Taking this weekend off!!!

Nathan is staying in NoCal this weekend to recharge his batteries. He missed 3 days of school for the Nike/Bauer. You forget at times how much he sacrifices to play in LA between his friends, school and just being a kid time. It is a struggle for everyone, especially Chris, to help keep him caught up on school. He is a good student, but there is just so many hours in a week.

Nike/Bauer Update

The LA Selects went 2-2 over the weekend. They beat Honeybaked 4-2, lost 7-0 to the St Louis Jr Blues (#1 team in the country), lost 8-3 to the Washington lil' Caps (very forgettable) and beat the Cleveland Jr Barons 5-4(#5 team in the country). Nathan had a great weekend in net. The team is starting to show real stretches of good hockey. I think by nationals, this is going to be a very good team. Nathan was asked to join a 96AAA team in Detroit, was invited to the West Coast Selects (http://www.selectshockey.com/) and invited to join Team Taz next summer out of Cleveland (http://www.teamtaz.com/). Exciting time in Nathan's world. He loves the team he is with and is very excited about their upside.

Checking in on Nathan

We had our first real issue with the travel. Nathan came home last Sunday truly exhausted mentally and physically. Sorta had a melt down. Chris and I were wondering at this point if we were doing the right thing. At the end of the day Nathan is a 12 year old who catches a plane every weekend to play hockey. Yes it is one of the top programs in the US, but what toll is it taking? This past weekend my parents took him to LA and I think that was a good break for him and I was able to check in with them. They were able to monitor his sleep and social time pretty well. They did say he is playing great and having a great time with his teammates. So, it is heading back in the right direction. That little episode has taught to really check-in with him more often. It is a lot of freedoms for a 12 year old.

Mane of the Game

This photo was submitted today to California Rubber Magazine for the Mane of the Game contest. Christina (Nathan"s mom) took the photo today because Nathan thought it was time for a haircut. Do ya think? Maybe a shave too!!!!

Nathan and Claude Lemieux

This was taken in Chicago where Team California came in second at the Chicago Mission Chi Town Shuffle 96AAA division. They lost 2-1 to the Wisconsin Jr. Badgers. Great game and most of that team makes up the 2008-2009 LA Selects PWAAA team. They all played under the Lemieux Academy banner for the tournament.