“You’re on mute!” How often have we heard or said those words over these past two years? And while it’s bad enough when no one can hear what you’re saying, it’s doubly bad if we don’t talk to each other at all. So, I like that BC Hockey is going to punch out this newsletter a few times a year. If you take the time to read it, we promise that the tidbits of information here will make your five-minute time investment worthwhile.
So, here we go! Let’s kick this off with a real buzzkill of an observation. I recently read an article on what experienced teachers think about today’s kids. The upshot was that children have truly changed in the last decade or so, in real and significant ways, and one major change was that many kids don’t know how to play. That is, they don't know how to play without a device, and as a result, compared to years ago, many lack creativity. This compounds an already-problematic erosion of the skill of thinking for themselves and making up their own minds. They rely on the internet for that. Easy answers, right or wrong, stop the inquiry, stop the thought process, and stop the wonder.
So how does hockey fit in? Well, hockey is a game. We PLAY hockey. We know that physical and mental well-being comes from play. Social skills come from play, and they are lost without it. And maybe most importantly, the creativity that comes from play is what drives young minds and unshackles them, encouraging thought and allowing wonder. We need play to remain creative. We need creativity for growth and human happiness.
Somewhere in here is a core truth about the importance of what we all do, delivering our game to more than 50,000 participants in B.C. and Yukon. It may be more important than it has ever been in our 103-year history. You will see echoes of this in the BC Hockey’s upcoming Strategic Plan.
And here’s some good news as we look ahead. What we have all done to keep the game going, through significant challenges, is already paying dividends. We might not fully feel it yet (in many cases due to being exhausted from all of what we’ve endured), but our collective accomplishments through the pandemic are a true success story. There is no playbook for some of the challenges we have faced, but that’s fine. We just do what hockey people do. We adapt, change on the fly, and stay in the game.
As we’ve begun to return to the ‘more normal’ rhythms of our game, crowning champions and looking ahead, it bears reflecting that it matters. Play matters. Hockey matters. We are all better for it.
Ok, back on mute! See you at the rink,
Cam
