Powassan players trade ton of food for pro coaching

by Andy Campbell

Dec 20, 2007

POWASSAN – Powassan minor hockey players had the rare privilege of practicing with a world-recognized professional coach on Dec. 15, and all it cost was a donation to the food bank.

This is the third year for Tom Hedican’s Coach for Food campaign. Back in Canada for the holidays, Hedican uses his time off from coaching pro hockey in Switzerland to help out local food banks while lending some of his experience to minor hockey teams in North Bay and the surrounding area. Hedican said that he is following the example of rocker Bruce Springsteen, a long-time supporter of food banks.

“I’m doing what the Boss says,” he told the Almaguin News. “I’m getting off my butt and doing something.”

Powassan Minor Hockey did their part, donating about 1,800 pounds of food.

And Hedican did his part, putting the teams through a variety of skill-building drills used by the pros. He said that the approach in Europe is much more rooted in the fundamentals of the game, while in North America, the emphasis on systems begins at an early age. Canadian kids can often benefit from exercises that build on the basics of skating and passing.

“Let them learn the fundamentals first, and then teach them the systems,” said Hedican.

From noon to 2:30 p.m., Hedican was on the ice at the Sportsplex, working with Powassan’s Atom, Bantam and Midget teams.

“They were great,” said Hedican, noting that the players were performing unfamiliar drills, and making a solid effort to master the combinations of skills involved. Mastering basic skills in combination is where success begins.

“There are players making millions in the NHL because they can skate backward with a puck on an arc and make a pass,” said Hedican.

The Powassan players were not the only ones to benefit from this sage advice. The coaches were eager to pick up a few pointers as well. But the kids were definitely the most excited.

“It was an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Dean Harrington, president of Powassan Minor Hockey. “You don’t get too many kids in minor hockey who get to learn from a world-recognized professional hockey coach.”

Harrington said that the players and coaches were ready to take full advantage of Hedican’s advanced techniques. Minor hockey is grateful not only to their coach for a day, but also to the Powassan Lions, who donated the ice time, and their president Pete Van Amelsfoort, who set the whole thing up.

But it was no free ride for minor hockey. The teams did Powassan proud by working hard, listening closely and contributing nearly a ton of food for the opportunity. Their 1,800 pounds put the campaign over the 10,000-pound mark. So far, Hedican has raised double the 5,000 pounds donated last year, and he’s not finished yet.