Featured Sylvan All-Star: Tavis Rowsom
It’s an organization focused on the youngest hockey players and providing a fun experience where everyone participates and develops their skills – on and off the ice. Specifically, the London Ice Dawgs Youth Hockey Club is for kids aged 3 to 9 years old, and the organization is celebrating its milestone 10th season this year!
In all, the Ice Dawgs organization has 20 teams and more than 300 players enrolled – helped by more than 100 volunteers, who assist under the guidance of Total Package Hockey (TPH). The Club plays its games at London Sports Park.
One of those teams is the ‘Green Dawgs,’ and one of its players, 7-year-old Tavis Rowsom, is the embodiment of what the Ice Dawgs organization stands for – having fun and developing as a player and a person.
This is Tavis’s first year playing hockey, and the Grade 2 student loves playing for his coach, John Lehman. He has improved greatly during the 2019-2020 season. In September, he was a beginner skater. Now, he’s ‘flying down the ice, scoring goals and has a new level of confidence – both on and off the ice.’
Tavis, whose favourite subject in school is Math, works hard both in the classroom and at the rink. He always tries his best, and with the Ice Dawgs, he gets the chance to have fun and improve while meeting new friends.
“I’ve always believed in the importance of grassroots hockey, and the Ice Dawgs organization is more than just a hockey league,” says owner Kim Kearns. “We are a community.”
The organization provides professional instruction to all of its players, which is facilitated by Total Package Hockey, ensuring that all youngsters receive high-level instruction from some of the top trainers and hockey skills coaches in the city.
The Ice Dawgs offers a half-ice Introduction Program (IP) for kids aged 3 to 6, and a full-ice MD (Minor Development) program for players aged 6 to 9 who are ready to play ‘Real Hockey.’
Players like Tavis – and his teammates on the ‘Green Dawgs’ – are growing into better players and people thanks to their time playing hockey with the Ice Dawgs organization. And they’re having a whole lot of fun along the way.
Go Dawgs Go!
Contributions by Kim Kearns
Photo by David McKittrick Photography
