WINNIPEG – Playing hockey as a kid can change your life.
“I think it’s extremely important for kids to get into sports when you’re young, and especially hockey, it’s a good way to learn life lessons as well as have fun and get some exercise,” said Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba.
Last year in Winnipeg, hockey enrolment numbers dropped, especially among five- to eight-year-olds. But a new program launched by Hockey Canada, Bauer Hockey and Hall of Famer Mark Messier hopes to change that.
“We’ve got to build newer and better platforms for kids to play,” said Mark Messier.
The program is called The First Shift and aims to make sure Canadian kids between six and 10 years old have a chance to try hockey, at an affordable cost for six weeks. A one-time fee of $199 includes all equipment and enrollment costs. It rolled out this week in 30 communities across Canada, in every province except Manitoba.
“There wasn’t a lot of appetite I don’t think because it is a minor-hockey driven program,” said Peter Woods, executive director of Hockey Manitoba.
The head of Winnipeg’s community centres disagrees.
“There’d be a big appetite with the citizens of this city that we should have more of these programs,” said Marlene Amell, executive director of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres.
And so does hockey mom Cheralyn Regehr.
“It’s something that then we could probably put all of our kids into it,” said Regehr. “To start out in hockey it’s at least $400, and that’s not including equipment and some of the ice time.”
Hockey Manitoba may have been way behind the play for the launch of the program but hopes to join The First Shift team by 2015, bringing the low cost program to a city that is often referred to as one of the child poverty capitals of Canada.
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