What is the World Junior A Challenge?
The Henderson household has by no means hesitated to provide their time – and their house – each time Dawson Creek has welcomed Hockey Canada over the past decade
Kevin Henderson describes the position of staff host as somebody who solves the
issues of others.
Pretty easy, however undoubtedly not simple.
Henderson is again at it once more this week for the 2019 World Junior A
Challenge in Dawson Creek, B.C., a group that has develop into a go-to for
Hockey Canada occasions, from the 2009 National Women’s Team -pre-Olympic boot
camp to the National Women’s Under-18 Championship and World Under-17
Hockey Challenge.
Henderson has been entrance and centre at the entire occasions as a volunteer,
primarily as a staff host. He is positioned with one of many competing groups and
is the primary particular person contacted when an issue arises – like when a participant
forgets to pack a few of his gear.
“One child forgot his skates this yr so I used to be requested, ‘Can we determine
one thing out?’ ” says Henderson, who by day is the overall supervisor of
growth companies on the City of Dawson Creek. “I play hockey with a man
who owns a sports activities retailer. He gave us a brand-new pair of skates for this child
to put on in practices and an exhibition recreation whereas his skates had been being
shipped.
“That’s the fantastic thing about a small city. It speaks to the group and
willingness to assist.”
That sense of coming collectively and doing no matter is important has put
Dawson Creek on the map. Hockey Canada frequently identifies communities
which have the power to host nationwide occasions. Sometimes it really works, different
instances it doesn’t work as nicely. With Dawson Creek it has develop into successful,
each time.
Henderson factors to the historical past of his group working with Canada’s
nationwide hockey physique. In 2009, Canada’s National Women’s Team wanted a
small group, away from the media glare, for its summer season boot camp, a
month-long occasion that sees gamers and workers transfer right into a group for on-
and off-ice coaching and staff constructing.
Dawson Creek welcomed the staff with open arms, with residents opening up
their properties for gamers and workers to reside in. The Henderson household – Kevin,
his spouse Tyra and their youngsters, Hudson and Rachel – moved out of their
house and in with Tyra’s mother and father, who had been on an acreage about quarter-hour
exterior of city.
The Henderson home became the house for Team Canada athletes Meaghan
Mikkelson, Brianne Jenner, Charline Labonté and Delaney Collins, two of
whom – Mikkelson and Labonté – can be on the ice in Vancouver months
later celebrating Olympic gold.
“It was nice to see how that course of began in Dawson Creek and went
proper by to the Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver,” says Henderson.
“Knowing you had a little bit half to play in that course of was fairly cool. I
know a number of the ladies’s gamers nonetheless discuss that have in Dawson
Creek. It was nice that we had the power to try this.”
The boot camp acted as a form of springboard for occasions in Dawson Creek.
In November 2012, town welcomed the National Women’s Under-18
Championship. Henderson was staff host for Ontario Blue, with Rachel performing
as a junior host and getting the prospect to hold across the gamers and soak
all of it in, together with a chance to skate with the staff in warm-up.
Ontario Blue ended up making historical past, upsetting Ontario Red – the
seven-time defending champion – within the semifinal en path to a gold medal.
Fast ahead three years and Dawson Creek is internet hosting the World Under-17
Hockey Challenge. Henderson is host for Canada White, Hudson is junior host
and, as soon as once more, the staff Henderson is internet hosting makes it to the gold medal
recreation. Hudson’s position at that occasion was actually to shadow the staff trainers.
He stuffed water bottles, grabbed sticks for gamers and was the basic
rink rat that acquired to expertise a lot.
Henderson says that have was not like some other for his small
group.
“Our facility (the Encana Events Centre) had by no means seen something like
that,” says Henderson. “There had been about 4,000 individuals in there for the
remaining, it was jammed to the rafters. Canada versus Russia … it doesn’t get
any higher than that. These are the sorts of issues which might be nice for
small communities like Dawson Creek.”
The under-17 occasion returned to Dawson Creek in 2017, with Henderson performing
as soon as once more host for Canada White, which this time completed with bronze.
Henderson’s involvement with Hockey Canada is only one a part of his love of
hockey. He didn’t play the sport as a toddler and began across the age of
30, when Hudson’s curiosity in hockey started. Both of his youngsters – Hudson
is now 21 and Rachel is nineteen – grew up on the rink, each performed hockey and
Henderson and his spouse lent numerous hours to minor hockey as volunteers –
he a coach and he or she a staff supervisor.
It has been simply over 10 years since Dawson Creek hosted Team Canada at
that boot camp and the group continues to rally round Hockey Canada
occasions.
“Our metropolis may be very lucky to have a core group of volunteers who acquired
concerned in 2009-10,” he says. “We have been capable of maintain that core group
collectively. That makes it rather a lot simpler from a bunch group perspective to
pull off these occasions. Everybody takes pleasure on this and all of us attempt to
do job.”
