Learning to give back
Camp builds hockey capacity through personal growth
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
RANKIN INLET
Sessions on personal growth and literacy delivered during a season opening hockey camp are helping to increase the number of youths willing to give back to the game in Rankin Inlet.
Facilitator Adriana Kusugak encourages a group of players to come up with good leadership characteristics during a component on personal growth and literacy at a minor hockey camp in Rankin Inlet. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo |
Facilitator Adriana Kusugak said the sessions help young players become more aware of the fact it takes a total community effort to produce the level of hockey they enjoy in Rankin.
She said everyone from parents to the fans in the stands, coaches, officials, fundraisers, scorekeepers and numerous others come together in order for them to participate in the great sport of hockey.
"We also get them to do a lot of reflection on what it takes for them to be the best they can be, not just in hockey but in life," said Kusugak. "There's a lot of interaction in the class, and the younger groups of players have what we call youth leaders. I was getting them to lead and facilitate a lot of the sessions by breaking the players up into smaller groups and having the leaders do the work with them.
"With the girl's sessions, we talked a lot about empowerment, self-confidence and self-esteem."
Kusugak said the hockey camp, as a whole, really engages the students.
She said they put total effort into everything they do during the week-long camp.
"One highlight of the sessions, to me, is when we talk about how to be a good coach and what qualities a good coach has. With the older boys, we talk about how they can give back to the community by coaching or volunteering. And, I'm happy to say, since the hockey camp a few participants now take part regularly in minor hockey as coach's helpers.
"They're learning and building their skills to actually be the coach one day, so that's always promising to see."
Kusugak said many of the younger students who have a youth leader in their group want to be that leader when they grow older.
She said because of that, they really pay attention, give a good effort and ask the leaders a lot of questions.
"The sessions are really helping us build capacity within our community of volunteer hockey enthusiasts.
"The younger players learn you have to be well-rounded in order to be a good youth leader, because it's a holistic-style position where you have to put an honest effort into everything involved.
"We had Sidney Nichol, Keenan Eetuk, Roger Tagoona, KJ Putulik, Aaron Kopak, Keegan Burton, Kaelan Collier, Tyrese Dias and Bubba Maktar help as youth leaders this year, and they've become real role models for the younger kids.
"I also had Tagalik Eccles with me to, kind of, be an apprentice for learning to deliver the personal-growth sessions herself, and she did an excellent job that I really appreciated."
