My 7-year-old's Ice Hockey Journey: From Falling Every 5 Seconds to Loving the Game
My 7-year-old came home from school one day last year and said,
"Mom, I want to learn how to play ice hockey."
This caught me completely by surprise because I had taken him ice skating about a year earlier, and he absolutely hated it.
But I loved the fact that he was actively asking to learn something new. With most other activities, it's usually the opposite. I'm the one asking if he's interested in trying something, and he'll give me a very definite yay or nay.
So when he came to me asking to learn ice hockey, I was all in.
That's how I started looking into local ice hockey programs.
Luckily, there was an ice rink fairly close to our home in El Segundo. After spending a few minutes on their website, I registered him for a beginner-level "Learn to Skate" class. I figured it'd be better to give him a proper introduction to ice skating before throwing him straight into hockey.
So he did an 8-week ice skating class that September and October.
He was... really bad at ice skating
When I took him to his first class and watched from outside the rink, I quickly realized that he needed a lot more training.
Like, a LOT more.
He was just... really bad.
Definitely not a natural at ice skating.
Knowing how athletic my boy was, it was actually a little disappointing to watch. I don't know what I was expecting, but I certainly didn't expect to see him wobbling and falling seemingly every 5 seconds.
He could barely stand up straight on the ice.
By the end of the class, I was fully prepared to hear him whine about how hard it was and tell me he didn't want to do it anymore.
Instead, he came out of the rink with a huge grin on his face.
"Did you see that, Mom? Did you see how far I went without falling?? I was the fastest!"
I didn't know what to think.
He had fallen approximately 47 times, and somehow he had decided he was the fastest kid on the rink.
But that was when I realized something.
He didn't care that he was bad at it.
He was having fun.
And just like that, his ice hockey journey began.
The Little Kings Program
Towards the end of his 8-week skating session, one of my mom friends told me about a program that sounded almost too good to be true.
Her son, who was the same age as my son, had enrolled in the Little Kings program through the LA Kings.
Little Kings is an introductory hockey program for young players, and the program we enrolled in cost us $313.50 total - $300 for registration plus a $13.50 transaction fee.
For that price, we received:
- 6 one-hour on-ice hockey and skating lessons
- 2 complementary LA Kings game tickets at Crypto.com Arena
- A USA Hockey registration number
- Discounts at select hockey gear stores and games
- And, best of all, a complete set of hockey gear
For a kid who had never played hockey before.
Needless to say, I was sold.
One thing I did find confusing when I was researching the program is that Toyota Sports Performance Center, where my son had taken his skating classes, also offers classes called "Little Kings Skating Skills."
They're not the same thing.
If you're specifically looking for the LA Kings Little Kings program that includes the hockey gear, make sure you're registering through the official LA Kings Little Kings program.
Another thing I learned: register early and order the gear as soon as you can.
The gear took quite a while to arrive, and some of the more popular sizes were already out of stock when I placed our order. The program usually takes place around April, but the schedule can change from year to year, so I'd check the current dates ahead of time.
The gear package includes pretty much everything your child needs to get started - helmet, protective equipment, skates, hockey stick, and more.
Once you receive the skates and stick, you'll also need to take the skates to a local shop to have them sharpened and the stick taped properly.
We're only about 15 minutes from Toyota Sports Performance Center, and they have a pro shop inside the center, so we took everything there a couple of weeks before the program started.
His first day of hockey
Fast forward to April this year.
My son finally got to hold his hockey stick for the first time.
He was excited beyond words, and seeing him that excited about something new made me excited too.
Then he got on the ice.
And we quickly realized that most of the other kids in the program were not exactly beginners.
There were kids literally flying around the rink.
It took only a few minutes for me to realize that my son was way behind everyone else in skating skills.
Even after his 8-week skating class, he could barely take 4-5 steps without falling. He was taking tiny baby steps while the other kids were zooming around the rink.
I watched him struggle.
I watched him get frustrated.
And honestly, it was hard to watch.
I felt terrible for him and spent the entire hour thinking about what I could say afterward to make him feel better.
Then the session ended.
Before I could say a word, he rushed out of the rink with the biggest smile on his face.
"Mom! Did you see that? Did you see me taking the puck from that other kid? I intercepted it and made a goal!"
They had done a very quick scrimmage toward the end of the session - maybe 5 minutes.
And yes, I saw him take the puck away from another kid (probably more by accident than anything else) and make a goal in what felt like slow motion.
I hadn't given it much thought.
I was still focused on the previous 55 minutes of struggle.
But for him, those 5 minutes was everything.
That tiny victory was enough to make him excited about hockey all over again.
And he came back the following week.
And the week after that.
And the week after that.
We decided to give him more ice time
On the drive home after that first hockey class, I casually asked him if he'd be interested in taking some private lessons to improve his skating and hockey skills.
I didn't push it.
His answer was an immediate and very enthusiastic yes.
He loved being on the ice.
He wanted to get better.
I think he wanted to experience more of those little victories.
So I started looking for a coach who could give him private lessons at the same rink.
Toyota Sports Performance Center has coaches listed on its website along with their profiles and contact information, which made it relatively easy to find someone who seemed like a good fit.
Finding a coach was one thing.
Finding one who was actually available was another.
I contacted 4 different coaches I thought would be a good fit. 3 were completely booked for the next few months, and the 4th had only very limited availability.
Eventually, I booked one for a 30-minute lesson once a week. All the coaches I contacted were offering 30-minute lessons at $50 per session.
I also enrolled my son in another skating class - this time one specifically focused on the skating skills needed for hockey.
That gave him 2 opportunities to get on the ice each week.
It wasn't a lot, especially compared with some of the kids who seemed to live at the rink, but with everything else going on in our lives, twice a week was what we could realistically manage.
And honestly, I was happy with that.
Where he is now
We're no longer doing private lessons, but he's now enrolled in the second level of the Little Kings skating skills class at Toyota Sports Performance Center. We also take him to public skating once a week to skate with him.
Oh, if you register for any of their 8-week "Learn to Skate" class, you're given 4 free passes to be on the ice during their daily public skating hours, along with 2 guest passes. You're also allowed to skate for free on the day of your lesson if you choose to stay and practice. Otherwise, adults need to pay $16.75 to be on the rink and another $9.50 for skate rental. For children under 12 it's $15.75. Their public skating hours and prices could change anytime, so make sure to check their website before you go here.
After completing the LA Kings Little Kings program, he's also received invitations to occasional hockey sessions and camps that bring together kids who completed the program.
He recently did another 4-week course called Little Kings and Lion Cubs Days of Summer, with 1.5-hour sessions each week, and he absolutely loved it.
What I particularly liked about the program was that they weren't only teaching hockey skills. They were also working on the skating skills that kids need in order to actually play hockey well - and they were doing it in a way that felt fun and encouraging rather than overly competitive.
And that's something I've come to appreciate about team sports in general.
They teach kids how to lose.
How to win victoriously is easy to teach.
But how to lose graciously?
That's a completely different lesson.
Kids don't really learn that from us telling them, "You need to be a good sport."
They learn it by experiencing the disappointment of losing, watching someone else win, trying again, and slowly realizing that losing one game doesn't mean they've failed.
I think that's one of the most valuable things sports can give our kids.
So, what's next?
My son is still very much at the beginning of his ice hockey journey.
We have no idea where this will lead, or how long this particular passion will last.
Maybe he'll eventually decide hockey isn't for him.
Maybe he'll stick with it for years.
Maybe he'll discover another sport he loves even more.
I honestly don't know.
But for now, whenever I see that proud little smile after he accomplishes something that was once difficult for him, I know I'm going to keep supporting him.
Because sometimes the best part of watching our kids grow isn't seeing them be naturally good at something.
It's watching them struggle, keep going, and slowly get better.
And maybe that's what this hockey journey will ultimately be about - not becoming the best player on the ice, but learning to fall, get back up, and keep skating.
If you're looking for a good sport activity for your kid, I've also written about our 7-year-old boy's journey on golf and soccer. I think my goal at this age is not to grow an all-star athlete, but to provide kids with enough exposure to different things so they can figure out what they're good at, what they really want to do, and what they absolutely don't want to get themselves into. 😂
