The enthusiasm and energy were palpable as dozens of young hockey players took to the ice Saturday afternoon at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth.
Some glided, some ran on their skates, a few tripped and fell. All seemed to be having a blast.
This wasn’t just another skating drill at a minor hockey practice. The boys and girls were partaking in the Black Youth Ice Hockey Program, a 20-week developmental initiative in which black youth between the ages of five and 10 learn the fundamentals of the sport.
“One of the reasons this program began was that there weren’t many racially-visible kids playing minor hockey. That was the impetus to create this program,” said Calvin Barton, treasurer of the Black Ice Hockey and Sports Hall of Fame Society who’s among the many volunteers who donate their time each Saturday.
“It provides the players with skating and basic hockey skills instruction from qualified and certified coaches with the intent to prepare them for entry or transition into the minor hockey associations throughout HRM.
“But not only do they learn skating and hockey skills, they get social development like team play. The whole intent is to promote a cultural change in minor hockey. Some of our past participants have gone on to play minor hockey and have been quite successful, even making it to the junior level. That was our goal, to bring about a cultural change within the minor hockey association.”
The not-for-profit initiative, offered in partnership with Hockey Nova Scotia, was developed about 12 years ago to help grow the game and increase diversity at the same time.
It started small but has grown over the years.
“In the past we have averaged around 26 kids each year. This year, however, the response was overwhelming and we have 37 kids,” Barton said. “We had to cut it off there because of the restrictions COVID has placed on us. In previous years we never had to refuse anyone but this year we had to turn away a few people so we could comply with the health regulations.”
While there’s an important cultural and socio-economic component when it comes to increasing the number of minority players in youth hockey programs, it’s still an expensive sport to play.
“There’s always an economic challenge and it’s a continued on-going concern,” Barton said. “The black communities are one of the most economically-challenged communities in Nova Scotia. Coming up with the $800-$1,000 to enroll your child in minor hockey is problematic.”
McGILL UNIVERSITY PLAYERS HAVE CREATED FUNDRAISER FOR BLACK YOUTH ICE HOCKEY PROGRAM
McGill Hockey is raising funds for the Black Youth Ice Hockey Program in Dartmouth, NS (@HockeyNS). The Program provides opportunities for Black Youth (Age 5 to 10) to learn the game of hockey. To support our initiative click the link: https://t.co/1oD7XoiqzH pic.twitter.com/CvyKevE0KB
— McGill Men's Hockey (@McGillHockey) October 28, 2020
Over 1,200 kilometres away, members of the McGill University men’s hockey program are doing their part to help cover some of the costs through an online fundraiser for the Black Youth Ice Hockey Program. Their objective is to raise $1,000.
Fall River’s Ryan Penny, in his third year at McGill, helped spearhead the fundraiser. He’s among five Redbirds with connections to Nova Scotia, including head coach Liam Heelis, a former Canadian university player of the year while at Acadia, ex-Halifax Mooseheads defenceman Taylor Ford, former Cape Breton Eagles forward Jordan-Ty Fournier and ex-Yarmouth Mariners blue-liner Adam Pilotte.
“With me being from the Halifax area, our head coach who played at Acadia and a couple guys who played in Nova Scotia, we found this initiative in Dartmouth and thought it would be a great idea to jump onboard and do whatever we can to raise awareness and raise some funds for these kids,” Penny said in a recent phone interview.
“With time on our hands and not playing hockey, it was good to get into the community and try to make a difference. I wanted to do as much as I could with it being in my hometown. We wanted to help these kids and help pay for their equipment and try to grow the game that way.”
Fundraising is just one part of a larger initiative in which the McGill student-athletes are engaging in. They want to spread awareness to help the sport become more inclusive and affordable. They are also “having conversations with former major junior teammates who are of colour to understand first-hand experiences and share their stories.”
“Obviously, systemic racism is a big issue in society,” Penny said. “A lot of the guys on the team have some good buddies who are of colour and are playing in the American Hockey League or in the NHL. They reached out to them, and had discussions about the issue.”
A long-term objective Penny and his group would like to see is a learn-to-skate hockey program at McGill that affords youth from black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities the opportunity to learn the game.
“To me, this is just the start of it,” said the 26-year-old Penny, who’s studying economics and finance at McGill. “When COVID ends, we’re looking at doing something at McGill and the Montreal area, some kind of program to help grow the game. We would like to see this initiative build beyond just Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
“We want to blow it up as much as we can. If this can turn into a program that every year people of colour could migrate to, well, that’s the goal. We want kids interested in hockey and help take away the burdens of paying for the program or equipment. At the end of the day, hockey is a very expensive sport. We want to take away some of those burdens and allow kids to play for the love of the game.”
