my nephew: the fierce hockey player

This morning I had to wake up at 6am because I had to drive from Hayward to Newark, then to San Jose. My nephew Nikko (Theo Tydingco to most) and his hockey team, the Santa Clara Blackhawks were playing in the state championship. Knowing that I run on Filipino time, my sister told me the game started at 7:30am instead of 8am. I wasn't pleased when I arrived at her house and everyone was still getting ready. UGH!



The team huddle at the beginning of the game.

For those of you who don't know much about my nephew, he's only 13 years old. I've written about him here and here.

Anyway... I'm proud to say that Nikko won his THIRD straight STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! YEA! WOO! HOO! I have to say that I've never seen this team work so hard. They were in the game 100% and never took their lead for granted. The final score was 5-1.



The team celebrates their fifth goal of the game with only .4 seconds left.



The new state champions celebrate!

Toward the end of the second period, Nikko was chosen to do the penalty shot. After waiting for what seemed like hours, the whistle blew and he raced down the ice toward the opposing team's goalie. All I remembered was seeing Nikko speed down the ice, pass the goalie and then BAM! The puck landed inside the net. The crowd went wild! Rumor has it that Norbert, my brother-in-law fell off the bench because he was cheering so much. I was ecstatic and turned around to see my mother's reaction. I swear, the look on her face was priceless! She was banging on our good-luck noisemakers, screaming at the top of her lungs! I pointed to her and yelled, "That's your apo!" and she pointed back at me. It was so cute! I went up to my sister and bragged, "Did you see that goal? Yeah. That was my nephew!" She couldn't help but crack up! While I can't exactly describe the shot, all I can say is that it was a totally sweet goal.



Nikko on his way to completing the penalty shot.

Nikko has been getting a lot of hockey attention lately. It looks like he just might be going to Prague to play in an international tournament. Norbert decided to sell his motorcycle to pay for the trip. Times like these I wish I earned more money to contribute to Nikko's hockey fund. Nikko's relationship to this sport is truly a family affair.

During the victory lunch, Norbert mentioned the possibility of Nikko moving away to advance and develop his skills by playing for higher level teams. I can't believe we're at this point. He's only 13 for crying out loud! Norbert reminded us that Nikko is only five years away from college and this is about the time recruiters start looking and tracking players and their progress. I still can't believe we're at this point. I'm happy and proud of Nikko. It seems like yesterday he was just learning to skate and he would prance around the house with his t-shirt, underwear and skates (and nothing else) reciting "Heel, toe. Heel, toe." I look forward to seeing him succeed in whatever path he chooses. Again, I just can't believe we're at this point.

Anyway... here are some photos I took during the game. Unfortunately, it's been a while since I've done sports photos and unless we're outdoors, my camera just isn't fast enough to take good action pix. Also, I'm out of practice when it comes to sports photography (so sad - it used to be my passion at one point). I hope you enjoy them anyway:)



The new state champs head to Las Vegas for regionals on Wednesday.



Tina, Nikko, and Norbert at Dave & Busters for the victory celebration. (Note: Nikko is holding Tina's handy-dandy digital camera, where she recorded a short movie of Nikko's penalty shot. He watched himself score that goal at least ten times!