One of H.E.R.O.S. sponsors is Telus, who helps provide funding for young people to play hockey.
Click here to view the interview and launch of H.E.R.O.S in Montreal
ctvmontreal.ca
Twenty-five lucky students from Ahuntsic got to lace their skates up Thursday as a new hockey was launched to help teenagers take part in a sport that's often too expensive for students.
Charity organization Hockey Education Reaching out Society - or H.E.R.O.S. - works with the NHL to help teenagers of diverse ethnic backgrounds and from low-income neighbourhoods get a chance to play the popular Canadian sport.
A group of 20 boys and five girls from Sophie Barat School, 11 of which are new to Canada, were outfitted with brand new hockey equipment.
Manuel, FROM Mexico, and his mother received their first lesson Thursday – how to lace up skates. Manuel said he's eager to learn.
"I've been watching hockey - the Canadiens - and it's hard to play. I'd like to play like that!" he said before he set two wobbly blades on the ice.
Enthusiasm like Manuel's is encouraging, said Norm Flynn, founder of H.E.R.O.S.
"It excites me. It's not so much what I see now; it's what I see in the next few weeks. As we see their skill level rise, we also see their confidence level rise," he said.
Flynn, who has been playing hockey since he was a child, first brought H.E.R.O.S. to Canada ten years ago, when he started the program in Vancouver. Thursday marked the first day of the program in Quebec.
"It's… about bringing the kids together making them feel as one," he said. "It's about self esteem."
O hand to help build self esteem and to inspire the young hockey players was Willie O'Ree, a former Boston Bruin and the NHL's first black player.
"You can do anything you set your mind to do, within your heart and in your mind," said O'Ree, adding that he can see the spark hockey has set off for some of the players.
"These boys and girls, when they're on the ice you can see the gleam in their eye."
Thu Oct. 07 2010 10:13:14 PM
