Jabs Helping Coach Benilde-St. Margaret's Hockey Team

One season after suffering a tragic injury on the ice, Jack Jablonski is taking on a brand new role with the Benilde-St. Margaret's hockey team.

Acording to a recent post on Jack's CaringBridge page, Jabs is now working with the Red Knights as an assistant student coach, focusing primarily on power play strategy.

Leslie, Jack's mother, called his trip with the team to Duluth a "small milestone on his journey to return to life as it was."

"An accessible coach bus was booked (thanks Judy) to accommodate Jack and apparently the ride was a smooth one, so to speak," Leslie wrote. "Mike wasn’t far behind and one of our PCA’s (personal care attendant) was on hand to help with her usual daily duties. Packing for Jack’s overnight was certainly an interesting task…so many medical supplies to send along and equipment to rent and/or purchase. Yikes."

Here is the full CaringBridge post:

Yesterday Jack scored a small milestone in his journey to return to life as it was. Well, sort of. He actually spent the night away from home, and it wasn’t in a hospital. Yet another reason to smile.

Instead, he traveled with the Benilde-St. Margaret’s hockey team to Duluth. An accessible coach bus was booked (thanks Judy) to accommodate Jack and apparently the ride was a smooth one, so to speak. 

Mike wasn’t far behind and one of our PCA’s (personal care attendant) was on hand to help with her usual daily duties. Packing for Jack’s overnight was certainly an interesting task…so many medical supplies to send along and equipment to rent and/or purchase. Yikes.

You might be wondering why Jack went away with the team. We all know he can’t skate. He’ll be the first to tell you that, then he’ll flash that infamous smile and wink of an eye.

He proudly holds the newly created title of Student Assistant Coach for the BSM varsity hockey team (thanks Coach Pauly). Or is it Assistant Student Coach? Either way, we’re thrilled for him and we know he’s excited about his new role with the team. His focus is Power Play Strategy. Pretty cool, huh? We think so.

And a giant thanks to the captains’ moms for their help in making this trip possible for Jack. Two more road trips this season. Hopefully they’ll be a piece of cake now that we’ve got the first one under our belts.

And I can’t end this post without saying how odd it was to simply go to bed last night without the usual evening routine of putting Jack to bed first. Not an easy task, but one that has become part of our new norm. A night usually doesn’t end without a few giggles over mishaps, and yes, they’re my goof-ups. Usually. If you only knew what I’ve had to learn to do…but let’s not go there. 

Did I miss Jack last night? Yes, absolutely. Did I miss the evening routine? Not so much. Did I enjoy some much needed “me” time. Selfishly, yes, I did. But now I’m looking forward to Jack’s return later today.

Anxious to hear how things went. Whether or not he’ll share any details is yet to be determined, but I can hope he’ll fill me in, can’t I?

See, this is another step in the direction of life as it was. Back to the world of asking a teenage boy a bunch of questions and getting the one word response, “Mommmm.” No more words, just a frown on his face and a look of “Do you really think I’m going to share any info with you? If so, you’re nuts.” Then he flashes that smile once again.

Travel safe BSM. Hope your scrimmages went well and that the Power Plays were nothing short of stellar! Go Red Knights. 

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