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Snider Hockey and Ice Hockey in Harlem face off in a grudge match for good causes

18 Friday Nov 2016

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It’s that time of year again.

Time for turkey and stuffing. It’s also time for the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers to beat the stuffing out of each other in a National Hockey League Metropolitan Division matinee the day after Thanksgiving at Philly’s Wells Fargo Center.

The Philadelphia-New York rivalry won’t be limited to the ice that Friday. Philly’s Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and New York’s Ice Hockey in Harlem will use the game to face off in a grudge match of their own- for good causes.

Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation players hope to win the #GiveTuesday challenge against Ice Hockey in Harlem - and avoid having to wear New York Rangers gear.

Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation players hope to win the #GiveTuesday challenge against Ice Hockey in Harlem – and avoid having to wear New York Rangers gear.

The two mostly-minority youth hockey organizations will engage in a head-to-head  fund-raising battle when the Flyers-Rangers puck drops at 1 p.m. EST on the 25th.

The competition is in recognition of #GiveTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities, and organizations to encourage philanthropy and celebrate generosity worldwide.

Folks interested in participating in the challenge can do so by visiting the respective websites of Snider Hockey – www.sniderhockey.org – and Ice Hockey in Harlem  – www.icehockeyinharlem.org – to make contributions online. Donations can also be done by mail or in person.

For Snider Hockey and Ice Hockey in Harlem – both nonprofits – it’s about helping to keep two successful youth hockey programs running.

For the kids, the challenge is about bragging rights.The organization that raises the most money will be crowned #FaceOffChamps.

Skaters from Ice Hockey in Harlem look to defeat Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation players in the #GiveTuesday challenge.

Skaters from Ice Hockey in Harlem look to defeat Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation players in the #GiveTuesday challenge.

If Snider Hockey wins, a group of players from Ice Hockey in Harlem must wear Flyers T-shirts while sharing ‘Ice Hockey in Harlem LOVES the Philadelphia Flyers’ on IHIH’s social media pages.

Should Ice Hockey in Harlem win, Snider Hockey students must share their love for the Rangers on Snider Hockey’s social media pages while sporting Rangers gear.

“The real winners of this friendly competition will be the boys and girls of both programs who, through hockey, are learning life lessons and how to succeed in the game of life,” said Snider Hockey President Scott Tharp.

Ice Hockey in Harlem Executive Director John Sanful agreed.

“Snider Hockey and Ice Hockey in Harlem are committed to improving the social and academic well-being of children through the sport of ice hockey,” Sanful said. “This initiative will positively impact many deserving boys and girls.”

The two programs are part of “Hockey is for Everyone,” an NHL initiative that provides support and unique programming to some 40 nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America.

It offers children of all backgrounds the opportunity and access to learn to play hockey at little or no cost.

People wishing to make donations or pledges to Ice Hockey in Harlem for the #GiveTuesday challenge can do so online or send donations to the attention of  Ice Hockey in Harlem Executive Director John Sanful, 127 West 127th Street, Suite 415, New York, New York, 10027.

Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation supporters can make donations or pledges online, a dated check by mail, or by contacting Snider Hockey Development Staff at 215-952-4125. Flyers game attendees can also drop off donations at the Snider Hockey kiosk outside of section 108 during the hours of the competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Dupont Hockey Club founder Neal Henderson still skating strong at 79

12 Tuesday Jul 2016

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His deep-voiced bark is still matched by its bite, and the tough love he bestows upon the kids of the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program remains as strong as ever.

Neal Henderson, founder, coach, and father-figure of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, turned 79 over the weekend.

Through joint surgeries, an ancient ice arena with a sometimes leaky roof, and often with only just enough money to pay the program’s bills, Henderson continues to skate strong –  his passion for the program he created nearly four decades ago unabated by time.

Tough but tender, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder Neal Henderson celebrated his 79th birthday over the weekend.

Tough but tender, Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder Neal Henderson celebrated his 79th birthday over the weekend.

Henderson is responsible for producing a generation of black hockey players and fans in the Nation’s Capital. He’s also helped launch a generation of at-risk kids on the right course in life.

He preaches life through the prism of hockey, teaching the value of teamwork, responsibility, punctuality, good manners, and the necessity and value of staying school.

Fort Dupont developed into a model for programs like the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and similar organizations under the National Hockey League’s “Hockey is for Everyone” umbrella to follow.

“Neal Henderson has been a pioneer in helping develop and shape the lives of young boys and girls and use the core values of hockey to affect other life skills that these children would need as they become adults,” Kenneth Martin, the NHL’s vice president for community affairs told me. “His relentless commitment to children has been a trademark of our ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ program. He has been a true hero and a shining light, not only for the NHL, but for young boys and girls.”

James T. Britt, the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said Henderson’s “impact on his community and hockey throughout the United States has been tremendous.”

“His coaching style and communications are direct – when you hear him begin to address a player in his deep voice with ‘Young man…,’ it makes you feel you’d better take notes because something important is being highlighted,” Britt added.

Born in St. Croix, Henderson founded the program in Southeast Washington’s  Anacostia neighborhood in 1977, in large part to teach his son the game that he played while growing up in Canada.

The Fort Dupont club has no fees or dues. The only thing participants have to pay is attention to Henderson rules: maintain good grades, be respectful, and behave.

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Henderson has had to beg, borrow – he would never steal – over the years in order to cover the free ice time, equipment, and instruction.

The NHL, members of the U.S. Congress and Washington’s lobbying community  have helped by hosting an annual lawmakers vs. lobbyists charity hockey game, with part of the proceeds going to the Fort Dupont hockey program and rink.

Through the program, Henderson has helped guide his charges to victories on and off the ice. He’s seen alums from his program complete high school and go on to college or serve in the military.

Some, like Donnie Shaw III., have gone on to play hockey in college. Still others, like Daunte Abercrombie, became so hooked on the game through Henderson’s teachings that they’re pursuing professional hockey opportunities.

“Coach Neal is a true living legend and a man with a long list of accomplishments that continue to grow,” said Shaw,  a 2013 NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholarship recipient who plays for Elmira College in New York. “I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done for me, as well as the devotion that he personally puts into every single kid who joins his hockey program as if they were family.”

Happy 79th,  Coach Neal.

 

 

 

Sabres’ Evan Rodrigues scores first NHL goal; kids score NHL college scholarships

10 Sunday Apr 2016

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Lots of congratulations to go around for last week’s hockey exploits.

Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues gets his first NHL goal in his second game.

Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues gets his first NHL goal in his second game.

First, congrats to Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues. We profiled him earlier in the National Hockey League season as part of a look at the talented players of color on the Rochester Americans, the Sabres American Hockey League farm team.

The Sabres called Rodrigues up and the former Boston University standout responded by scoring his first NHL goal Saturday in his second game in the bigs.

The tally came against the New York Islanders and rookie goaltender Christopher Gibson, another player of color who earned plaudits last week when he backstopped a 4-3 comeback overtime victory against the Washington Capitals in his first NHL start.

Gibson was unable to pull off a second miracle Saturday and he lost to the Sabres 4-3 in overtime.

Hockey high-fives also go to Akeem Adesiji, Prasanthan Aruchunan, Katherine Baker, and Ava Olsen, the 2016 recipients of  NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund academic scholarships.

The NHL and TMCF have partnered to award scholarships to academically-eligible participants of the league’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative since 2012.

“These outstanding young people are skating toward a bright future,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “While Hockey is for Everyone programs provide the structure, discipline and life lessons that our sport teaches so well, each of our scholarship winners was committed to proving the path to higher education can be paved with ice.”

Columbus Ice Hockey Club's Akeem Adesiji, one of four 2016 NHL/Thurgood Marshall Fund scholarship recipients.

Columbus Ice Hockey Club’s Akeem Adesiji, one of four 2016 NHL/Thurgood Marshall Fund scholarship recipients.

Hockey is For Everyone programs are nonprofit organizations across North America that provide youth of all backgrounds the chance to play hockey at little or no cost and serve as a means to encourage them to stay in school.

In addition, program participants learn essential life skills through the core values of hockey: commitment, perseverance, and teamwork.

Katherine Baker of Washington's Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club wants to own her own ice arena someday.

Katherine Baker of Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club wants to own her own ice arena someday.

Adesiji was a center for the Columbus Ice Hockey Club and has been playing the sport since he was eight years old. He intends to study environmental science. Founded in 1999, Columbus Ice serves more than 3,000 youth hockey players each year.

Aruchunan played right wing for the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS) at Toronto’s Jane-Finch Chapter. The program focuses on high-risk communities in Toronto by making hockey accessible to youths in neighborhoods troubled by gangs or drugs.

Aruchunan wants to attend the University of Waterloo and major in mechanical engineering.

Prasanthan Aruchunan hopes the NHL/TMCF scholarship will help him launch a career in mechanical engineering.

Prasanthan Aruchunan hopes the NHL/TMCF scholarship will help him launch a career in mechanical engineering.

“It’s a gift and I have to take advantage of it,” he told NHL.com of the scholarship. “I want to show other kids in my community you can be successful, and I want to be a role model for them. I come from a community where money is an issue for almost everyone. I want to inspire kids in the next generation.”

Baker was a defenseman for  Washington D.C.’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club. Founded in 1976 by Neal Henderson. it’s the nation’s oldest minority youth hockey program. She started playing hockey at nine years old and aspires to own an arena someday so more kids to play hockey.

Snider Hockey's Ava Olsen loves to play hockey and hopes to cover the game someday as a journalist.

Snider Hockey’s Ava Olsen loves to play hockey and hopes to cover the game someday as a journalist.

Olsen was a center for Philadelphia’s Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. She began playing hockey at 13 and she plans to major in business or marketing in hopes of working in the sports industry as a hockey journalist.

Snider Hockey, created in 2005 by Philadelphia Flyers founder Ed Snider, serves thousands of Philadelphia-area youth by providing full equipment, ice time, and coaching at no cost to their families. Snider has called the foundation his legacy.

 

 

Hockey sends Jalen Smereck from one Motown to another

05 Sunday Jul 2015

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Jalen Smereck hopes to move from one Motor City to another.

The Detroit native has committed to the defending Memorial Cup champion Oshawa Generals this coming season. A left-shooting defenseman, Smereck was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League Generals in 2013 with the 299th overall pick.

He played for the Bloomington Thunder after that team selected him in the first round with the 18th overall pick of the 2014 United States Hockey League Phase II Draft. He scored three goals and 15 assists in 51 games for the Thunder in 2014-15. He also played two games for the Odessa Jackalopes of the North American Hockey League and tallied one assist.

“Jalen was a draft pick of ours a couple of years ago and he has continued to develop as a player over the past couple of years,” Oshawa General Manager Ron Hunt said. “Mike Kelly (the Generals’ director of hockey operations) and I watched him play for the Bloomington Thunder this past year and feel he is ready to make the jump to the OHL.”

Jalen Smereck hopes to crack the Oshawa Generals lineup in 2015-16.

Jalen Smereck hopes to crack the Oshawa Generals lineup in 2015-16.

Smereck reports to Oshawa’s training camp at Oshawa’s General Motors Centre at the end of the summer. If his makes the roster, he will move 260 miles from America’s Motor City to the self-proclaimed automotive capital of Canada.

Smereck, 18, is an alum of the Detroit Hockey Association, a program affiliated with the National Hockey League’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative which provides kids of all backgrounds the opportunity to learn and play hockey at little or no cost. In return, program participants must stay in school and maintain good grades.

The DHA has produced several hockey players of color who’ve gone on to play in college and professional leagues.

Tarasai Karega, one of the first black women to win an NCAA hockey championship, and Cameron Burt, a defenseman for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades and former Rochester Institute of Technology star, are among the program’s graduates.

Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club featured on PBS NewsHour

17 Friday Apr 2015

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Kudos to the PBS NewsHour for taking time in Thursday evening’s newscast to tell the story of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, the nation’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program.

Since 1977, program founder Neal Henderson has shown that if you give a kid – no matter what race, ethnicity, or gender – a stick, a puck, some equipment, ice time, and a chance, they can become hockey players.

Henderson is a hockey lifer who teaches life through hockey. He uses the sport to instill teamwork, discipline, perseverance, responsibility and accountability in kids from some of D.C.’s toughest neighborhoods.  He’s a gentle man who preaches tough love, a task master who takes time to make sure his players are alright, both on and off the ice.

Hockey is lucky to have him. And PBS NewsHour was thoughtful enough to show viewers the essence of what he and the Fort Dupont program are all about.

Neal Henderson, far left, and his Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club hang out with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

Neal Henderson, far left, and his Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club hang out with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Photo/Patrick McDermott).

The Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club is part of the National Hockey League’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative which provides support and unique programming to non-profit youth organizations across North America that are committed to offering children of all backgrounds opportunities to play hockey.

From rink to campus: 3 Hockey is For Everyone players win college scholarships

29 Sunday Mar 2015

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Wyatt Christiansen, an NHL/TMCF recipient.

Wyatt Christiansen, an NHL/TMCF recipient.

Congratulations to Wyatt Christiansen, Cassidy Guthrie, and Austin Verissimo, the 2015 NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund academic scholarship recipients.

The three winners, each hockey players who participated in one of the National Hockey League-affiliated Hockey is for Everyone programs, were announced  last week at an event at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Christiansen is a defenseman from Calgary’s Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS) program. He intends to major in business at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

Guthrie, a hockey player for 11 years, hails from Ohio’s Columbus Ice Hockey Club.

Cassidy Guthrie.

Cassidy Guthrie.

She’s currently a sophomore at Miami University, where she’s a member of the school’s women’s club hockey team. Her scholarship will cover her remaining two years at the university.

Verissimo has played hockey for three years and is a member of New Jersey’s Hockey in Newark program. He’s interested in studying finance and has set his sights on attending Cornell University in New York.

“At the National Hockey League, it is our priority to do whatever we can to encourage young hockey players to pursue their education as eagerly as they pursue the puck,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the announcement event attended by Washington Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis, Thurgood Marshall College Fund President & CEO Johnny Taylor, USA Hockey Senior Communications Director Dave Fischer, and the Stanley Cup. “We want to connect the skills of skating and passing with the disciplines of study and passion for learning, to link the joys of scoring goals on ice with the importance of setting goals off the ice, and one of the ways we pursue those objectives is through our support of the NHL/Thurgood Marshall Scholarship.”

Austin Verissimo.
Austin Verissimo.

The NHL and TMCF have partnered to award scholarships to academically-eligible Hockey is for Everyone players since 2012. Hockey is For Everyone programs are nonprofit organizations across North America.

The programs provide youth of all backgrounds the chance to play hockey at little or no cost and serve as a means to encourage them to stay in school. In addition, participants learn essential life skills through the core values of hockey: commitment, perseverance, and teamwork.

Money for the scholarships is generated in part from an annual charity hockey game played between a team with members of Congress and a squad of Washington lobbyists.

The lawmakers defeated the lobbyists 3-2 in the game played last week at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the Capitals’ practice facility. Rep. John Katko, a Republican from New York, scored the winning goal with an assist from former Washington Capitals great Peter Bondra.

The event raised more than $100,000 and gave the lawmakers team – which included Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), Eric Paulsen (R-Minn.) and Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) – bragging rights for another year.

“It couldn’t have been any more fun,” Katko told Syracuse.com. “It was a great charity event. We skated with wounded warriors. One of my great, great heroes is Peter Bondra. I told him before the game, I said ‘Peter, you’re from Slovakia, my father’s from Slovakia (with) his family, you’ve got to get me a goal.’ And he got me the game-winner. It was great.”

 

“Hockey is for Everyone” is managing to build good people and good hockey players

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

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Listen to National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman or anyone else connected with the league’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative and they’ll tell you that its goal is to build good people over building good hockey players.

“As nice as it would be to have graduates of these programs actually play in college (or the pros), the fact that there are children in these programs who stay in school and go to college is more important than whether or not they’re actually still playing because to me this is about life’s lessons,” Bettman told me in 2011.

But it seems that “Hockey is for Everyone” is doing both. Designed to expose boys and girls from all backgrounds to hockey and use the sport as a tool to encourage them to thrive in school, the more than 30 programs under the “Hockey is for Everyone” umbrella are also doing a pretty decent job of producing players good enough to skate for college hockey teams at all levels – and beyond.

Detroit Hockey Association alum Cameron Burt earned a scholarship to RIT...

Detroit Hockey Association alum Cameron Burt earned a scholarship to RIT…

Over the years, several graduates of “Hockey is for Everyone” programs and its precursor NHL Diversity initiative have made it onto NCAA hockey rosters, college and university club hockey teams, minor league squads, and even to the NHL for a hot minute.

“Hockey’s been good to me,” Cameron Burt, a defenseman for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades told me recently. “It’s gotten me to places I would have never gone.”

Indeed, hockey has taken Burt a long way since the day his mother enrolled him in the Detroit Hockey Association. The instruction and nurturing the program provided helped land him a hockey scholarship at the Rochester Institute of Technology, which in turn helped him embark on a professional career that he hopes will lead to a spot in the NHL.

“It was good for me,” Burt said of his DHA experience. “I still look back at pictures of me playing in early years. It gave us an outlet to do something different. It was something that was ours right there in the city and no one could take it away from us. It was the best place for me to start.”

...which helped launch Burt's pro career. He's a defenseman for the ECHL's Florida Everblades (Photo/Al Larson).

…which helped launch Burt’s pro career. He’s a defenseman for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades (Photo/Al Larson).

Burt has two goals and 15 assists in 22 games for the Everblades this season. He tallied 43 goals and 95 assists in four seasons at Division I Rochester from 2008-09 to 2011-12. The 2009-10 season was especially sweet for Burt because RIT played in the NCAA Frozen Four tournament, held that year in hometown Detroit at Ford Field.

About 173 miles separate Estero, Fla., home of Burt’s Everblades, and Orlando, Fla., the new home of Tarasai Karega, yet the distance in the Sunshine State can’t melt the ties that bind the two hockey players.

Like Burt, Karega got her hockey start with the Detroit Hockey Association, where the the two developed a friendship. Like Burt, hockey provided a collegiate path for Karega.

She attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she was a standout for the NCAA Division III Lord Jeffs. She was named first team New England Small College Athletic Conference in 2006-07 as a sophomore and notched 61 goals and 51 assists in 110 games during her collegiate career while maintaining a 3.34 grade-point average.

Detroit Hockey Association grad Tarasai Karega, right, earned an NCAA title with Amherst College.

Detroit Hockey Association grad Tarasai Karega, right, earned an NCAA title with Amherst College.

In the 2008-09 season Karega became one of the first black women to win an NCAA hockey title when the Lord Jeffs won the Division III crown.

After college, Karega moved to Philadelphia where she served as hockey operations coordinator for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, a “Hockey is for Everyone” affiliate created by the founder of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Today, she’s a  premium guest services representative for the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic. She still keeps up with hockey, attending ECHL Orlando Solar Bears games.

Gerald Coleman’s NHL career was fleeting – 43 minutes over two games in goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2005-06 – but significant nonetheless. He was the first NHL Diversity alum to play in the league.

Gerald Coleman played less than an hour over 2 NHL games but his time in goal was historic.

Gerald Coleman played less than an hour over 2 NHL games but his time in goal was historic.

Coleman played in the program in Evanston, Ill., as a teenager while also playing for a AA travel team. Playing AA hockey was more challenging, Coleman said, but the NHL Diversity program provided him with a comfort zone from those who questioned why a 6-foot- five-inch black kid would want to play a predominantly white sport like hockey.

“I felt at home when I was with that group,” Coleman told me recently. “When I was playing with my travel team, I had racial slurs hurled against me from parents, from the kids. They always looked down upon me because I was different from everyone else.”

Coleman’s skill caught the attention of the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. After three seasons in net for the major junior hockey team, the Lightning took Coleman in the seventh round with the 224th pick in the 2003 NHL Draft.

Coleman’s NHL stat line is scant – two games, 43 minutes, two goals against, 2.77 goals-against average, .882 save percentage – but he enjoyed a lengthy minor league hockey career. He spent nine seasons stopping pucks for 10 ECHL and American Hockey League teams.

“Even though I didn’t make it in the NHL, at least I made it a lot farther than I could have done in my life,” Coleman said.

Chronic hip problems forced Coleman to retire in August at the age of 29, but his career ended on a high note. He helped guide the Alaska Aces to ECHL’s Kelly Cup. Coleman’s hip pain helped inspire his post-playing career path – to become a physical therapist.

NHL Diversity alum Gerald Coleman finished his hockey career on top - winning the ECHL Kelly Cup in 2013-14.

NHL Diversity alum Gerald Coleman finished his hockey career on top – winning the ECHL Kelly Cup in 2013-14.

“I’m going to start going to school in January and I’m working at a rehab facility in Chicago. Over the last three years with my injuries, I was in  rehab for six months every  summer. I know the ins and outs of it. I know it could lead me back to hockey, if not coaching.”

Coleman, Karega, and Burt say they keep tabs on their old hockey programs and are proud to see “Hockey is for Everyone” alums continuing their progress educationally while keeping their passion for playing the game.

Elmira College hockey player and Fort Dupont alum Donnie Shaw III, left, helps out at his old rink.

Elmira College hockey player and Fort Dupont alum Donnie Shaw III, left, helps out at his old rink.

Four of Karega’s former charges from Snider Hockey are playing for college teams this season: Elizabeth and Kimberly Feeney on the University of Pennsylvania’s American Collegiate Hockey Association Division III club team; Alivia Bates at NCAA Division III Plymouth State University in New Hampshire; and Saidie Lopez on New Jersey’s Rowan University women’s hockey club.

Sixteen other Snider Hockey alums tried out for college club hockey teams at local Temple University, Drexel University and West Chester University.

Malik Garvin,  a forward who got his hockey start with New York’s Ice Hockey in Harlem, is enjoying his first season playing for Division III Western New England University in Massachusetts.

Devan Abercrombie, a former member of Washington’s Fort Dupont Hockey Club, is a freshman forward for St. Joseph University’s club hockey team in Philadelphia.

He’s attending St. Joe’s on a full four-year ride as a 2014 NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholarship recipient. The scholarship is awarded annually to academically-eligible “Hockey is for Everyone” participants.

Donnie Shaw III, another Fort Dupont alum and a 2013 NHL/Thurgood Marshall College Fund scholarship recipient, is a sophomore at Elmira College in New York and plays for the Soaring Eagles NCAA Division III junior varsity team.

Eddie Joseph, spreading the gospel of ice hockey in soccer-mad Great Britain

11 Tuesday Mar 2014

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Being a black ice hockey player in Great Britain in the 1980s wasn’t exactly a walk in Hyde Park. Eddie Joseph can attest to that.

“I went to a place called Sunderland, near New Castle, I remember walking into the ice rink in Sunderland and a 10-11 year old little kid came up to me, rubbed my hand and said ‘Oh, it doesn’t come off,’  recalled Joseph, who played semi-pro hockey for the London Rangers and Lee Valley Lions. “That’s what the country was like. There were parts of this country where there were no black people at all.”

Times have changed in Great Britain, along with population demographics and

From player to coach, Eddie Joseph pays it forward with Lee Valley club.

From player to coach, Eddie Joseph pays it forward with Lee Valley club.

attitudes. When Joseph takes the racially and ethnically diverse East London youth hockey teams that he coaches on road games today people barely bat an eye.

“When I was playing, this country was very different – I was racially abused,” Joseph told me recently. “Today, it just doesn’t happen. People are so much more enlightened.”

Joseph didn’t envision it when he retired from semi-pro hockey at the age of 32, but he’s a hockey lifer. When he’s not carrying a night stick as a London Metropolitan police sergeant, Joseph is holding a hockey stick and coaching kids ages 10 to 18 and teaching them to love a sport that he says he owes everything to.

“It’s my passion,” said Joseph, 52. “Hockey has been the most constant thing in my life. I don’t know why the game bit me as it did, but it did.”

Joseph just wishes more folks on his side of the pond felt the same way. In the land of Big Ben, fish & chips, and One Direction, ice hockey is obscured by the large shadows cast by soccer, cricket, rugby, field hockey and tennis.

“To say it’s a minority sport is overplaying the word minority,” Joseph told me recently. “It’s such a small game in this country.”

Eddie Joseph, left, hopes his players grow up to teach their kids ice hockey.

Eddie Joseph, left, hopes his players grow up to teach their kids ice hockey.

With a population of nearly 64 million people, Great Britain has only 6,798 ice hockey players, according to International Ice Hockey Federation statistics. Of that group, 2,289 are men, 3,815 are junior players, and only 694 are female.

The IIHF ranks the country 22nd in the world in men’s hockey and 18th in women’s hockey. An IIHF founding member in 1908, Great Britain used to be a beast in ice hockey. Team Great Britain captured a Bronze Medal at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, a Gold at the 1936 games in Germany, and experienced international success with teams comprised mostly of Canadian-born players

But as Canada gained independence from the monarchy, Great Britain’s hockey prowess faded. It hasn’t had an ice hockey team in the Winter Games since 1952.

When Brits do think ice, most of them think figure skating, Joseph said. Robin Cousins, Tim Curry and the pairs team of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean brought Olympic Gold and notoriety to the country in recent decades.

“Ice rinks aren’t necessarily ice hockey-friendly,” Joseph said. “Figure skating is more popular here than ice hockey because over the years we’ve had success at that sport. Whereas with ice hockey it’s ‘What is it, who is it?'”

But that hasn’t stopped Joseph from preaching the gospel of hockey in his East London community and around the country.

Joseph returned to hockey when his son, then 10, said he wanted to play the game. Joseph went to the Lee Valley where his hockey odyssey began only to discover that the game was no longer played there.

“Hockey had pretty much died at the ice rink,” Joseph recalled. “I was fortunate that when I went back to the rink I met a lady there who was one of the rink directors. She said ‘Hockey would be a great idea.’ The rink manager wasn’t very keen, but she was one of the directors of the company that runs the facility.”

After receiving coaching training, Joseph started a hockey program with about 15 children once a week. Today, Lee Valley has about 125 hockey players spread over five youth teams and an adult squad.

About 25 percent of the players are minority – black, Asian, Arab and Jewish, Joseph said.

Eddie Joseph, standing center, instructs some of Lee Valley's young players.

Eddie Joseph, standing center, instructs some of Lee Valley’s young players.

The hockey program draws many of its patrons from the East London/Hackney area, historically one of London’s poorest communities. Spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on hockey equipment and ice time isn’t the first priority for most families in the neighborhood.

So the Lee Valley rink does what U.S. programs like New York’s Ice Hockey in Harlem, Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, Philadelphia’s Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and other non-profit NHL-affiliated “Hockey is For Everyone” organizations do and minimize the cost of the game for those interested in playing it.

“The people that walk through our door and want to give hockey a go can’t afford to buy the kit, can’t afford to buy skates,” Joseph said. “So what we, people with a like mind to myself, do is we’ve done fund-raisers, we’ve bought equipment so we can just say to kids ‘Here you go, you can borrow this from us.’ I think it doesn’t necessarily go down well with our hockey establishment here, but we are more akin to a charity than we are to an ice hockey club.”

Lee Valley youngsters against a team from Slough.

Lee Valley youngsters against a team from Slough.

Joseph can identify with the needy patrons. He was a 14 year-old boy in the rough-and-tumble neighborhood when he and some mates walked into the Lee Valley rink, saw hockey, and were instantly captivated by a sport they never knew existed.

“I grew up in one of the worst parts of London, if not the country. I had friends who were killed, friends who were in prison – it was that kind of area,” he told me. “And for some reason, they put an ice rink up in this place. It gave me something other than hanging around the streets. In my circles, I got to see our country playing hockey. It gave me a sense of pride, gave me some value, some worth.”

No one confused Joseph for the next Wayne Gretzky. Between 1984 and 1993, Joseph tallied 54 goals, 68 assists and racked up 271 penalty minutes.

“I was never a great hockey player, but I served a purpose on the team and they signed me up every year,” he said. “Yeah, I got a bit of a reputation for being a scrapper, nonetheless I wanted to play hockey.”

He hopes the rest of Great Britain will, too, someday soon.

Detroit park is out with the old Zamboni, in with the new, courtesy of NHL, Red Wings

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

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Anthony Benavides never knew what to expect on most mornings when he’d go to crank up the 40-year-old, hand-me-down Zamboni at Detroit’s Clark Park ice rink.

Sometimes it would fire up. Sometimes it would catch fire. Sometimes it would work fine. Sometimes it would work, then suddenly break down in the middle of resurfacing the only regulation-size outdoor hockey rink within Detroit’s city limits.

Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock shares moment with kids at Clark Park (Photo Courtesy The Detroit News/David Guralnick)

Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock shares moment with kids at Clark Park (Photo Courtesy The Detroit News/David Guralnick)

“It’s had a lot of maintenance issues,” Benavides, the Clark Park Coalition Recreation Center director told me recently. “It’s like an old, old car. It’s on it’s last legs. That puts a damper on our hockey program when we don’t have a properly running Zamboni. We don’t have a back up.”

Benavides’ mornings of mystery are now over, thanks to the National Hockey League and the Detroit Red Wings Foundation. The league and foundation Monday unveiled a new, sparkling Red Wings red Zamboni to replace the rusting ancient wonder and showcased a host of other enhancements and upgrades they donated to Clark Park as part of the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Legacy Initiative.

The improvements will better enable the 29-acre park and recreation center to carry out its mission of providing educational, social, and athletic services to the hard-scrabble Southwest Detroit community it serves.

No more resurfacing hassles for Detroit's Clark Park with this new Zamboni from the NHL and Red Wings Foundation.

No more resurfacing hassles for Detroit’s Clark Park with this new Zamboni from the NHL and Red Wings Foundation.

In addition to the Zamboni, the park received upgraded lighting around the outdoor rink and parking lot, an upgraded rink refrigeration system, snow removal equipment for its ice hockey and skating programs, a new ice surface and rink boards, new bicycle racks, and enhancements for the park’s recycling program.

The improvements were done with the help of DTE Energy, Johnson Controls, York, Disenos Ornamental Iron, CleanRiver and NHL Green, and funded by the NHL and Red Wings Foundation, an affiliate of Ilitch Charities. The Red Wings are owned by Mike Ilitch.

“These donations build upon a decade of meaningful partnership and investment by the NHL and Detroit Red Wings into the lives of youth in Southwest Detroit,” Clark Park Coalition President Steve Tobocman said. “This current investment really paves the way to ensure that hockey can continue to be a critical component of our efforts to reach and develop kids living in poverty in this diverse Detroit community for years to come.”

Built in 1973 and bought used, Clark Park's old Zamboni can finally retire.

Built in 1973 and bought used, Clark Park’s old Zamboni can finally retire.

For more than a decade, Clark Park has been a part of “Hockey is for Everyone,” an NHL initiative that provides support and unique programming to some 40 nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America. It offers children of all backgrounds the opportunity and access to learn to play hockey at little or no cost.

“We’ve seen how successful Hockey is for Everyone has been in this community and how important Clark Park is to this area,” said Brian Jennings, the NHL’s chief marketing officer.

The park itself is an example of the resiliency of the people of Detroit and their drive not to give in to tough  times.

The city government planned to close the park in 1991 because it couldn’t afford to operate it. But residents of the community vowed to keep it open and formed the nonprofit Clark Park Coalition.

Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock and Clark Park's new set of wheels (Photo Courtesy of The Detroit News/David Guralnick).

Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock and Clark Park’s new set of wheels (Photo Courtesy of The Detroit News/David Guralnick).

The coalition took over much of the financial obligation from the city and operates the park today largely through a patchwork of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and donations.

Along with the “Hockey is for Everyone” programs, the park offers year-round sports programming for more than 1,200 boys and girls. The recreation center also offers after-school tutoring, arts and crafts and other activities. The park’s football and baseball fields are often used by four nearby Detroit schools.

“The Red Wings Foundation is thrilled to be a part of a meaningful initiative like this that gives youth in our community a great place to play hockey, stay healthy and active, and build values like teamwork, respect and integrity,” Christopher Ilitch, chairman of Ilitch Charities and president and CEO if Ilitch Holdings. “It’s particularly special to us because Clark Park is just a couple of miles from the Wings’ home ice and our players and staff enjoy visiting and engaging with young hockey players here.”

From Detroit to Philly, Tarasai Karega blazes hockey trail

15 Sunday Dec 2013

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Tarasai Karega is a living hat trick – a black, female, ice hockey player.

The game courses through her veins, and has ever since she watched the 1992 Disney movie “The Mighty Ducks” as a child and became intrigued by one of the team’s players.

“Jesse (played by actor Brandon Adams) stood  out to me because he was the only black kid on the team,” Karega recalled. “I told my mom I wanted to play hockey and she did some research on organizations in Detroit.”

A movie and a mother’s inquiries launched a unique and history-making hockey career that’s taken Karega from hometown Detroit to chilly Amherst, Mass., to the streets of Philadelphia.

Detroit's Tarasai Karega shares her hockey knowledge with kids in Philadelphia.

Detroit’s Tarasai Karega shares her hockey knowledge with kids in Philadelphia.

Along the way, she’s gone from often being the lone brown-skinned girl on the ice to the producer of a small army of young minority hockey players – girls and boys.

Karega has grown from being a player with the individual talent to take over a game to a teacher with the ability to make others better by sharing the lessons she’s learned from hockey on and off the ice.

“I often heard – even from my own extended family – people saying ‘Black people don’t play hockey,’ or, “Girls don’t play hockey,'” she told Temple University’s News Center. “I walk into the rink with my equipment and people still look at me like I’m an alien. But I don’t do stereotypes. It fueled me more than it discouraged me.”

Since 2010, Karega has worked as coordinator for hockey operations for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, a program created by the founder of the Philadelphia Flyers that uses hockey as a tool to help educate young people and prepare them for adult life.

She’s a vital cog in a program that provides free hockey equipment, instruction and ice time to more than 3,000 kids in the Philadelphia area. The program, part of the NHL’s “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative, also blends in a rigorous off-ice life skills curriculum for kids and additional educational services to help them improve in school.

“Tarasai has been a terrific addition to our staff. We are very fortunate to have her,” Scott Tharp, Snider Hockey’s president, told me recently. “One of our long-term goals is to build a staff that is more closely reflective of the children, youth, families that we serve.”

“Today, 30 percent of our students are women and the number is growing everyday,” Tharp added. “Tarasai along with a very talented group of peer women coaches, are a big, big, part of this growth.”

Karega, the teacher, is also Karega, the student. She’s enrolled in the Master’s Degree program at Temple University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. She’s studying sports business.
“I was talking to a family friend who knew the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes…,” she told Temple’s News Center. “One day he said to me, ‘You know, Tarasai, you could own a sports team.’ I laughed, and then I thought, ‘Hey, I could own a team.’ It got me interested in sport business and sport operations – not just the competitive aspect.”

Tiny but tough, Karega began playing hockey competitively at age nine. She started

Tarasai Karega was a standout player for Amherst College. (Photo/Amherst College)

Tarasai Karega was a standout player for Amherst College. (Photo/Amherst College)

with the Detroit Dragons of the Detroit Hockey Association, another “Hockey is for Everyone” organization.

She went on to play at the Cranbrook-Kingswood School in suburban Detroit. In
2005, she scored the game-tying goal and double-overtime-winning goal in the state championship tournament. She was named Michigan’s Ms. Hockey that year.
Karega’s hockey exploits in Michigan caught the attention of Amherst College in Massachusetts. She played for the NCAA Division III Lord Jeffs and was named first-team All New England Small College Athletic Conference as a sophomore.
Karega  racked up 61 goals and 51 assists for 112 total points in 110 games during her collegiate career and maintained a 3.34 grade-point average.
In the 2008-09 season she made history by becoming one of the first black women to win an NCAA hockey title when the Jeffs captured college’s Division III crown.
While Karega says she has enjoyed her hockey journey, she’s not shy in talking about the challenges she faced being black and female in a sport that’s predominantly white.
“I can laugh about it now, because I’m an adult and I’ve learned to handle situations. But growing up, especially in Detroit, there were three other black girls on my team, and we would experience things,” Karega told NHL.com earlier this year. “People called us names. It was tough. And then I went to high school and college, I was the only one. It was just me by myself. People are kind of confused when they see someone like myself play hockey.”
But through her work at Snider Hockey, Karega knows that company is coming.