What Kind of Hockey Parent are You?

Over the past twenty years I have traveled through hockey arenas and met a number of different people and been a part of a number of different parent groups and coaching staffs. I have noticed that faces change, but the behaviours seem to remain the same. The actual stories are all unique, but the characteristics behind the actors are eerily similar. The Pride/Protection spectrum seems to be the source of a lot of these characteristics. Obviously, if your child is being mistreated then any normal and attentive parent will help protect their child and make sure that the mistreatment stops. However, as you slide along the spectrum to where true and noble protection stops, you will begin to enter the realm of parental pride. Many of us will even justify our actions as protection, but really it is our pride kicking in. The ego is a powerful motivator and it is one of the biggest driving forces behind the different archetypes that I have discovered. These are Angels, Snakes, Skunks, Agents and Grumblers. Many of us will remain constant in our archetypes, whereas others of us will change through different behaviours. As you read through these archetypes, you may recognize traits you or others share in common with one, two or all of the groups. It is possible that you or people you know are a purebred archetype or possibly a hybrid of two or more archetypes.

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