Young hockey players keeping it classy
Today’s young elite athletes have many more expectations foisted on them than those preceding.
The current situations of athlete protests during the national anthem of NFL games and the reaction of team owners, fans and even the President of the United States is one example.
Here in Peterborough, the situations regularly facing the Petes players from parents, teams, agents, fans on social media and peers can be overwhelming if not controlled.
Today the management of OHL teams, as one example of those running elite athletic programs, must spend time helping the young players to handle the external pressures as well as coaching their hockey talent.
In the NFL, a protest by a single football player, Colin Kaepernick then of the San Francisco 49’ers has now grown into a controversy that has outweighed the original intent. Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem prior to a preseason game in 2016. He was protesting the treatment of blacks by police. Few noticed and fewer cared. He continued his protest through last season with a few players joining him. When others took up his cause this season since he was not signed by a team, the President of the United States decided to get involved.
Donald Trump still is upset with the NFL from 40 years ago. In 1984, as the owner of the New Jersey franchise in the upstart, United States Football League, he led a $1.7 billion antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. The courts awarded the USFL a $1 settlement. Trump never let the embarrassing putdown go.
It appears his comments about the current protest in the NFL is less about dishonouring the flag than it is for Trump to embarrass the NFL.
This brings to light the power today’s elite athletes have gained. They are no longer just performers on a field, rink, court or diamond. They quickly can become national figures, often unintended.
Therein lies the additional onus management of young elite athletes must now deal with. A few years back the Petes had to deal with a player’s inappropriate comments on a social media site. The OHL quickly became involved and obviously today, warnings of such behaviour are part of each teams’ off-ice program.
As elite players work their way up the ladder of their sport more external pressures beyond those expected in their chosen field, often appear. The Ontario Hockey League leads the way in preparing their young players for as much of what they might face as possible.
The Petes spend many hours having the players meet with fans around the community. As much as this helps make possible paying fans aware of the team, it gives the players a learning atmosphere. They often meet young children who are very aware of their place on the team but are not at all reluctant to ask them personal questions.
When they go out around the city in groups, they are often recognized. Again, they must handle some intrusions in their off-ice time because of their notoriety. These are real learning experiences for young players coming out of midget hockey where they played in relative obscurity. Directions in handling of these situations often fall on the veterans of the club as well as management.
For example, last week the NHL’s newest team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, opened their inaugural season. Following the mass shootings earlier in the city, the team had a subdued opening ceremony featuring an emotional heartfelt address to the fans by Vegas player, Deryk Engelland.
Engelland was born in Edmonton and played his junior hockey in Moose Jaw and again showed that hockey players, and not just the elite ones, have unprecedented class when it comes to their involvement in the community.