Atom Rep, U11, 2018-2019 (Elmvale Minor Hockey)

Last we talked, I had told you a tale of quite the battle of wills, but mostly heart.  How the boys had fought hard and managed to pull things together, to be able to defeat the Penetang Flames.  That meant we were off to face Oro and their very impressive bench. A team made up mostly of second year kids and we knew this game was going to get physical.

The last half of the Atom Reps season has been a disappointing one for sure, with the boys having minimum success on the score board.  It has been difficult as parents to watch our boys knowing the amount of talent they all possess.  However, the hockey gods are not always on your side.  You have to wonder why that is…what lesson will they learn from this?  I am a firm believer that hockey teaches kids so much more than “Just How to Play Hockey”.  Maybe the most important lesson is to learn what it means to be a team.  Maybe it is about learning that you don’t need to do everything yourself, ...

Development in hockey is everything.  Of course the love of the game is first, because let’s be real, if you don’t love hockey then why would you be playing it?  Every child on this team has shown just how valuable they are.  Whether it is a power winger, a determined center man, an agile defense man or the brick wall of the goaltender, each child brings something that is unmistakable to the Atom Rep Team.

Well…It’s been awhile since the first article and mostly that’s because life can be hectic.  Since we last touched base we have played multiple games, had an awesome team building night, a break for the beloved Elmvale Fall Fair and then some more games to build character.  But mostly the absence is because it’s easy to write a feel good, look at how awesome we are, we win everything type of article. It’s much harder to find the positive in what feels like a sea of negativity.  It’s difficult to be impartial and not to see what we did wrong.  We are parents and aren’t parents always the ...

Every year a coach has the task of picking what he, and a select few, believe to be the best kids to form the Atom Rep Team.  Kids that will dig deep and be proud to wear the Elmvale Coyote logo.  Kids who will not only grow as a team, but will forge friendships to last a lifetime. Coach Ryen Oakes, Assistant Coach Brian Anderson, Goalie Coach John Seney, Trainers Darryl Van Loosen and Dan Yardy believe that they have found just that. The team consists of 13 hard working boys, that are beginning to learn how to play with each other.