Go Rockets!: Life Lessons from Minor Hockey

By Stephen Moore

Minor sports and organized activities are an important part of growing up and learning life lessons—and it was no different for Stephen Moore as a youngster in Prince Edward Island.

Although his early exploits in minor hockey were not the success he dreamed of he got a second chance to truly enjoy the adventure—as a parent living vicariously through his children.

From the beginning of his youngest son’s training to skating evaluations and multiple minor hockey seasons, Moore shares hilarious observations translated into life lessons that can be applied to many different situations.

Although set in the context of minor hockey, this story explores how to help your child build life skills by being engaged in any organized sport or activity.
Relive your own memories or prepare yourself to give children the tools to learn, fail, and succeed—and laugh out loud at the outrageous adventures of players, team staff, and parents progressing through years of minor hockey with Go Rockets!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Aug 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483451121

Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore has been a published author since the mid 1990’s, having already written several acclaimed, and well received fantasy books for older children and young adults. His first fantasy novel for grown-ups, Graynelore, published in 2015.

Book preview

GO

ROCKETS!

Life Lessons from Minor Hockey

STEPHEN MOORE

Copyright © 2016 Stephen Moore.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5113-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5112-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906757

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 05/25/2016

Table of Contents

Prologue

The Test Run

Evaluations

Enter the Rockets

Season 2 Starts

You Know That Was Wrong … Right?

The Politics of Cupcakes

Evolution and Minor Hockey

The Science of Screaming

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

Ode To the Team Staff

Ode To the Ref (Yes, the Ref)

Our Players

End of Season 1

Epilogue

About the Author

This book is

dedicated to the following incredible people:

My parents, who despite my relatively short-lived and unproductive career in minor hockey, encouraged me every step of the way;

The original coach, staff, parents and kids of the Rockets. You created a legend that lives on in our hearts and minds;

My wife—the best minor hockey manager on the planet;

My two boys—each chose different paths and activities—both are champions in my eyes.

Prologue

As with many kids growing up in Canada, it was naturally assumed that the minute I was of age I would start playing hockey. Once the big day came, I eagerly anticipated the game as my dad laced up my skates. I was anxious to step on the ice and skate effortlessly back and forth, evading checks and scoring goals at will, just like the National Hockey League (NHL) players I watched on television. I