Great Exercises for Hockey Moms

Summer begins on June 21 but many Canadians consider summer to be officially in session the day after the Stanley Cup is finally hoisted by its victors (and some years, this does happen to coincide with the actual start of summer!). Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins for their Stanley Cup win and for ushering in summer a few days early for us all.

I know many hockey moms consider summer to officially start when their own kids are done with hockey playoffs. For me, that was back in March, so that’s a bit of a stretch, but no matter the date on the calendar, there is a unmistakable changing of the seasons when the hockey gear is finally packed away and the summer sporting gear takes its place.

Hockey moms need to be careful, though. You do not want to get out of ‘hockey mom shape’ while in the off-season. The hockey moms that are in the arena year-round (and I know there are far too many of you these days, but that’s another story) don’t need to worry about this, but for those of you who take a break from hockey in the summer months, here’s some advice so you don’t slack off those great habits you honed the eight months that is a Canadian winter and your child’s hockey season.

• Make sure you order pizza at least once a week. DO NOT ALLOW the pizza delivery guy to forget who you are!

• Do not erase the any recent history of iconic Canadian coffee shops from your GPS. I won’t even mention making sure your coffee mug stays with you at all times because we know that’s a year-round activity.

• Throw a small window pane in your deep freezer and practice scraping the ice off with a credit card or Super8 room key. That’s another talent you do not want to let slide.

• Make sure you set your alarm for 5:00AM at least once or twice over the summer, just for fun. No need to get caught up on sleep through the summer.

• And as the weekend approaches, make sure you chill your wine on ice in a plastic grocery bag instead of in your refrigerator. You want to remember how to go old-school-tournament-style once in awhile.

• Don’t let your hockey taping talent suffer either. Make sure you tape a rake handle or two just to hone those butt end taping skills.

• Last but not least, make sure to take a deep sniff of your husband’s golf shoes after he’s played eighteen holes every Sunday. You know you miss that aroma and you do not want your olfactory senses dulled in any way.

There are some hockey mom practices that you can probably safely put in storage for the season. In your summer travels, you probably don’t need to ask the front desk clerk about signing that noise waiver. And it’s probably better to ask your son to “please pass the salt and pepper” instead of “Shoot!” in a crowded restaurant. I also don’t think it’s a good idea to encourage your child to elbow their way to the finish line of the family potato sack race, either, but then again, I don’t know your family.

So as you see, there are some hockey mom workouts that need to be maintained through the summer and some you can live without. Whatever your summer hockey plans may be, make sure you keep that hockey tape in your purse where it belongs!

Three cheers for summer – may you find the hockey mom exercises right for you!