What a relief

by Rumour Miller on December 4, 2011

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There are many things that our family is enjoying about Piper’s decision to play ringette this year.  Piper is really developing as a player.  Her skating, passing and scoring is much improved.  Craig and I are involved as coaching and management staff.  We have a small team but such a great group of girls (and parents).  We participated as a group in a Christmas parade.  It’s been such a positive experience for our family.

There are things that we miss about hockey.  Some of the parents that we met last year, Piper’s friends, hockey, playing in our home town.  There certainly are things that we miss.  One thing, though, that I don’t miss was the drama with our team manager (and her husband) last year.  Nope.  I do not miss that one bit.  I didn’t blog about it because I live in a very small town and I have a few people in town who read my bog.  Well and, I didn’t want to be that person.  You know, the one that talks smack or gossips about things like this.

The reality is, that experience with her ruined our first year as hockey parents.  Thankfully, Piper was too young to even realize that anything was going on but our entire season was littered with drama from her.  I was reminded about it last night when I was thanked for my donation to the ringette tournament’s silent auction. I was thanked in an email and I was thanked in person.  I was told how thankful they were for my contribution.  That made me feel good.

Last year, I donated an iPod Touch to the tournament and was asked (not once, not twice… I can’t even remember how many times) if I would return the iPod Touch and give the manager cash instead.  Yep.  True story.  She called me a handful of times to tell me that they had a better raffle prize and asked me to return mine.  I told her “NO”.  Mine didn’t need to be a separate raffle prize.  Put it in the silent auction and let the kids buy tickets on it.

She refused to let our family get involved in the program by refusing to return our emails and queries.  I know it didn’t take long for emails to her to be littered with a tone but it didn’t take long for her to offend our family and make us feel like outcasts.  In fact, when I suggested tournaments for our team to enter, she (and her husband) stopped talking to our entire family, including our little player.  How is that for a team manager.  I am hesitant to call her that anyway.

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t thankful when Piper started asking to play ringette.  This same manager and her family went so far as to complain about us and have us told that we were not allowed to help out with the hockey program this year.  It’s a small town that I live in and I wouldn’t normally believe rumblings that I hear from others… but this rumbling has come from a few different sources, so I am certain it is true.  Not to mention this family avoids us like plague now when they see us.

Can’t say I really care… in fact, What a relief.

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{ 3 comments }

Michelle December 4, 2011 at 6:59 pm

You are all better off where you are. It’s unfortunate that you’re help wasn’t embraced because I know how passionate you and Craig are about the girls, their activities and the people that are connected to them. Thankfully, your world is about the 3 Divas and you can move on from the drama and find a new community to be involved in. At the end of the day, those things said without consideration, thought or compassion are simply a reflection of deep rooted insecurities that will come with their own demise.

One community’s loss is another community’s gain!

Craig Miller December 4, 2011 at 7:22 pm

Here, here! Great words from both of you. I feel as though Piper (and our family) has been embraced into the ringette community.

Margaret December 6, 2011 at 5:58 pm

Wow. I sometimes wonder how people keep their kids in sports when managers act like children and treat everyone with such disrespect. Glad you found a sports community to welcome your family! Go Piper!

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