The Adam Herold Legacy Foundation (AHLF) held its Hockey and Leadership Development Program in Radville over the weekend.
The Foundation was established to honour Adam Herold, the youngest player killed in the Humboldt bus accident. Adam, from Montmartre, Sask., was a talented athlete but more importantly, he was always willing to help others to make his community and province a better place.
The Hockey and Leadership Development program provides opportunities to Saskatchewan youth to develop and refine not only their hockey skills, but also their leadership potential. The Foundation provides top trainers for skill development, physical and mental training, coaching development and ongoing support for hockey programs in rural communities.
While hockey skills are an important part of the program, the camps also focus on teaching players about being leaders in their communities and the importance of helping others and giving back. In fact, all participants are asked to complete volunteer work in their communities as part of the leadership training.
“The focus on players giving back to these communities is a key element of our hockey and leadership development camps,” said Russell Herold, Adam’s dad. “We try to really drive home to the kids that what they do and how they act off the ice is also very important. Doing the right thing and being a leader counts not only in the dressing room but also in their schools and their communities.”
Radville is the first of three communities to host the Foundation’s program for the 2020-21 season — Naicam and Maple Creek are scheduled to hold their camps in the coming weeks. The events are a joint effort between the Foundation and host communities.
Communities are responsible for arranging and providing ice and classroom facilities, co-ordinating registration and providing other support as required and the Foundation provides highly qualified coaches, instructors and other resources for the weekend sessions.
Herold said, “2020 has been a trying year for everyone so we’re pretty excited to be able to get out and visit these communities. Even though we had to make some changes and scale back the number of participants to comply with COVID regulations, we’re looking forward to giving these kids a great experience and hopefully leave them with some new tools to help them make a positive difference in their communities.”
This is the third year for the AHLF Hockey and Leadership program. In 2019-20, the Foundation travelled to Preeceville and Alameda/Torquay. In 2018-19, Balcarres and Gravelbourg played host. One-day mini-camps are also held annually in Montmartre at the rink where Adam first learned to skate and fell in love with the game of hockey.
For more information about the AHLF, visit the Foundation’s website www.adamheroldlegacyfoundation.ca, the Foundation’s Facebook page or contact erin@heroldstrong.ca for more information.
