Leanne Hattie remembers the thrills she experienced competing at the Alberta Winter Games as a teenager.
It was the 1986 Games held in Edson, Alta., and Hattie was a goaltender on the gold-medal winning ringette team for her zone at those particular Games.
So when the opportunity came for her son, 13-year-old Thomas, to try out for the Fraser Valley zone ringette team for the 2012 B.C. Winter Games, the Langley mom gave her teenage son a gentle nudge to give it a shot.
“He wasn’t going to try out,” she explained.
“I just told him it was a good opportunity and he should really go for it.”
And it is a good thing he took his mom’s advice, as by the end of the tryout process, he was pestering her to check her email to see if he had made the final squad, which he did.
Thomas is excited to represent his zone, much like his mom did back in her day.
“It should be fun,” he predicted.
Leanne recalled the excitement from her own Games experience, especially with all of the other athletes, who are on hand to watch, adding to the atmosphere.
“It is just so exciting,” she said.
And while his mom played goal, Thomas was never destined to follow in her footsteps and don the equipment. 
“I just love skating, how fast it is,” he said.
“He is too good of a skater,” concedes Leanne.
As for what would happen if the two of them faced off now on the ice — something which hasn’t happened in quite awhile — Thomas doesn’t hold back.
“Oh yeah, I could score on her,” he said with a smile.
His mom didn’t offer much of an argument.
“My reflexes just aren’t what they used to be,” she said with a laugh.
photo courtesy of David ROBERTS/AAA Photography