The hockey season started last week. Not the NHL season — although that started last week too — but Frank’s youth league season. It’s his second year playing hockey, so while things are still new to us, we’re not goggle-eyed babes in the woods anymore. Frank has gone from a kid who had a hard time skating backwards to a decent enough skater to play center in his first game this year. The team has some disadvantages going into the season; 13 players on its roster means a short bench to start with, and two players have not been able to practice because of injuries that pre-date the hockey season. With 11 players dressed for the game, the team had two defensive lines and two offensive lines and one goalie, and no one to spare. If and when someone misses a game, it’ll get even harder. In their first game, they went into the third period tied at 2, but lost 5-2 to a team with 18 players. It might not have been the only factor, but fatigue had something to do with it, as Frank and his teammates could no longer catch up to the other team on breakaways. Most of them seemed to be OK after the game. Frank was happy that he scored a goal, even though he said it was just a lucky bounce off the goalie. So far, it’s shaping up to be a positive season. The team played together pretty well, showing good cooperation for their first game. They play in a house league whose rules require that all players play roughly the same amount, and at their level, there is not supposed to be any checking — which doesn’t mean they can’t jostle for position or run into their competitors as they go for a loose puck. It’s still a physical sport. But the lessons that come from it go beyond the need to bend your knees when you skate or to keep your stick on the ice so you’re ready to get the puck; they include learning to work within a team, to learn from your mistakes, to lose with dignity and to win with respect for the other team. Those are lessons everyone should learn, whether in the context of sports or life. With any luck, Frank’s team will learn about winning soon. Last year his team endured a long losing streak before coming on at the end and making it to the playoff semi-finals, and it was hard to go out week after week and try hard and have nothing to show for it. In the end, it paid off for them. Here’s to a good season this year.