The following article originally appeared in Pickering Panthers Atom A News, April 2007.

I have been asked, "What do grandparents get out of hockey"? The answer is simple - we get a lot out of it. The other day while walking into the school to pick up my grandson, I came around the corner of the school and one voice interrupted a group of boys playing with a soccer ball, calling out, "Here comes a Hockey Grandpa", I immediately felt respect, a part of the group. That is one of the fulfilling experiences that happens from attending hockey activities.

That experience also fits well with the partnership role that grandparents as seniors play in all aspects of family and community life. This includes hockey, other sports, school, church and many other activities that bring all ages together in daily living. A 12 year old person described grandpar-ents as being "the reason we have the past, are having the present and will have the future". He said further, "The best historians in the world are grandparents. They haven't just read about historic events, they've lived through them so they have real opinions". This is a result of many years of living. He continued, "With all of those years of age comes wisdom".¹ Grandparents have dealt first hand with the experiences of success and of failure. They know that failing provides an opportunity for learning.

Grandparents are also supportive of the activities of parents with their family members. Parents have the responsibility of being the on?the?spot teachers of their children related to helping them fit into all that life offers them. Parents play the key role of helping their children learn skills for dealing with life. In this way skills are taught that aim at preparing children to deal with conditions they will face in the future in responsible ways. Parents generate skills that are critical and necessary for the survival of any society.

Hockey players and children as a whole play the role of being learners in our society. Hockey players are in the stage of life for learning not just about hockey but also about life in all areas of living today. Grand-parents have life's experience back of them, parents are the teachers about life and children are the students who will carry on in the future. Hockey players benefit from the roles played by both grandparents and parents. We all get the benefit of seeing the younger generation learning new skills for life.

It is such a joy hearing oneself being called a Hockey Grandparent and this is what those grandparents who are fortunate enough to be able to attend hockey games want to hear. We also know that we share these feelings with those grandparents who cannot attend. Keep learning, young hockey players, not just about hockey but about all aspects that life presents us in family and community living. Know that we are all cheering for you and celebrating your efforts to make life work.

¹Muncha, Ryan. "Youth Forum" In Viewpoint, Nov. 2006. p. 10.
Howard Watson, Toronto