Why You Should Teach Your Kids Hockey Pool Instead Of Chess

I was 4 years old when I first played chess. Mind you, I was just playing with the pieces, dancing them around the chessboard, and not playing against someone. I liked the look and feel of the chess pieces in my hand, and I liked the fact that there was a mom piece (queen), a dad piece (king), and all those cute little children pieces (pawns). My dad introduced me to the rules when I was about 6, and I remember my disappointment in learning that there were rules. But I caught on, and began playing real games against my dad and siblings. I learned about strategy, seeing the whole picture, and about the art of winning. In high school I joined a chess club and was a formidable opponent against the boys. In the chess club, we had timer boxes, which brought in the element of time pressure. I liked chess and I was good at it.

Now, as mother to seven year old Luke, I've recently decided not to teach him chess. I had once planned to, and even purchased a chess board, but the box remains unopened in the back of a closet, because of what I`ve realized. Many people think chess is a great, intellectual game that trains strategic thinking, which may be true. Perhaps years of playing chess developed my skills as a strategic thinker and problem solver as well as my ability to focus on a goal and meet deadlines. Perhaps also, years of playing chess developed some undesirable qualities in me such as weak interpersonal skills, strong belief system of right vs wrong, and need for control. In chess, there is only win, loss or draw - outcomes as black and white as the chess pieces themselves. The objective in chess is to use strategic moves to defeat an opponent. Unless you were an army general or pro tennis player, this is not a desirable, transferable skill in most real-life work or personal situations.

Much better than chess is NHL Playoffs hockey pooling. As hockey poolers know, there is strategy involved and analysis of data to make informed choices. More importantly, there is an aspect of chance (chance of player injury and team elimination) that is a factor. Unlike hockey pooling - and most real life situations - chess is a very controlled environment. With hockey pooling, in addition to learning about strategic thinking, there are the benefits of camaraderie and social exchanges. Yes, there are also undesirable aspects about hockey pooling, such as how hockey pools can become all-consuming and more important than anything else. It also amazes me when grown men call their players idiots when they fail to make any points for them. But last night, as I watched Luke consult and advise his six year old friend which player to add to his hockey list, I thought there was a valuable skill being developed here. From this hockey pool, the kids are learning about strategy; how to look at players` and teams` past performance and figure out which players to select. They will learn whether loyalty, i.e. choices made with the heart, will pay off. They will also learn about the factor of chance, and how they can only make the best choices and accept the outcome in an environment that is largely out of their control. With parental guidance, they will also learn how to handle losing and winning. But this is a valuable lesson, learned in any game whether in a sport, hockey pooling or chess. (FYI, the friendly hockey pool is between two families, with kids winning a pack of hockey cards, and parents vying for the traditional financial reward.)

So, with these thoughts, I`ve decided that it`s okay to teach my 7 year old about hockey pooling, and to wait a bit longer before I teach him chess.

MO