My son stood at center ice with the opposing team’s goalie, posing for pictures with a big smile on his face.

The smile wasn’t because my son’s Rockford Hockey Club squirt team had won. It hadn’t. It just lost the championship game to Winnetka, 5-4, at the Brickyard Tournament in Indianapolis on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.

My son’s smile was the result of being named his team’s tournament MVP, an award given to him by the choosing of his coach. At the blue line near the far boards, I stood with a smile on my face and, maybe, a tear in my eye.