Hockey Moms – Realities From the Rink

What kind of hockey mom are you?

I recently had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Julie Bertuzzi, author of Hockey Moms – Realities From the Rink. Bertuzzi is a very busy mom/wife, so for her to take 30 minutes out of her day to talk to me about her book was an honor.

The book is a first for Bertuzzi, whose husband Todd racked up 770 points (314 goals, 456 assists) in 1,159 games with six teams in an 18-season NHL career, and she said it won’t be her last.

Prior to speaking with Julie, I had a chance to preview the book and let me tell you Hockey Moms – Realities From the Rink will have you laughing until it hurts.  It is a witty, fast, fun and easy book to read.  She definitely scored with this book!

It’s a book to keep in your purse when you are traveling to your kids’ games and/or tournaments.  Once you arrive at the rink, take that book out and see what kind of hockey moms you will be dealing with on the opposing team, and which ones to stay away from!

In her book, Julie depicts the different types of hockey moms you see around the rink.  There is Big Mouth Betty, Princess Mom, Momma Bear and Ref Basher, among others.  In all, there are 20 different hockey mom types you need to be aware of.

I myself started out as a “Princess Mom”.  I needed to show up at the rink with my high heel boots on and my hair done to perfection, while still supporting our team by wearing a scarf in that color or the words Hockey Mom plastered on my chest.

Since reading the book, I find myself showing up to the rink assessing the other hockey moms and trying to figure out which one is which and trying early to find Big Mouth Betty and The Yodeler so I know not to sit close to them.

Bertuzzihas an idea for what her next book will be, right down to the title. If it’s anything like her first book, you won’t be disappointed. Bertuzzi, who doesn’t come from a writing background, recalled her mother’s reaction to reading it.

“I remember sending my mom the manuscript,” Bertuzzi said. “And she said, ‘I don’t remember you being good at English.’”

Bertuzzi said the book took two and a half years to write from inception to finished product and said the illustrations proved to be the most difficult part of the completion process.

“Once I had the description of the hockey mom I wrote about, I had to put that description into a picture and get it on paper,” Bertuzzi said.

It all paid off as the book’s illustrations of the different types of hockey moms do not disappoint; they are spot on!

The easiest part about writing the book, according to Bertuzzi, was the actual writing itself!  She didn’t need to sit over a computer doing research for hours while propping her eyes open with toothpicks and an endless supply of caffeine to keep her awake!

“I wrote the book while at my kid’s hockey games,” Bertuzzi said. “All of the moms described in this book were what I witnessed at the hockey games.”

She sat in freezing cold ice arenas observing the other hockey moms and their actions or reactions to the game and those around them.  Research can’t get any easier than that.  She was able to watch her kids play hockey and do research for her book, and that is what we call a win/win situation.