The Nachwuchs* are coming! The Nachwuchs are coming!

Alex comes from hockey people. His American grandfather - my father - was a hockey fan and a coach my entire life. His American grandmother - my mother - was variously secretary and treasurer of the local hockey association and an all-around hockey mom extraordinaire back before anybody cared about hockey moms. His American uncle - my brother - played hockey from the age of I'm guessing five until eighteen and then after that on and off in an adult league; he refereed and coached as well. His American mother - that's me - played hockey for a season and have been a life-long fan of the game; I also worked as a time-keeper and score-keeper. Alex's Swiss grandfather - Reto's dad - has been an SCB season ticket holder for over forty years.

The SCB runs a hockey program for kids - SCB Future - and for children under six they run a hockey school. In which Alex, the scion of these two great hockey dynasties, is enrolled. And hockey gear for three-and-a-half year olds? Way cute. Hard to get them into, but way cute. (And since when did Reebok start making hockey gear?)

If you look at the tights in the shot below you can see the SCB logo on the knees.

The jersey, she is a little big, no?



We'll just tuck it in.


Ready to go.


Bonus action shot!


The first day of hockey school went okay. He's only skated with me before; last winter he started learning how to skate by holding my hands as I skated backwards in front of him. Suddenly he's in hockey school with seven other kids sharing two teachers


(that's Alex in the yellow looking at the camera and not paying attention) and learning to skate by holding on to a "Töff"** - a support bar, I guess. He did okay, I guess, and said he had fun, he guesses, and wants to go back next Saturday. So we'll see. I hope he keeps going, because I think he'll enjoy it - once he skates well enough to skate and use the stick at the same time I think he'll have a blast - and because holy cats! is he cute on the ice.


Now the only question is, NHL in the US or NLA in Switzerland?

* Variously translated as offspring, next generation, trainees, new recruits, next generation. One of those great German words that doesn't have a good one word English counterpart.

** Literally a motorcycle.