From the earliest days of the TheOfficialHDA, members have been dreaming up ways to make the game better for future generations. Now, with the newly formed Grassroots Original Hockey League, they’re bringing that vision to life. (By SachdevaSonny)
Inside Akim Aliu and the Hockey Diversity Alliance’s mission to grow the game from the grassrootsewind the tape all the way back and, among the frames, you can spot the moment Aaron Atwell began to see the lines drawn in the hockey world, the borders separating some from the rest.
That is, until, as a young teenager in the GTHL, he looked across the room and saw Akim Aliu, and an enduring kinship was born. “We came up with this idea of going into the 12 priority designated communities [in Toronto], your underserved communities — the Regent Parks, the Jane-and-Finches, Malvern, Albion — and we said, ‘Let’s provide hockey free of cost.’”“We got lucky,” Aliu says. “We got support at critical times along the way of our journey to be able to make it to the level that we made it to. But the fact is that a lot of kids similar to us slip through the cracks, because they aren’t able to get that support.
It’s because of that commitment that great care was taken to pinpoint where the GOHL should touch down first. “The pride and the fire and the passion that I saw they had from just being on the ice one day, just getting equipment, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness. There’s so much here that has been left untouched.’”
One particular moment from a session at Angela James Arena stands out on that front, Atwell says. He remembers a group of young Muslim girls from the program finishing up their first session with him. After the skate had wrapped, and the others started clearing out, they stayed behind to watch the group taking the ice after them, a girls’ minor hockey league game.
For the GOHL, the program is just as much about those parents as it is their kids. The goal isn’t just to turn young skaters into hockey players — it’s to help these families become hockey families. The fact that it’s the HDA who’ve begun building those bridges is no surprise, either. Because they’ve been on both sides and they haven’t forgotten where they came from.
“Looking down the road for myself and the HDA, we just want to leave a legacy of a group that did something that’s never been done before.” “One of the biggest things that we’ve prided ourselves on is being a hands-on type of program, a player-led group. I don’t know, I can’t see there being any other way,” Aliu says. “This group is led by players who have experienced the things that we’re trying to pass down to the next generation. We’ve had our whole group on calls, on Zoom calls, with kids in minor hockey all over Canada, in the U.S. Guys take the time personally to jump on the call with kids that deal with issues.
“Hockey was a vital part of us growing up, so just to give kids an opportunity to be included, to feel welcomed, and to give them another outlet, is important.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Inside Trevor Noah’s tearful goodbye to ‘The Daily Show’Trevor Noah, who went from being an unknown quantity to American TV viewers to a smart, satirical voice on Comedy Central, signed off from “The Daily Show” for the final time Thursday.
Read more »
Inside the emboldening of Canada’s unionsSkyrocketing inflation, stagnant real wages and an exhausted work force have revived a dormant labour movement, putting unions back at the forefront of economic discourse. Will this last?
Read more »
'No one has ever been more oppressed': Inside the thoughts of Meghan, Duchess of SussexDear Diary: Some say if I\u0027m against the monarchy, I should abandon my title. In fact, the most anti\u002Dcolonial I thing I can do is keep it
Read more »
'No one has ever been more oppressed': Inside the thoughts of Meghan, Duchess of SussexDear Diary: Some say if I\u0027m against the monarchy, I should abandon my title. In fact, the most anti\u002Dcolonial I thing I can do is keep it
Read more »
Years after fleeing Syria, Esquimalt family nears opening first restaurantA Syrian family that began its catering business inside their home is getting closer to opening a restaurant.
Read more »
Man in hospital following Friday morning shooting in Nanaimo: RCMPA 34-year-old man is in hospital with undisclosed injuries after he was shot inside a home in Nanaimo early Friday morning, according to RCMP.
Read more »