Proudly sponsored by Doug Tarry
Six years ago, the St. Thomas Jr. Stars Tyke hockey team gathered at Christmas Care in St. Thomas and helped to pack boxes with non-perishable goods that were then made available to those in need in the community. Fast forward to the most recent holiday season, and this team of now-12-year-olds continue giving back to their community. In fact, it’s become as much of a staple of the hockey season as their team-first approach and family atmosphere.
This season, the team, which is sponsored by Thinq Business Solutions, once again collected canned goods, but they also took to the ice during the Christmas break to mentor the 2012 St. Thomas Minor Novice Jr. Stars and the 2011 St. Thomas Major Novice Jr. Stars.
“We felt as a group that this was a great way for our team to work with some younger players, and a chance for them to share their knowledge and love for the game,” said the Major Peewee Jr. Stars’ head coach, Andrew Power. “Our coaching staff came up with the drill plan, but the Peewee players took the reigns, explaining and demonstrating the drills and helping them to execute the plan.”
Some of the Major Peewee Jr. Stars players have younger siblings on the teams that received the holiday instruction and mentorship.
“You could see how much it meant to the little brothers to be on the ice with the big boys,” said Power. “That’s the great thing about our team – we are like a family, and anytime we set out to give back we get full participation from the players and parents, which means a lot since everybody has a full schedule.
“I’m not sure who was having more fun,” Power said, “the younger kids or the older ones. But everybody was smiling, and that was worth it.”
Submitted by St. Thomas Major Peewee Jr. Stars hockey team
