![]() “Because if they feel like they’re alone, if they feel like no one that looks like them does the sport, then then we’ll lose them.” I’m not alone, OK, I’m in the right space’ is invaluable to keeping them in the game,” Featherstone said. “Stuff like this where you’re like: ‘Oh, there are other kids that look like me that do this sport. ![]() Featherstone described multiple attempts to make teams growing up and being discriminated against for being Black.įeatherstone, who recently retired after 24 years in the Marines, believes that off-ice training is more valuable to kids than the on-ice work because it shows them they're part of a community and how to deal with racism and other challenges. “It helped him to understand he is not alone."Ībercrombie recounted receiving a hand-written apology letter from a former high school teammate, who is white. ![]() “Hearing Duante' speak about his experiences, you’re really changing one mind at a time when it comes to parents, players,” she said. Hockey Hall of Famer Neal Henderson was worth it. The chance to hear stories and advice from Abercrombie, former Navy hockey captain Ralph Featherstone and longtime Fort Dupont Cannons coach and U.S. area than she did back in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Canada. Recounting some of the racist incidents she and Braeden has been subjected to, Seeraj-Montague expressed disappointment that her son was having a worse experience in hockey in the D.C. A goalie and left wing with the surgically repaired knee to show for playing hockey growing up, she told her son it would be a life-changing experience. ![]() That is exactly the experience Braeden's mother, Raveena Seeraj-Montague, wanted for her son and why she was willing to drive 24 hours back from her hometown in Manitoba for it. “Now that we’ve done that, we built that base of the pyramid, as we like to say ‘the pyramid of participation,’ we can now focus on the kids that are participating and help then go from maybe (recreational) to elite or elite to that top tier, maybe help a kid get from house to travel or travel to tier one or from high school to college.” “We’ve established providing opportunities and providing entry level opportunities for kids,” Robinson said. Developing the clinic took time because, first, hockey had to expand in the Washington area, and many families now in various programs are wondering what's next. Abercrombie, a member of the Capitals Black Hockey Committee who served as the Toronto Maple Leafs coaching development associate last season, worked with the team's youth hockey program to craft the two-day clinic to teach local players everything from proper nutrition and conflict resolution to college recruitment.Ĭapitals director of youth hockey Peter Robinson pointed out the sport has several different avenues for players to climb the ladder, many of which are different than baseball, basketball or football. ![]()
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