Dec's Jamboree

Just so we are clear, this is the exact same jamboree as the one Quinn played in last weekend. In order to make things more complicated give everyone their own spotlight, I'm writing about each V separately. You are welcome. If I didn't, it may have been the longest blog post ever. 

So ... Declan "Red Lights" Vanneste is no longer allergic to the puck! Little Dude was in it to win it - as much as you can win it when you don't actually keep score. He played really hard the entire first game and scored a beautiful goal. It is noteworthy that he played hard the whole game because at six, he tends to lose interest in things around the third period (which is a significant improvement from skating in the opposite direction of the puck most of the time during his rookie season). 

Declan got his "skate through the tunnel" introduction before Game 2. The girls came back with me because they didn't want to miss his big entrance. The team dad who acted as the announcer did such a great job and gave each of the boys a nickname. Dec got the nickname "Red Lights." Mike had to explain to him that Red Lights means the goal light. Just like his sister "Stonewall," he finds this nickname acceptable. We had been encouraging him to do a fancy entrance, which ended up being a baseball slide into the line. Coach Mike laughed and called him "safe."

Dec played his buddy Andrew's team for Game 2. Again, he played hard and had a good time. He even scored another goal. Andrew, who is super competitive, asked his coach to play him on a line that didn't go against D's line. Declan, who is not at all super competitive, was bummed that he was never matched up with Andrew's line. Those two boys crack me up!

Dec was really excited on Sunday morning to come cheer Quinn on in her final game. He had big plans to hang out in the lobby with Fiona - but found Q's game to be really exciting and ended up sitting with me most of the time. I happily accepted his company. He was really into the game. It is so good for him to watch the next level of Mites, as that's what he'll play next year. D can't wait for full ice games and actual positions. 

D's Game 3 (otherwise known as Game 6 of the weekend) was right after lunch on Sunday. I could tell he was getting tired, but he put in good effort. He even had a nice breakaway goal (and then tried to replicate that successful move for the rest of the game). By the third period, I could tell he was losing steam, but he hung in there and played hard. The best part - he had fun the whole time.

Coach Mike got tricked into announcing the medals for three of the four teams (the fourth team had another game) - so D's name was pronounced correctly (sometimes you have to stack the deck). Dec told me that he is both glad for a break from hockey because he is SO ready for baseball and sad that it is over. He has skating clinic this summer and is looking forward to Intermediate Mites next year. Despite masks, weird schedules, and a long pause in the middle, it was a great third season for the dude.

How It Started (during Game 2) ...

How It Ended ...