What began as a one-off summer camp to expose marginalized youth to hockey has grown into a national program that annually serves over 800 youth in nine cities across Canada. Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS) provides free hockey programming for at risk children and youth, offering a safe and stable environment for them to grow, connect and succeed.

In this episode of What's Working, HEROS Executive Director, Kevin Hodgson, explains how the program is empowering youth who never imagined they'd call themselves hockey players into confident, resilient adults who share a lifelong passion for the fastest game on ice. Kevin discusses how the HEROS and SuperHEROS approach differs from those in traditional minor hockey environments, why volunteers keep coming back year after year, and how learning to go "bar down" led one participant to a call to the bar as a future lawyer.

For more information on HEROS, visit the ⁠HEROS website⁠ and email Kevin at kevin@heroshockey.com.

Chapters

0:00 Opening

1:24 What is HEROS Hockey?

3:04 SuperHEROS and First Nations ball hockey

4:48 From summer camp to year-round program

7:26 The goal: smiles, not NHL players

10:54 From refugee camp to lawyer

12:03 Relationships first: the coaching approach

14:48 Playing the long game

16:47 The $1,000-per-player cost and funding

20:16 Finding and keeping volunteers

23:03 Alumni who give back

24:03 Why the goal is beer league players

27:06 How schools help find the kids

29:13 Reaching families of kids with disabilities

30:25 How to start a HEROS-style program

33:23 “Sport reveals character”

35:19 Adapting sport to the kid