During the last youth game Sunday Gwenn presented Serena Kielley with her nickname, after weeks of waiting to find out what she would be called. Gwenn says, “Serena was goal tending and I saw her take her first puck out as a goalie. She took a deep breath and popped it up high into the air. It was one of the best puck outs I’ve ever seen. So now, she’s ‘Pop-Up!’”
With all the kids running around with nicknames of their own, we wondered if the coaches have aliases as well.
“Yeah, this is the first U11 season all of the coaches have their own nicknames,” says Gwenn. “Former coach Rachel Rhode was the first to be given a nickname by the kids themselves. It was around the time the movie “Bring It On” came out and she was trying to teach the kids how to hand pass and one of the kids started calling her “Spirit Fingers” because she was waving her hands around.” When Gwenn asked the players what her own nickname should be, the response was “Coach Darkness!” Intrigued, she asked why, and they players replied, “You always wear black, you have a black car, and your license plate says, Vampyre – You’re Coach Darkness!”
Though Gwenn doesn’t remember exactly when the nicknames got started, she says this is the first year that kids from her past U11 seasons have moved into the adult league. Last Sunday she marked “Just Ted,” and she could be heard calling encouragement to her teammate “Smiley” throughout the match.
This is a great tradition, a great right of passage, and we are certain all the U11s will hang on to the memory of their naming day well into their adult league years.
Want a full rundown on the names this season? For the Comfort Keepers Ravens we’ve got Dare Devil, Bones, Frogger, Talker, Bobblehead, Montana, Joker, Skywalker, Wolverine, Pop Up, Squeaky, Leopard, Angel, Toothless, Red, and Toes. And for the Swick Tech Terrors there’s Creeper, Prez, Milk Shake, Bruiser, Pickles, Guitar, Pele, Hobbes, 7, Happy Feet, Bodran, and Straight Shot. Hang in there, Raleigh, it’s just a matter of time and fate before you’ll have a nickname of your own.
Thanks, Coach “Lazy” Carl, Coach “Small Feet” Monica, Coach “Flea” Chris, and Coach “Darkness” Gwenn!
photo credit: Kerry Leonard