One of my son's first hockey teams had an East Indian boy on it. The kids were little, but this boy was already ahead of the curve and one of the smartest, better skilled kids on a team of six-year-olds - an age before kids scatter into various levels of competitive and skill-based teams. Most parents expected him to move beyond house league.
His dad was actively involved with his son's teams, volunteering for tasks such as scorekeeping.
Fast forward two years and I run into the dad in the community and ask about his son's hockey. Turns out he had quit hockey at the tender age of nine, mid-season, because of taunts on the ice. His final game ended when he was hit and hurt on the ice and his dad, not the trainer, helped him to the dressing room.
The boy concentrated on soccer where he excelled.
All of this comes to mind as I read about Hockey Canada now trying to recruit minority kids to play hockey -
CTV has the full story.
Hockey, whether house league or competitive, is the greatest sport a Canadian kid can take part in. Done right, minor hockey teaches skills to last a lifetime, builds communities and forms family friendships.
But too often minorities, at best, don't feel at home with the sport or, at worst, try it and get driven out because the experience was not positive.
Let's hope Hockey Canada's campaign changes all that.
