you can't play hockey, you have dancing

You Can’t Play Hockey, You Have Dancing

It’s showcase weekend! It’s finally upon us and last night was the first run through on stage at the venue. I was lucky to be a chaperone so I got to see how things are shaping up – pretty fantastically actually. One thing is for sure, those kids enjoy dancing.

Our four girls never seemed to be off the stage. Or, at least, it seemed at least one of them was in every number. They’re not but it won’t be far off. L is in 14 numbers throughout the show and the others a little less. All of them are involved somewhere on stage in some of the numbers.

Hard Work

There has been lots, no, huge amounts of hard work that has gone into this showcase. As a parent, I can’t believe how the principle dance teacher and her small team have put together this show. It’s been in planning since last June – and it shows! But also, the young people and children have worked phenomenally hard in preparing for this dance extravaganza. The extra rehearsals alone have seen some of the older kids there until gone 9pm on school nights – ours included. But like I always say, you can’t do anything well unless you enjoy it.

You Can’t Play Hockey

D is forever being picked to represent her school in sports events. So far this school year it’s been cross-country running, netball and dodgeball. Now it’s hockey. At nine years old she is one of those children that can turn their hand to most things and enjoys having a go. We want her to try everything she can so we always sign the consent forms and wish her luck. Last week we signed one such form for a hockey tournament.

hockey

But, we got the dates wrong. Yesterday we realised the tournament was today. Yes, the day before the first showcase performance! It hurt me to say it but I politely told her I didn’t think it was a good idea to take part. She agreed – thankfully and so did my wife.

It would be utterly tragic if she were injured playing hockey just the day before after all the hard work she has put in for this showcase. This isn’t about wrapping her up in cotton wool, I don’t think anyone can suggest we do that. But, this was about assessing risk and making a call for the greater good. There will be other hockey matches as she’s only 9 but showcase only comes every two years.

The Teacher Gets It

I actually had the afternoon off work yesterday so I went along to collect them from school. There’s always a teacher on duty at the gate and luckily yesterday it was the PE teacher. I mentioned D no playing hockey and she knew why before I had a chance to say. It seems plenty of other girls had come to school with the “sorry, we can’t play” message in relation to the showcase. Mrs A totally understood, in fact, she’s coming to see the showcase herself.

The bad weather may actually be a good fortune as it now looks certain that the tournament will be postponed. A win all around I would say.

The Right Call

In my mind, we made the correct decision – the right call. The fact D supported it tells me that too. If she continues on the dancing path, as she wants to, then she will face these decisions for years to come. Learning to prioritise what is important to you is a life skill that we have to learn.

dancer stretching

I am interested what other parents think about these kinds of situations? Have you faced anything similar? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.


 

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