Grandchildren help open up a wide world of sports

Apparently, sometimes you can teach an old dog a new trick or two.

Hockey was a foreign sport to me in my youth and, honestly, into adulthood. I learned a bit when the RoughRiders came to town and have been to — and even covered — a few games at “The Barn.”

My knowledge remains limited, but I now know what “icing” is and what constitutes offsides. That’s a good first step, right?

Isn’t funny how our sporting world changes over time?

It begins with what we enjoy as youths, what we see on TV or, if we’re lucky, live. It begins with what our parents like and encourage us to pursue.

It, more than likely, really begins when we deem ourselves good at whatever activity we’re trying. My baseball skills, for instance, were lacking during my playing days at Van Vechten Park in southeast Cedar Rapids, so baseball was dumped from my list.

Football, basketball and track is where I found my first passion, but later focused on running, in cross country and on the track. I even dabbled in swimming for a short time.

Years later — as parents — we follow our children’s lead, maybe with a slight nudge here or there. Football, baseball, soccer, basketball, track/cross country and wrestling filled my nights and weekends.

That era eventually gave way to grandparents and following our children’s children around. That’s where we are today and has led us to dance, football, basketball, volleyball, softball, cheerleading, girls’ wrestling and, of course, hockey.

My wife, Lisa, and I have a wrestler (Halle), two softball players (Halle and Stella) and three dancers (Kenley, Isla and Stella), among those aforementioned other activities.

And, it seems, we’re not alone in his endeavor. Halle and I enjoyed the Mississippi Valley Conference girls’ wrestling semifinals Saturday afternoon at Liberty High School in North Liberty. On our way out the door, we ran into Dan Gable, the legendary former Iowa State wrestler and Iowa coach.

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Gable and his wife, Kathy, were at Liberty watching two of their granddaughters — missing the Ohio State-Iowa dual, although he was watching it on a tablet when we interrupted him. Meeting Dan Gable was on Halle’s “bucket list.” Probably the only thing.

But this also is where my hockey tale began — watching our oldest grandson, Kaiser, learn to skate, learn to hold a stick and skate and, eventually, fly around on a sheet of ice with ease while moving a puck from side to side.

That led me to Chicago last weekend with Kaiser and our oldest son, Jack — for four games in the Windy City Classic, a tournament that utilized too many different sheets of ice to count. Some were even outdoors. Yes, on a 9-degree afternoon with no working heat lamps in sight, we watched Kaiser and his Waterloo Blackhawks teammates play three 15-minute periods with a setting sun as a backdrop.

The weekend also included two trips to the United Center, first to see the Chicago Bulls lose to the Charlotte Hornets (with the Ball brothers facing off) and then to see my first NHL game — the Chicago Blackhawks taking down the Vegas Golden Knights.

I was mesmerized with the skill of the players, the constant movement, the speed and, most of all, the precision passing. And there was a fight, too.

I will never know all the ins and outs of hockey — some new tricks for this old dog get lost in translation — but this sport that was first contested in the Olympics in 1908 and has origins dating back some 4,000 years has a new fan.

From a pure spectator point of view, football still rules. Wrestling remains a favorite, too. And the old fast-pitch softball game that was so popular in these parts many years ago is ingrained in my soul forever.

Hockey hasn’t climbed near the top of my list — yet. Now if Kaiser takes his game to the next level, my interest will soar. But that dream remains in the distant future.

Same goes with the other “grands” and their passions. We will be along for the ride regardless and maybe even pick up a few new “tricks” along the way.

Such is life these days. Tennis, anyone?

Comments: (319) 398-5861; jr.ogden@thegazette.com