockey.

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And one day you’ll be sitting on the ice fishing thinking to yourself, dang I miss watching the kids play hockey.

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Bingo!

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And one day you’ll be sitting on the ice fishing thinking to yourself, dang I miss watching the kids play hockey.

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Pug, I agree. They grow up way to fast and then they are gone. Many great memories while they were playing. I know they appreciated us being there with them. I know they saw kids get hurt and their parents not being there for them. They never had to worry about that. Wouldn’t have done it any other way. Enjoy the times together.

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Enjoy the kidos while you can. The next thing you know they will be out of the house and you will wonder where the time has gone. lots of fish to catch later

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Best advice you will ever receive as I sit here thinking (missing)about my youngest (20 y/o) and what I’d give to relive those 13 years of hockey. Great time/place/environment to watch your kids grow into responsible adults. Best of luck with your decision.

I have all the time in the world to fish now….

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And one day you’ll be sitting on the ice fishing thinking to yourself, dang I miss watching the kids play hockey.

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I would rather have my time spent and memories made interacting with my kids around the camp fire, in the boat, deer blind, at the cabin, ect. VS. watching them play a sport. Of course there is a lot a of time interacting when you are driving them 4 hours to a tourney.

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Round 2 of hockey games today!! Actually only 1 game today, then figure skating for Kylee tonite!!!!

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This is a post from a Hockey Mom friend on Facebook. A prime example.

The kid needs to socialize with his peers too. I loved camping and hunting with my dad, but there needs to be a mix of both in my mind.

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The kid needs to socialize with his peers too. I loved camping and hunting with my dad, but there needs to be a mix of both in my mind.

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No question. I agree 100%. Unfortunately organized sports these days are out of hand. These kids are not able to be kids anymore. Between the homework and extra cirricular activities that are expected of them.