A day trip from Mount Forest to Pro Hockey Life in Kitchener, a Hot Shot Street Hockey poster and a hockey mom with two young hockey fanatics, was all it took to try something new. Well that — the right price — and perfect timing between hockey and soccer seasons.

Erin McArthur is a huge hockey fan,  a dedicated Leafs fan at that, and she has passed that love on to her two young sons, Liam, eleven and Keenan, nine. They attend Victoria Cross Public School and are just
two regular, super-active boys who both think mini-stick hockey should be an Olympic sport. They play video games, soccer, swim and love their cat, Stryker.

The boys started their love of sport when they were three year-olds by playing soccer in the spring and summer but, as they grew older, hockey was the perfect fit to keep them active during the winter months – and they love it!

“They eat, breath and live hockey,” said Erin.

Once hockey ends in March there is almost a month before soccer starts.

“The boys were really missing playing hockey so when we saw the poster and visited the website, we knew this was a great way to get the team together one more time before soccer started,” Erin added.

They were so happy they signed up a team. Liam and Keenan talk about Hot Shots all the time and how much fun they had. Erin’s employer, Hoss Bertrand of Global Assets Solutions sponsored the team.  She bought and made special jerseys just for the tournament which they still wear with pride — like when they attended an AA game in Milton with Hoss. The jerseys also start a lot of conversations which lead right to the boys talking about Hot Shots.

Hot Shots isn’t just about hockey. It’s a family event with lots for everyone to do from watching hockey to meeting Boyd Devereaux to having fun at the Street Fair.

“The setup was incredible,” Erin recalled. “There were hockey nets everywhere — a giant slide, the video game trailer. It was just fantastic. Liam and Keenan love their t-shirts and use the Hot Shots bag for everything. Even though their team lost every game and it rained most of the day, the boys didn’t care. It was just a great experience all round.”

When asked if she talked to the boys about what the tournament raises money for, she said “It
was important for them to know that the tournament was supporting Family and Children’s Services.”

Erin’s parents run a non-profit, charitable alternative therapeutic learning program for high-needs children and youth called the New Growth Family Centre in Mount Forest. They work with children and families who are dealing with autism, and behaviour and cognitive issues.

“So it was easy for the boys to understand, the importance of helping families,” she said.

This year, when Erin told the boys registration for Hot Shots was open, they didn’t hesitate. They told her to sign up right away and they each want to enter a team.  She is using the tournament as a learning opportunity for the boys, and their roles as team captains, by having them approach Global Assets Solutions on their own to ask for the sponsorship.

“And you may get a few more teams from Mount Forest this year,” she said, “with a lot of word-of-mouth advertising from Liam and Keenan.”

Information on Hot Shots Street Hockey

The seventh annual Hot Shots Street Hockey Tournament takes place Saturday, May 12 at Sportsworld Crossing, Kitchener from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information about registering a team in the Hot Shots Street Hockey Tournament visit www.hotshotstournament.com or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HSstreethockey

Hot Shots Street Hockey Tournament raises money to help send kids involved with Family and Children’s Services to summer camp. Last year, Family and Children’s Services gave over 700 kids the opportunity to just be kids by sending them to summer camp. For more information on Family and Children’s Services visit www.facswaterloo.org

Find More Articles Tagged: