Lauren is a longtime Blue Jackets fan thanks to her father, and the two of them will watch games together on TV. Soon enough, Easton joined them, and it was love at first sight.
Easton was enthralled by every pass, every shot, every hit. When Lauren would go to a game without him, he’d complain: ‘That’s not fair!’ Easton even went along with his mom to see Fantilli at a meet and greet, but he's adamant his favorite current player is Kirill Marchenko.
“Now he's to the point where he sets up his own hockey nets when the Blue Jackets are playing, and he runs around our living room playing hockey with them,” Lauren said with a laugh.
When Easton’s interest in hockey began to grow beyond just watching the Blue Jackets on TV, Lauren researched all kinds of hockey programs, including on-ice sessions. The options close to their home in Lima were scarce.
Then, Skills & Drills appeared on her radar.
“We really don't have anything close to us really like this,” Lauren said. “We have smaller rinks that are probably 45 minutes to an hour away, but they don't have skills and drills stuff like this.”
Skills & Drills is a six-week program that provides close instruction to kids just learning hockey. Kids are provided with a Blue Jackets-branded street hockey stick, ball, gloves and a mesh pinnie, and are introduced to the fundamentals of hockey: stickhandling, passing, shooting and gameplay.
“The other program when they're on ice, it’s (for) when he's a little older,” Lauren said. “We talked about that one originally. That was the first thing we were looking into, but he's never really had experience in ice, so maybe (on ice) was not the best idea.”
Most of Easton’s teammates at Skills & Drills are a quick drive away. For Easton and Lauren, signing up for Skills & Drills would mean a two-hour car ride each week.
The two of them left a little early to account for Columbus rush hour traffic, and Easton would sit quietly in the back seat as they head southeast from Lima.
“I mean, no kid likes a long, two-hour car ride, right?” Lauren said. “But the second he gets there, he's jumping out. ‘Can we get out yet? Can we go play?’ Once we get here and he sees the rink, he's ready to come out here and play with everybody.”
The other fundamentals developed at Skills & Drills aren’t necessarily tangible skills. The program focuses on character development through teamwork and respect, and each instructor is there for a unified purpose: for the kids to have fun.
“They really work with the kids one-on-one. They're helping each other, they're encouraging each other to get better and do different things,” Lauren said. “They actually are more hands-on with the kids where a lot of different places aren’t really like that. … He's made friends. After day one, he was ready to come back.”
In addition to all the fun Easton had at each session, he’s building a foundation for his hockey journey. Soon enough, he’ll suit up in full gear, helmet and skates to boot. For now, though, Skills & Drills allows him to mimic his favorite Blue Jackets players before he even steps on the ice.
“That’s why we started with Skills & Drills, because he can learn the basics of hockey without also trying to learn how to skate as well,” Lauren said. “But he has already said, like, ‘I want to do that next. I want to learn how to skate.’”
According to Lauren, Easton has tried all kinds of sports, including those that are within a few minutes of their home in Lima. Hockey is the only thing that has stuck.
And getting into the car and driving two hours each way is a small price to pay for the smile that illuminates Easton’s face when he grabs a stick and ball.
“(The drive) doesn’t always fit in everyone's schedule, but it's worth it,” Lauren said. “I like bringing him to a program where he's actually learning, he's having fun, he's making friends, he's wanting to come back.
“That's the biggest thing. We have sports at home that are five minutes away, (but) he has more fun here, so I'll make the two-hour commute any day.”
