Parents walk through the lobby at the West Ferris Arena lugging hockey bags as their son or daughter excitedly skip ahead, anxious to hit the ice for another session of Hockey for Beginners.
The boisterous youngsters are better than halfway through the program targeted for children ages four to six years.
“It is a 30-session format. We have 120 kids who come out twice a week for 35 minutes each and we basically work on the fundamentals of skating, shooting, and passing. We also play some hockey games as well,” explained Laura Mady, manager of operations for Hockey for Beginners through Connected Sports.
Helping to corral all of that youthful exuberance are two members of the Nipissing Lakers Men’s Hockey team, forward Elias Lieffers and Chase Lacombe who plays defence.
“Some of the kids could hardly get up and now they’re wheeling around and able to stop, it’s really awesome to see,” chuckled Lacombe.
“It gets me excited to show up to the rink and teach them again.”
Lieffers has fond memories from his years learning the game and wanted to share his experiences with the little ones.
“It is something I wanted to do because it is a way to get out in the community. I remember growing up in minor hockey when we used to have guys like me come out to our skates and it was always great. I was always excited to see them and you felt special when you were out there. So, I wanted to give back and do the same thing that was done for me when I was younger,” Lieffers reflected.
“I’m from out west in Saskatchewan so most of the time there was the WHL team there, the Saskatoon Blades coming out to our practices and I always thought it was great.”
Lacombe who also hails from western Canada had similar experiences and likes the idea of mentoring others.
“I’m from Saskatchewan and I wanted to get to know North Bay a little bit, and I’ve always been really interested in coaching, and I thought this was a good way to get my foot in the door and get to know the ins and outs and maybe be able to teach younger kids. So, now being able to show kids how to shoot or skate has been pretty cool,” explained Lacombe.
“If you want to get into a sport or find a great way to meet people whether it’s on or off the ice, I think hockey is the way to go. You build lifetime friendships. I know I still talk to people that I played minor hockey with, so it has been really awesome.”
The Hockey for Beginners manager sees how the youngsters look up to the university players, soaking up everything they say and do like little sponges.
“They have been really amazing. It is part of their community outreach that they’ve been doing. They come out every Tuesday and they coach a full session which is really good. The kids really enjoy having them out there. They (Laker’s) usually wear their jerseys, and it is exciting,” shared Mady.
“I know many of our players attend the Nipissing Lakers Men’s Hockey games. So, it is nice to see them out in the community giving back. It is definitely a good partnership. They’re making a difference by just being present and giving back. The kids really, really enjoy that. They are there to teach them new skills and have fun with them and it is really positive overall.”
Lieffers wants to teach the children that there is more to hockey than learning the basic skills of skating, stick handling, passing and shooting.
“The takeaway I hope for them is just to see how fun hockey is and basically if they love it as much as I love it, then I think it has been successful.”
