A new hockey camp is geared to keep kids on the ice and away from addiction and suicide.
The Shoot to Score hockey camp will be held at the Whitney Forum from August 8 to 11 and is open to male and female atom and bantam aged players.
Bomber legend Reggie Leach and his son Jamie will return to the Whitney Forum help conduct the camp, as well as several other clinicians from the north and across Canada. The father and son duo will conduct a series of Shoot to Score hockey camps across Canada, including one later this summer in Yellowknife.
The camp is a joint venture between Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Shoot to Score and Amiskosakahikan Minor Hockey, a new group founded to represent the Denare Beach area in minor hockey.
“We’re hoping to have a team in the minor hockey system,” said Tom McDermott, camp organizer.
The camp is not exclusively for indigenous players, but McDermott said the object of the camp is to promote inclusion, to provide indigenous youth with a positive outlet and to prevent suicide, addiction and abuse in the community.
“I want to do my part to get kids going at a younger age, plant that seed, get them to think there’s something good along the road. Sports can do that for you, it will carry you, it will help you,” said McDermott.
“We are in crisis right now. The community of Denare Beach is in crisis. We’re dealing with addictions. We’re dealing with needles. We’re dealing with pills. It’s got a hold of our people.”
Born and raised around the Flin Flon area, McDermott played minor hockey in the community, even suiting up for the Bombers at one point. He said hockey and organized sport can help empower indigenous youth and be a force for good.
“There need to be more positive Aboriginal stories around this area. We have to cohabitate. We’ve made contributions to society and this is no different,” he said.
One of the incoming clinicians for the camp is Nathan Johnson. An indigenous hockey player originally from Flin Flon, Johnson has travelled far and wide for the game. After playing several seasons of junior A and senior hockey in Ontario, Johnson played for a Division 3 team in Sweden before concussions forced him to end his on-ice career. He now works in Alberta as a player agent.
“Tom actually used to billet with my grandpa when he played with the Bombers,” said Johnson.
Johnson said the spark for the hockey camp came from a conversation he and McDermott had during the vigil event held at the Whitney Forum after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
“He approached me then and shook my hand and started talking to me about setting up a hockey school,” said Johnson.
“I was a little unsure at first, but when it came up, I knew it would be good if everything came out. I believed it – I didn’t think it was all talk. I thought, ‘Why not?’ I want to help out as best I can.”
McDermott and Johnson both said the response has been favourable from people interested in joining the camp.
“Everybody’s been positive. I’ve got people from Shamattawa to Pinehouse to La Ronge, Patuanak, Beauval, people coming from Manitoba and Saskatchewan to attend the school,” said McDermott.
“I think it’s a good thing. It should have happened a long time ago, I believe, but it’s going to happen now and I’m hoping for the best and I think it will go further than just one year,” said Johnson.
McDermott said the camp is a vital first step in healing issues in the community and preventing them in the future.
“We’re talking about a generational plan. This isn’t a three or five year plan – this is a generational plan. We’ll see the positive impacts of this in 20 years,” said McDermott.
“This is a part of it, to get these kids involved. I don’t want any of those kids to go down that road and kill themselves. I’m a paramedic. I’ve cut people down. I’ve had enough, I’ve got to do something.”
