Juan Strickland sent his best player to the dressing room in the third period because he wasn’t being respectful of his opponent.
It’s part of his commitment to not only help young hockey players become good hockey players, but teach them a thing or two about life and how to behave as respectable young boys and girls.
Strickland is coaching Torngat Mountains entry in the 2018 Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador Atom G Championship this week in Corner Brook.
Strickland’s team, making the long trek from Natuashish, features a group of boys and girls who were getting their first taste of provincial competition. More importantly, it was the first time for all hands, with the exception of one, travelling outside of the northern community they call home.
Strickland helps the wide-eyed players learn how to skate, shoot and pass, but teaching them how to be good people is equally important to him.
He sent his top scorer to the dressing room with his team holding a comfortable, demanding lead on Corner Brook in the tournament opener.
He wanted the young fella to know that it’s not very sportsmanlike to try and run up the scoreboard against an opponent and to understand that there is more to the game than winning or losing.
He teaches the children that treating your teammates, opponents and officials with respect is more important than scoring goals or making the big save.
“I don’t like it when one team embarrasses or humiliates the other one,” Strickland said of a philosophy he has followed since he began coaching.
Going into the north with hopes of making a difference in the lives of children who don’t have the same opportunities as a lot of boys and girls in this province has been a challenge for him, but he has no qualms about the time spent with a special group of youth.
He would love to see more community involvement in the lives of the youth. He would like to see more parents coming to the rink and watching their children play.
He has seen the athletic ability shine in so many young people in the north that he can’t help but think about how good they could be if there was more support and a bigger effort put into providing athletic opportunities for those who live in an isolated place.
“If we encourage them I think they would stick with it,” he said. “If we develop these programs so that they were more successful and organized then the kids would come.”
At the end of the day, he thinks about the laughs he had from what one of them said or tried to do during his time on the ice. He has to be patient and realistic in his expectations because these children are new to the game and are innocent to what is around them when they are removed from the familiarity of the land.
“I got a smile on my face every day I’m on the ice,” Strickland said. “I just wish there were more people who could actually see it and appreciate the talent they got and how hard they are working.”
