Martin Havlat News

Source: http://hokej.idnes.cz/hokej_ms2004.asp?r=hokej_ms2004&c=A040428_110649_hokej_ms2004_mah&t=A040428_110649_hokej_ms2004_mah&r2=hokej_ms2004

The Havlats: Martin is a good boy.

He celebrated his 23rd birthday few days ago, but he has already won Junior and Senior World Championships, attended the prestigious Olympics and played for four seasons in Ottawa. Martin Havlat arrived at the end of last week in Prague to appear in his second World Championship, but he's still not able to play because of a virus.

His appearances overseas and in international events are always carefuly watched by his parents. "We call him often, we're in touch practically every day. Sometimes we know the news sooner from internet and TV," say Hana and Miloslav Havlat.

A while back they moved from Brno and they're now living in a brand new house in Ricky near Domasov, not far away from the highway to Prague. "We spent our whole lives in a prefab, so we're enjoying that Martin provided a better living for us. And he bought us a companion, too -- a barely two year old Labrador Retriever."

During the hockey season, they visit him regularly in the capitol of Canada, where he lives with his girlfriend Ivana. His mother sometimes took care of him in Ottawa the first year even though he had experience living alone since he was transfered to Trinec when he was 17. "I cleaned up his house, loundered all his clothes and flew back home," she reminisces. "Now it's different, Ivana is handy, she treats him well."

Good child, rebellious teenager and a self-confident young man -- the hockey forward Martin Havlat had passed through all of these. "As a child he was very spry, he had qualities and vices like every normal boy. And he has always hated all kinds of losses," says Miloslav. "But he has always been a nice guy, we've never had any serious problems with him," says his wife.

Miloslav is going to celebrate his 74th birthday later this year, Martin could be his grandson. "My first wife died when i was 48, I spent some time alone and then I got married once again. And my wife wanted another child... I asked her if she's gone crazy, I was done with that in my fifties," smiles Miloslav, who has a daughter and a son from his former marriage.

The birth of his third child was a shock for him at first. "When Martin was a baby, I was really terrified. He was screaming all the time and I had to sleep on a balcony. I thought, that can't even by my child! And he had red hair! But when he started talking, everything was wonderful."

With Martin, Miloslav was going through many things that men at his age are starting to forget about. "I felt younger, though I wouldn't like to talk about it like this. When I met my old friends from school, I found out they can no longer be joyful like me, I was still full of go," he admits.

The problems came with Martin's adolescence. "Until 14 years of age, he was an exemplary boy. But then he was like someone else. We thought, where did this guy come from? He acted like he has completely forgotten about his good breeding," says Martin's mother.

His father suffered the change much worse because of the age gap. "I didn't like when he defied me, but that was almost all the time. But I always tried to make him behave himself. When he came home from a hockey game, I always asked him first how he behaved, not how he played," says Miloslav, who was coaching his son. "I admit I was quite strict, at home as well as in hockey."

When the future star went to Extraliga's Trinec, another trouble appeared -- school. "He was doing well until then. But he had to quit in the last grade of Police high school and he still hasn't returned there," says Hana. [Clarification from Hana: You get general education until you're 15. Then you can choose - you can continue with general education for 4 years or you can go to a
specialized school (4 years as well), like Marty's police high school. When you're 18/19 and you have graduated from high school, you can go to university/college.]

Martin's parents hardly put good faces on the fact that he didn't finish his studies. "We were disappointed, but it had to be this way. However I think he has a good general knowledge, he proved it many times. The knowledge he gained in school enabled him to solve problems by himself. But I believe he'll finish school eventually," hopes Miloslav.

"And he'll graduate like Jagr, in his thirties," adds Hana, pretending anger.

They don't force Martin to finish school anymore. "Actually we don't force him to do anything at all. He realized that he doesn't need us to make decisions. He's surrounded by many people who give him good or bad advice. He finds out that people are sometimes not what they seem," points out Miloslav. Martin was taking his advice for a long time, however now he follows his own sense. "I'm still trying to get along with it. But one must agree that it's his own life now."

What did he dislike to do?
-He didn't have to help us with housework, but he wouldn't like to do it anyways. No one likes housework, you know.

What did he spend most money on?
-Hot dogs.

Which player was his childhood hero?
-Wayne Gretzky.

What food did he like?
-Pancakes. He also liked blueberry dumplings, various sauces and potato soup with mushrooms.

When did he came home most "damaged"?
-After the U16 cup in Canada. He broke his elbow.

Which present made him the happiest?
-When he was little, all sorts of remote-controled toy cars. And everything that had to do something with hockey. Now it's difficult with finding the right presents for him.

When did you want to forbid him playing hockey?
-We didn't punish him this way. But he wanted to quit hockey when he knew he's good enough to play on junior championships but he didn't get nominated because of his height.

Did you have to clean his room a lot?
-He was really clean until 14. But we had to force him to do it himself when he was older.

What was he afraid of?
-He always says he was afraid of his dad. (laughs) But as a child he was scared of Cert and Mikulas. [Hana: These two are a part of a Czech pre-Christmas tradition.]

What did you want him to be once he'll grow up?
-We wanted him to play hockey, from the very beginning. We found it natural. We didn't want him to be a teacher or a doctor or something like that.

What were you scolding him about the most?
-We always found a reason. (laughs) We tried to make him behave himself well.