Guest Column – Michelle Brown Communications Officer Northumberland Minor Hockey Association
There have been many heated hockey stories and debates in the news over the past week. Several discussions have been contentious and divisive. That is not what hockey is all about!
Hockey is about inclusion, community, and teamwork. It is about physical wellbeing, camaraderie, and fun. Hockey is about family!
Our Nighthawks Association supports and encourages all of these wonderful things. We pride ourselves on our community involvement, our player development and our level of fun while playing the game we all love.
Our Lorenz Conveying Products Minor Bantam AA is one of our outstanding teams that lives and breathes hockey’s core values. Their team story, perfectly sums up what hockey is all about!
This group of 13 year old boys, along with their coaching staff can honestly be best described as family.
From the beginning, this squad embraced the value of team bonding and before their season even started, they spent their summer getting to know each other off the ice. They held their own Summer Training Camp, where they spent the weekend, training, eating, swimming, and relaxing together. They got the opportunity to learn more about each other, create new and solidify old friendships.
This season we have seen the Minor Bantams whole heartedly embraced community involvement! They have volunteered at Northumberland Fare Share Food Bank, helping to collect and sort food for one of our communities local food drives.
They embraced 6year old Lucy VanLaar by hosting a bake sale and collecting Loonies for Lucy at their home games during Childhood Cancer month. Afterwards the team gathered to present Lucy and her family with all of the proceeds raised by the Nighthawks.
Despite an upsetting and unfortunate cancellation of their own home Justin Williams Tournament division, they were still found at the arena cheering on and clapping off their younger Minor Peewee counterparts as they captured their first tournament victory! Their level of sportsmanship during what was a disappointing time for them was impressive!
When the boys learned that the Northumberland Bulldogs Special needs hockey team was having their home opener and calling for all fans to attend – they came out and supported. They donned the gold Nighthawks jerseys and sat unified as a team along the glass to cheer on the Bulldogs, before they joined them on the ice for congratulatory high fives afterwards.
Most recently, the Minor Bantams joined forces with the Behan Construction Minor Midget AA’s and the Cobourg Cougars to assist the Salvation Army with their Santa Claus Parade food drive. They proudly wore their jerseys along with Christmas hats, greeted the parade watchers and collected the food donations. They represented the Nighthawks in fine fashion while supporting an admirable cause in our community.
This group of kids, along with their coaches are most definitely, by all definitions; a family. They are the epitome of what a team should look like – brothers on and off the ice.
You will regularly see this group getting together for team dinners, trips to Dairy Queen, taking in a Cobourg Cougars game, doing additional dry land training and even trick or treating together. Their relationships extend well beyond the arena and their outstanding community spirit has brightened our association and Northumberland as a whole.
The Minor Bantams are exactly what hockey is all about! They are young men learning about the merit of belonging and the value of giving back. Playing games, working hard and developing the physical skills of hockey is a part of it all, but the most important piece that they are unfolding are these kind, considerate and inclusive traits that will last them their lifetime.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
