New school program aims to curb ‘decline’ in Maple Leafs and hockey interest across the GTA
· Toronto Sun
When free Maple Leafs tickets go unclaimed by young people, it’s a sign of weak soil in the grass roots.
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Immigration lawyer and season-ticket subscriber Mario Bellissimo recalls his shock when he and brother Anthony offered their seats to Grade 7 and 8 bursary winners in the Toronto District Catholic School Board, expecting they’d be eagerly snatched up.
“Instead of hands going up around the room, there was nothing, zero,” Mario said. “It was all Raptors and TFC they wanted. We were definitely seeing a decline.”
That’s not only troubling for a 109-year-old team in its own backyard, but troubling for hockey itself in the 21st century Canadian landscape.
“It isn’t just a newcomers’ thing, it’s the barriers to access points in hockey,” Bellissimo added. “The kids believe they’re already shut out. Yes, it’s a sport that’s been here a long time, but they think ‘that’s not for us.’
“That’s when we activated.”
The brothers began a two-fold initiative: Make sure Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment knew of and shared their concerns, getting in touch with CEO Keith Pelley, while Mario assembled an all-star team for an in-school program to reinforce hockey’s cultural link.
“One of the poignant things for me had been attending a school skating event where certain kids couldn’t participate because they had no skates. Anthony and I wondered if this was just our bad experience, but when we first tried to set up some events in schools there was some hesitation — ‘no, our kids aren’t interested in hockey.’
“I thought this can’t be happening in Toronto. In my work in settlement communities, you can argue hockey is not familiar to all, but it is a familiar cultural guard rail.”
Which brings us to ‘Stronger Together,’ of which Mario is co-founder and executive director, and where on Monday more than 600 students and teachers crowded the gym at St. Conrad in Downsview. Many were in Leafs or NHL colours, pushing the decibel level to welcome Mario, Leafs great Rick Vaive, Kalley Armstrong, the grand-daughter of Leafs legend George, and emcee Mike Wilson, the ‘Ultimate Leafs Fan.’
Juno-award nominee entertainer Markus de Domenico of the TDCSB warmed up the kids with Stompin’ Tom Connors’ The Hockey Song .
It was the second of eight events for the group as they put the finishing touches on the program.
What is the group’s message?
“A big part of the message is you don’t have to wear a team sweater to feel part of the game,” said Wilson, who has hosted similar past initiatives with partner Deb Thuet. “You can be a coach, referee, manager, trainer, stats person or write about the game. Or play ball hockey, field hockey, even table-top hockey.”
Mario presents his own experiences of his late father coming to Canada from Italy in the 1950s with no idea of what end of a stick to hold, but immersing his children in the Leafs and the winter passtime. Wilson has many tales for the young audience of Leafs history through his vast memorabilia and sports appraisal business, while Vaive brings first-hand on-ice NHL experiences.
Kalley, who played at Harvard, is an engaging storyteller just like her four-time Stanley Cup winning grandpa, and active in hockey instruction, encouraging other Indigenous girls and boys.
“We did a Q and A at the end for the kids at the first school we visited and right away 300 hands shot up,” Wilson said. “Four- and five-year-olds listened to every word. They all bought in. It reinforces that hockey defines us as a nation”
The Bellissimo brothers’ letter to Pelley a year ago not only received favourable response, he took them to dinner to hear more about the three tenets of Stronger Together — teamwork, inclusion and participation.
“We’d thought we might get the brush off — ‘here’s a Leafs hat, thanks for coming’ — but it all worked out. We had more meetings and correspondence, gave Mr. Pelley some ideas, part of which MLSE has implemented.”
What are some other suggestions?
Other suggestions by the brothers, such as making tickets more affordable for families through methods such as restricting re-sales, will take longer consideration.
“But we also thought ‘let’s do something ourselves,’” Mario said. “We didn’t want this to be just rah-rah about (pro) hockey, let’s get something curriculum-based with student activity projects.”
Getting green-lighted for junior, senior and high schools in the Catholic and Toronto District School Board was a huge boost. Where 30 schools in Toronto was Stronger Together’s modest goal to host presentations this year and next, it’s now approved for 160 more with activity packages and teacher resources in JK to Grade 8 in the TDCSB.
At St. Conrad, there was a table full of Leafs and Marlies merchandise as incentive to participate in questions or give to those who put the most into their hockey-related assignments.
In this particular disappointing season, with no playoffs let alone a Cup, Wilson is sure the Leafs will want to remain relevant through Stronger Together.
“After 1992 and ‘93 when the Blue Jays won the World Series, amateur baseball exploded, when the Toronto Rock won three titles youth lacrosse took off, then TFC and the Raptors winning it all got those sports bigger.
“The Leafs haven’t won, so there’s no relation for kids to copy any heroes. It’s been 59 years since their last Cup. Their parents weren’t even born, unlike a time when Toronto or Montreal were in the final every year.”
What are the three tiers of Stronger Together?
Maple Pathways: Introducing students to hockey’s full ‘ecosystem’, everything coaching, training, analytics, sports science, business, media, music, event staging, management and community work.
Mini Rinks, Big Dreams: Through venerable and minimal logistics of table-top hockey (many sets will be made available to students) they’ll take a break from video screens and electronics. The knobs, spinning players and goaltending rods encourage fine motor skills, strategies and face-to-face communication to be augmented by creative writing and storytelling.
Skates On, Spirits Up: Inclusion for those without proper equipment, either because of cost or access. It’s hoped adults and kids with unused skates or gear will donate to schools or offer anything from advice to joining a league, community skate or provide a ride to the rink.
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