WATCH ABOVE: In part one of our Heart of Hockey series, about the families behind the players, John Sexsmith introduces us to Shawna Wilson, hockey mom extraordinaire.
EDMONTON — Four kids in 14 different activities keep Edmonton mom Shawna Wilson on the run.
“Peewee hockey practice is in bright blue; novice hockey in bright green,” she says, pointing to the colour-coded, jam-packed agenda on her phone.
Between 12-year-old Malcolm, 11-year-old Celeste, seven-year-old Simone and six-year-old Daphne, there are piano, guitar and drum lessons, Girl Guides, school plays, sportball and of course, hockey.
“You have to keep on schedule, because once one thing falls apart then they all fall like dominoes,” says Wilson, who conducts the family chaos like a symphony.
Everyone in the family loves hockey – well, almost everyone: “I just don’t find it entertaining,” says Celeste, who always takes a book along to the arena.
Simone and Malcolm play for southeast Edmonton’s North SEERA Hockey, and Shawna manages both their teams. Malcolm’s, the Grizzlies, is gearing up to host the Peewee AA provincial championship, and naturally, Shawna is the head organizer.
“I like to be right in there with the team, knowing exactly what is going on,” she says.
“I like to organize those sorts of things. I’m good at it, and I enjoy it.”
Hockey is in Shawna’s blood. She grew up in Brantford, Ontario — home of Wayne Gretzky — where her parents owned several Tim Hortons, the unofficial restaurant for hockey moms and dads.
“Tim Horton himself trained my dad on how to bake doughnuts,” she says.
Her husband is director of operations for Booster Juice and travels a lot for work, so most of the driving falls to Shawna.
When schedules clash, the grandparents step in. Pat Wilson says they moved to Alberta from Ontario to help with the kids. “It’s no trouble to us; we love them!”
Watch for more in the Heart of Hockey series, Mondays on News Hour this spring, and at globalnews.ca.
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