Cops & Kids 'Scarborough Strong' Hockey Camp helps unite community

SCARBOROUGH, Ontario -- For hockey to continue to grow, more people need to be exposed to the sport. But through hockey, as people are exposed to the sport, growth can also be found within a community.

That is what the 2023 Cops & Kids -- 'Scarborough Strong' Hockey Camp, which ran July 17-28 in Scarborough, Ontario, about a half hour drive northeast of Scotiabank Arena, was all about.

"Day One, they're getting on the ice and some of them can barely skate," Police Superintendent David Rydzik told NHL.com. "I've watched them progress now not only in their abilities but coming out of their shell. These are 60 kids where for the majority of them, they've never known each other.

"They're from different neighborhoods and communities across Scarborough and now you watch them, and they've become friends, they're talking about getting together after hockey. Their skill and confidence level has gone up so much and you hear them out in the hallway now, it's not quiet anymore. It's loud and they're excited."

Through the joint NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, $50,000 was granted to the Toronto Police Service from the Hockey Advancement Event as part of the 2022 Heritage Classic. The money went to cover equipment, operating costs and the next step hockey program plans, a key component of the initiative this year for Rydzik.

Why? Because after running a similar program in 2018 in partnership with the NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund, once the 10-week program concluded, though it was excellent, many of the participants were left with no path forward to continue with hockey.

"Part of our pitch this time was to allow as many kids as possible who showed some promise in hockey and want to continue with the sport the opportunity to play organized hockey this fall after the camp in a house-league setting," Rydzik said. "We've got enough money left to be able to fund hopefully half, pay for their house-league fees and they'll get to keep the equipment.

"Many of the kids here are suffering from financial hardships and come from some of our more troubled neighborhoods, and wouldn't have the financial means to continue to play hockey if it weren't for this program."

The nearly two-week camp was run by police officers who work within the community. The benefits, both on and off the ice, were immediate for the 60 kids, boys and girls aged 7 to 11, who participated.

"My daughter couldn't stop (while skating) the first day at all, but now she can stop no problem. But it's just the encouragement no matter what level they were," parent Chantal Hennigar said. "Whether they were scoring 50 goals or one goal or no goals, the [officers] were always encouraging all the kids."

Barbara Humphrey said her son had only skated four times prior to the camp. Now he won't be stopping anytime soon.

"Being here for the last two weeks, they've been ecstatic," Humphrey said. "We've never seen so much energy in them. It's brought out their self-worth. I have to put my son into it, this is the beginning of his hockey career."

For Halima Sheikh, hockey was not even a thought within her family until her two daughters were invited to participate. But after initially accepting the offer merely hoping her kids would learn to skate, their goals quickly became much loftier.

"Now my youngest daughter who is eight is asking me, 'Mom, do you think one day I'm going to play for Team Canada?', and she's asking why the camp is ending and why they can't keep it for longer," Sheikh said. "She's watching Toronto Maple Leafs videos now and I'm telling her, 'You're just beginning.' And she's telling me, 'Mom, no, I need to see what they do and how to do it the best.'"

The final day of the camp was game day for the kids, who got the opportunity to put their work in skill-development sessions to the test. Robert Knesaurek, NHL Senior Vice President, Industry Growth, was in attendance to help pass out medals to the kids following the games.

"It's exceeded expectations," Knesaurek said. "You always envision something and then when you walk in and actually see it live, I'm overwhelmed, I'm excited for the future and I'm excited to see many people from many different environments and ethnicities build out hockey as part of their culture and part of their way forward. We truly believe that hockey is for everyone, and we try to provide support for communities like this to demonstrate that and put our money where our mouth is. If we want our game to grow and be viable in the future, we have to connect to broader communities."

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The benefits of this initiative do not just benefit hockey though. The results are seen in the trust, bonds and relationships forged between the kids and the police officers they see in their communities.

"For our officers who've engaged with these kids for the last two weeks, these are the same officers that are going to be working in those neighborhoods that for years to come will be seeing and engaging with these kids, and now there are some friendships there," Rydzik said. "So for the kids it's not just 'Oh there's a cop,' it's 'Oh it's Officer Scott who is my hockey coach.'

"Those relationships, I don't know how you put a value on that, but the way you see them interacting with the kids, it's like they're best buddies. They're not just a cop. It's a win for us all the way around."

Officer Andrew Gronross, who played Junior A hockey with Bowmanville of the OJHL over 20 years ago, was a volunteer coach throughout the camp. He said it was not only beneficial for building trust amongst the kids, but also with their parents.

"It shows the parents and the kids that officers are human beings too," Gronross said. "There's a lot of misconceptions out there with police and their relationships with the communities, but doing things like this, this is just what we do. We love it, we're doing this for the kids, and it's been great."

Humphrey said seeing the kids interact with the police through hockey will benefit the community for years to come.

"It actually brings a lot of peace to the community for me," Humphrey said. "The police officers with everything they do (with initiatives like this) show they are there for the community and that there is support and to not be afraid to come to them for something. The kids love it and my son wants to be a police officer now too."

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On Jul 16, the day prior to the camp beginning, a triple shooting occurred on Danzig Street in the city's West Hill neighborhood at 3 p.m. Two of the three people shot were arrested in connection with the incident; the third person shot was a bystander. It left the community shaken, even more so given that it occurred on the 11th anniversary of a mass shooting on the same street in which a 14-year old girl and a 23-year old man were killed and 22 other people were injured.

One of the kids who attended the camp was outside at the time near the most recent shooting but Rydzik, who attended the response to the shooting, explained how police involvement with programs like the Cops & Kids hockey camp can make a difference.

"There's chaos, a lot of people are scared and as I'm walking back to my car, there's a family in front me and the young girl turns around and waves at me," Rydzik said. "I ask, 'Were you out when this happened and hopefully you weren't scared.' And she said, 'I was so scared but then I saw Officer Wortz and Officer Palmer and I felt better because Officer Wortz is my baseball coach and tomorrow I start hockey, it's been my dream to play hockey.'

"So there's a shooting in her community, she was scared, but had some comfort level when she saw an officer she knew that was one of her coaches for baseball and now for hockey. She lit up and felt safer and has now been out for two weeks engaging and excelling at hockey. We want to build those bonds and have a relationship so they're not afraid to come up and talk to us as police because they know who we are. They trust us and we're viewed as a friend."