Tonight....

Tonight marks my return to refing ice hockey.  I have not refed a game since March 2009 (following the broken nose fiasco on February 28, 2009). 

I'm excited and nervous.  It's been so long since I refed a hockey game- nearly 2 years!  What?! How did that happen- oh right- I was pregnant all of last season. 

I have 2 girls games this evening.  They are both U10 girls.  This level has a lot of variation in playing level and ability.  One game that I did two seasons ago- the girls were pretty much standing around waiting for the puck.  I'm not sure which is better- everyone standing around waiting for the puck or everyone on the ice in a rugby scrum-like mob. 

Both aren't great.

Reffing two girls games for my return to refing does remind me how I started refing in the first place.  In college, I was super early to practice- our time and place had changed to the youth rink in Moorhead and it was highly out of the ordinary.  Better to be early than not show at all.  In this case, I ended up assisting my coach with pre-practice prep and toting things between the rinks, her car, and the youth rink.  We were just finishing up when the U12 girls game that was set to take place between a Fargo and Moorhead team was delayed because neither of the refs had shown up.  I wasn't certified.  I was just a college goal tender with my coaches whistle (made to be worn attached to her glove) and red wind pants.  One of the coaches had to get her helmet for me and remove the face shield- as I only had my goalie helmet.  I was all over the ice in my red wind pants.  I just imagine what the coaches and spectators/parents were thinking.  What a spectacle! I would have failed  and probably been kicked out of my referee association had I refed like that post-certification. 

The point is, had I not been willing or able to take on that challenge of refing that ice hockey game (with no experience as a ref) those players would not have been able to play. How disappointing for them!

I love refing. It's a way for me to give back and continue to provide players with the opportunity to play.  There are some jerk coaches and parents out there.  It can be difficult to keep your wits about you when someone is going ballistic or being a crab apple.  It also shows the young female players what they can aspire to once they are all grown up and not playing on a team anymore (whether they realize that now- I will never know).

Being a ref also reminds me of how I started playing hockey "late" but was on my inagural high school team- how far they have come since our first team was formed 12 years ago.  How I will always be a pioneer in hockey- even if I'm not a Natalie Darowitz- will never see the olympics as a teammate - I could possibly see the olympics as a ref.  Choosing to be a ref is something I take seriously but also have fun with- because just like "Doug" on The Cutting Edge I love the smell of the ice.  It helps me set an example for my own kids in terms of physical fitness and helps me to stay focused on that fitness for my overall health and well being so that I can be the active and fun parent I want to be.

(Having watched Wall-E last night, I find myself more motivated not to become sloth-like.)