6 Friday, September 25, 2020 brooklintowncrier.com Our Brooklin Kids By Leanne Brown Hockey's "new normal" Hockey is returning but it's different this year. Kids are excited to get back to the game they love. Some, like my daughter, never really left, finding 3 vs 3 leagues and small group training. Still, it hasn't been hockey in the traditional sense. In this new world, health and safety are the priorities. Kids need signed waivers and masks to enter rinks and are using tailgates as change rooms, which means watching out for cars while shimmying into gear. As days shorten, we'll be doing this in the dark, another concern. So my daughter arrives in base layers while skates, helmet and gloves are donned inside. Gone - for now anyway - are the days of girl talk in the change room or arriving early to warm up. Inside, spaced apart for social distancing, the girls holler to each other through their masks. No team high fives of group hugs. She misses genuine socializing as they all find it hard to maintain distance once they get to see friends they've missed. Alone in a rink As a parent, I worry. Has anyone here been exposed to the virus? Any kid using a tissue becomes suspect even if it's just to spit out gum. If allowed in to watch, you sit in the stands alone wearing a mask. No more chatting with other parents. If you can't watch, you wonder how your child is doing. Are they having fun? Are they safe? Are they developing? With no formal tryouts, competitive team players are placed on teams based largely on where they played pre-COVID19. Coaches may not have seen your child play much so they need to go by unreliable stats and often pick players they know. How do they know they haven't overlooked a great kid? As well, on-ice training will have fewer staff so it will be harder to keep kids' attention or give individual feedback. The entire setup means it's mostly a development year. But will kids get bored of practicing without playing games? Small space games Traditional games may not happen right away. Thus small space games, like 3 vs 3, will be the norm for a while. With no offside and lots of room to carry the puck, kids get more puck touches. My daughter loves these as they give her the opportunity to practice skills and be creative. If you aren't in shape, 3 vs 3 will get you there! No tournaments. This disappoints my daughter and me the most because they build teams and friendships. Staying in a hotel with 16 of your friends is a blast. They're also fun for parents who get to cheer on their kids, eat meals at separate "grownups" tables and have a weekend away from it all. However, I do worry that hockey will start and then get shut down again due to a second wave, a concern for organizations that are adhering to ever-changing health guidelines and protocols. Hockey is part of our culture and a huge part of the Whitby community. More importantly, the kids need to feel a sense of normalcy. Besides, I'm actually looking forward to spending weekends at the rink nor will I never again complain about bad arena coffee or freezing my butt off. Even the thought of driving to a game in Peterborough in a snowstorm no longer fills me with dread. It may not be hockey as we knew it, but it's great to be back. page 2 - even out columns 3 and 4 of my column page 4 - how to fill that hole??? page 7 - use photo of Sheree in mask - puzzle answers - need border lines all the way around