BY LEANNE BROWN Whether your team is celebrating a big win or just getting together while away at a tournament, the team dinner is an event that everyone loves. But not all team dinners are successful. Long waits for food, inadequate seating and lack of food diversity can turn a fun event into a nightmare. Planning the team meal is typically the responsibility of the manager or parents that have formed a team social committee. Sometimes its an impromptu post-game breakfast or its the tournament dinner at a restaurant or at the hotel. Here are some tips to make planning the team meal easy: The ..read more

When you sign your kid up for hockey, you are about to enter a world of fun, friendships and memories. If you’re a hockey fan you’ve probably already got your warm coat and footwear and are ready to hit the rink bleachers. If you’re new to the sport, you are about to become a hockey fan because your favorite player is now playing, which quintessentially makes you a hockey mom. Now as a hockey mom you need to understand that your life is about to change. Here is what to expect … Your social life and social circle will change Hockey life becomes your life. You will be turning down activities an ..read more

At the start of my daughter’s second year of hockey, she noticed the older rep team girls playing a style of hockey that was much faster than her houseleague counterpart. Within a month she had her heart set on being a part of that world. Tryouts for next season came and to our surprise she made a rep team. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. If your little player has graduated from the house leagues to rep and you’re finding yourself leaving work early, sitting in rush hour heading to a game across town wondering what you’ve signed yourself up for, here are some tips to help surviv ..read more

What kind of hockey mom are you? I’m a hockey mom. I really don’t like the label because of some of the ways hockey moms are portrayed in the media as comical characters. Some of those portrayals come from those “over the top” moms of real life, but most of us aren’t like that.  When my child started hockey I didn’t know what to expect. My early experience was one of 6 a.m. practices and nursing my Tim’s coffee while shivering in the stands. I didn’t really see the different mom types until the second season. I started out as the Momma Bear kind of mom. My daughter, at age 5, needed help ..read more

BY ALLYSON TUFTS Is it the moments as a hockey mom when you see your son score his first goal knowing he has been shooting pucks at your garage door for hours?  The look on his face when the team surrounds him to celebrate and you realize he’s created a bond to last a lifetime. You smile to yourself knowing that all the moments that you let him stay outside for that extra hour, under the flood light, has finally paid off. A moment that only you and your young player fully understands. As he cheers and smiles the purest smile because he’s accomplished something with the help of his teammat ..read more

BY LEANNE BROWN Two years ago, I was introduced to a new type of fundraising platform that netted the team over $1,200 with almost no effort. All I had to do was shop as I normally do and the team would get paid. In this day and age with technology at our fingertips, you no longer have to fund raise the same old ways. Forget about selling candy, raffle tickets, going door-to-door, or walking up to people cold to try to raise funds. There’s an app for that. With FlipGive, you can raise funds without the hassles of collecting money and the effort to get things started is minimal. What is FlipGi ..read more

A few years back, my daughter played on a rep hockey team for the first time. She quickly made new friends, learned a lot and steadily improved over the season. Was she the best on the team? Not by a long shot. But she had a great season, scored some goals and really enjoyed herself. However, I can’t say the same for every member of the team. There was one outstanding player who dominated the ice. Her skills were far beyond most of her teammates. The kid was amazing for her age. However one thing I was careful not to do was to compare my daughter’s skills to that of the team superstar. My daug ..read more

By LEANNE BROWN Nothing says summer in Canada summer like hockey. It’s a 30 degree day in July and I’m headed to a rink. Again. I pull into the arena parking lot and after dragging the gear out of the trunk, I pull on sweatpants and a hoodie over my summer shorts and tanktop. For the next 90 minutes I will be shivering ice-side while my daughter pursues her passion. Fortunately, it’s just a three-day camp. When I grew up, hockey season went from September to March. In the off-season, we played other sports like soccer or baseball. The  summer sport was only one or two nights a week and t ..read more