Night two of hockey "evaluations" is over. Matt got his slip of paper at the end of the night, letting him know whether he had a chance of making the "A" team or whether he's to go back tomorrow night and try for the "B" team. This is the first time he's ever had to deal with this kind of rejection, so I've been pumping him up all week with "as long as you try your best, that's all that matters" and "you're doing awesome... way to go!". He's not making the A team. He got the dreaded "please don't come back tomorrow, you're not good enough" slip of paper. Does he care? No. Not really. He just wants to play with the friends he made on last year's hockey team. We'll see if that works out. As any of you who know how minor hockey works, kids don't always make the team because of merit. Politics and such b.s. actually play a role in seven-year-old extra-curricular sports. As I said, Matthew is not at all concerned which team he's on. Mind you, he still hasn't figured out what team his friends are on. That might be a different story. His father, on the other hand, is crushed. He feels that his son should have at least been given a chance to prove himself tonight. We all see out children as stars, brilliant scholars and Nobel Peace Prize winners, and boy.. it really hurts when others don't see the same potential! I'm proud of him, regardless... he skated his little arse off, and clearly put forth his best effort. In his seven-year-old innocence, he has no idea that he's been "rejected", but I know better. Memories of being the last-picked for teams in gym class come flooding back, and I wish, oh how I wish I could shelter him from that terrible feeling. I guess it's a part of growing up, though. You're always on my "A" team Matt. No matter what.