Many of them had never laced up a pair of skates before, but by the end of the week, they were zipping around the ice like seasoned, veteran hockey players.
Week two of the 2010 Sunshine Coast Hockey School at the Gibsons and Area Community Centre featured sessions for Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS) and the One Goal program - programs designed to introduce younger hockey players to the game.
Building on the success of last year's inaugural session of HEROS, 15 youngsters were introduced to the program and the benefits that come along with it.
HEROS is a non-profit organization; its premise is to use the game of hockey as a catalyst to attract young people to a program offering support for education, self-esteem building and life-skills training.
The program focuses on boys and girls of diverse ethnicity from economically-challenged neighbourhoods and is conducted in an environment of fun and safety where each child is considered to be a HERO.
The program has chapters across the country including Vancouver and Toronto. A total of 10 chapters, including the Sunshine Coast, will start new programs on Oct. 1.
"Tom [Poulton, SCRD recreation program co-ordinator] wanted to introduce the game of hockey to more kids on the Sunshine Coast, so we thought, we have the equipment here, we've got the energy of the volunteers and the interest of the kids, so it was a natural idea to do this with the hockey school this summer," said HEROS Canada executive director Norm Flynn. "This is a whole new group of kids. They're learning how to skate - four of them have never been on skates before. We might even see some of these kids in the HEROS program in the fall.
"Once again, this is matter of introducing the sport to a child who might not have an opportunity. Through the great support of TELUS, we're able to do this again and help all the kids in the area on the Sunshine Coast."
But HEROS is so much more than just learning to skate and learning about hockey.
"Some of these kids don't know how to shake a hand properly and look someone in the eye, so we're teaching them that - self-esteem," added Flynn. "We're using hockey as a catalyst once again to teach them other skills that we feel are necessary for them to succeed in school and in the community."
The next session of HEROS starts Oct. 1 in Gibsons and will have 32 boys and girls taking part. Flynn said all the participants from last year's session will be invited back, and the program has room for 10 more.
"Hopefully the kids here this week or others will want to be a part of this," he said. "Kids are kids everywhere. Nothing surprises me. I expect nothing, but I see transformations every day with the kids. You give the kids a pair of skates and an ice rink to play in, and they're going to learn. As long as they understand the word perseverance and stay on the ice and want to come back, they will - because hockey is a sport that everyone loves."
Flynn said he is excited about the new session in October.
"[The program's success] has exceeded my expectations, and I say that based on the feedback from the principals and the teachers," said Flynn. "We've all heard great success stories off the ice by the kids and about the kids, and that to me is a true measurement of the success of the program. It's not if they can skate faster from one session to the next, it's what they do outside the rink that really is important."
One Goal was jam-packed with 32 kids in the program. It's very similar to HEROS but it's a program for younger kids aged four to eight who are beginners. All the equipment, including hockey sticks, was supplied by Source for Sports with the regional district supplying the skate rentals.
"I think this week's HEROS session just continues to build on the success of the program," Poulton said. "Someone came up to me in the spring wondering about a program for kids who have never tried hockey, so I thought, why not bring this program in and try it. Of course, this program comes with all the gear, it's inexpensive and makes it easy for the parents to sign up. And it's a positive thing - sharing a lot of the HEROS behaviours with the kids and letting a lot more people know about the HEROS program.
"The One Goal program is just awesome and really went well. That's another 50-plus kids between the two programs, some of whom who have never played, on the ice learning about hockey. So that's good for the Coast and good for the kids."
