Adult Hockey Clinic

Dave, Brian and I spent the last three days attending an adult skills seminar with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Well, Dave and I watched while Brian participated. There were several guys in attendance from the Penguins organization, but the two most seen before the camera are Mike Yeo and Phil Borque. Phil Borque played for the Penguins during their run for the cup in the 1990's. He's a really nice guy who reaches his students quite well.

Mike Yeo is an assistant coach with the current team. He is extremely knowledgeable about stick handling and skating. He taught a great deal to Brian. We attended the same seminar last year, but unfortunately coach Yeo taught from the bench and couldn't be on the ice due to an injury. This year we got to see him in full glory - wow can this guy skate!

The seminar was held at the Penguins practice facility in Washington County, about an hour's drive from home and about a 30 minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh. The facility is beautiful. There is a restaurant above the ice with huge glass windows to view the on-ice activities. Dave and I had dinner while watching Brian take part in the seminar.

The first night of the seminar, Dave and I were seated in the observation area of the restaurant pretty much at center ice. Shortly after we sat down, two women with three children were seated two tables away. The ladies were chit-chatting away while their three children turned the restaurant on its ear.

The kids looked to be about 8, 6 and 4 - all certainly old enough in my mind to have some basic table manners. The youngest, a boy, yelled when he spoke. He was obviously looking to be the center of attention and when he didn't get his way, he turned the volume up even higher. The middle child, a girl, tossed her straw paper at the oldest and they then proceeded to slap each other across the table.

In all fairness, I don't know if the three kids were siblings and if so, which of the women was their mother. But, neither said a word to correct the behavior. It was very distracting to the rest of the diners.

After the children were finished eating, the youngest got up from his chair and ran up and down the aisle between the tables. At one point, he stretched his arms out to block the way for the waiter to pass. I looked at the women - again, not a word.

Dave and I began to talk about the years when our own children were young. We often had sibling issues at the table - Nikki would blow her straw paper at Brian or Brian would chew with his mouth open to make Nikki crazy. They were always given one warning with a stern look; stop it now or be removed from this restaurant. Nikki usually yielded the warning, but Brian would push just a little further!

And Brian was frequently removed from the restaurant by his dad or I.

The conclusion we came to is that the women were more interested in having dinner and chatting to each other than to see the situation for what it was. Not only were the children rude and distracting to the rest of us in the restaurant, but it became a hazard when the youngest was blocking the way for the waiter. If that same waiter had spilled something on the boy, he could have been seriously injured.

And let's face it - the restaurant could have been liable. In today's litigious society, they could have been sued.

Where is the common sense with these parents? What was so important that they ignore the rude behavior and grant the kids free reign in a restaurant? Where is the consideration for others?

I am beginning to wonder if we as a society have all but abandoned common sense...