Education came before sports for Montreal’s Darche brothers
Montreal’s annual Sports Celebrity Breakfast is a special event for Mathieu Darche.
Five years ago, the former Canadiens forward had just announced his retirement from the NHL and less than two months later was invited to attend the Sports Celebrity Breakfast, which raises money for the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors Foundation. While there, Mike Cohen — one of the event organizers — introduced Darche to Mike Wagen, the senior vice-president and owner of Delmar International Inc., a global freight-forwarding and customs brokerage giant.
The two hit it off and, after a few lunch meetings, Wagen decided to hire Darche, who is the company’s vice-president of sales and marketing in Canada with a team of about 30 people working under him.
“I got lucky, but I’m sure having a college education contributed to them hiring me,” Darche said on Thursday. “So part of it was having my degree, but part of it was luck also, meeting Mike at this breakfast.”
The sold-out 14th annual Sports Celebrity Breakfast will be held Sunday at the Cummings Centre, with the event having raised close to $3 million over the years to help aid senior citizens. This will also be a special breakfast for Darche, who along with his brother, J.P., are being honoured as the Sports Personalities of the Year.
Mathieu and J.P. are shining examples for young athletes on how to combine athletics and academics.
Before playing in the NHL, Mathieu spent four seasons at McGill University, where he earned a commerce degree, majoring in marketing and international business, while also playing hockey for the Redmen.
J.P. studied medicine at McGill and was a linebacker on the football team. After McGill, J.P. played one season for the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and then nine seasons as a long-snapper in the National Football League with the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. After retiring from football, J.P. graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine and is a doctor, specializing in sports medicine.
Their mother, Lucie, was an elementary-school teacher and their father, Édouard, was an accountant. While growing up in Montreal, education always came first and the boys were told they wouldn’t be allowed to play sports if they didn’t keep their grades up.
Three years ago, the Darche brothers were inducted together into the McGill Sports Hall of Fame.
“My mom was a teacher, so we had no choice,” Mathieu said about school coming first. “We both lived at home when we were in university and when we’d come home, we’d talk about our hockey and football practices. And every night at the other end of the table, my mom would always say: ‘How were your classes today?’ There was always a balance.
“My parents went to every one of our games and supported us, but they never pushed us,” Mathieu added. “That’s probably why we both succeeded … we played because we loved it. I’ve got two boys in hockey right now and it’s sad when you see how some of the parents act.”
Mathieu’s sons — Samuel, 14, and Benjamin, 12 — both play hockey and basketball on their high school teams at Collège Jean de la Mennais in LaPrairie and education also comes first with them.
“Hockey should be in schools,” said Mathieu, who started and runs the hockey program at his sons’ school and is also president of the Ligue de Hockey Préparatoire Scolaire, which focuses on enhancing athletic development along with educational success. “It’s the only major sport that doesn’t go through school, which is sad. I tell the parents all the time your son or daughter has a better chance to earn a living with their grades than they do with their hockey.”
Mathieu said the time-management skills he learned at McGill have been a huge help in his life today as he juggles his job at Delmar, running a high school hockey program and league, doing TV commentary work on the Canadiens for RDS and being on the board of directors for the Ronald McDonald House of Montreal.
“I’ve spoken with some of my former teammates and they struggled after retiring,” Mathieu said. “A lot of them made millions (of dollars), which I didn’t, so I had to work. But even them … all of a sudden you’re kind of left to yourself and that’s what they have a hard time with after retiring. I don’t have time to get bored.”
Sunday will be a special day for Mathieu and J.P., who is coming in from Kansas City, with their parents in attendance at the Sports Celebrity Breakfast.
“J.P. doesn’t get to come to town very often,” Mathieu said. “It’s always nice to be honoured together. We’ve always been extremely close throughout both of our careers. I talked to J.P. after every single one of my games and he talked to me after every single one of his games.
“We’re very close, so this is a nice honour.”
Hockey should be in schools. It’s the only major sport that doesn’t go through school, which is sad.