INNISFAIL – They are brave. They soar. And they score. Well, some days at least.
They are the Innisfail Tim Hortons Eaglets, a team of four-year-old potential hockey wunderkinds. They are Innisfail’s mighty tiny tykes who more than anyone else symbolize everything that is great about Canada’s beloved national winter sport.
Every Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Innisfail Arena there is a convocation of 27 Eaglets.
Bernie Vanderham has been there for the past 16 years as head coach with his son Logan. For Bernie, it’s a labour of love to guide this special team, the youngest division of the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association.
“It’s a game I love. I love teaching them the skills, and it keeps me young too,” said Bernie.
Each hockey season Bernie and Logan teach each Eaglet, which include five girls, the basics of old-time hockey. Bernie is proud to point out he and Logan also have the committed help and support from numerous parent volunteer coaches.
The 2021-22 season, which started in October, is the first time since the first week of December 2020 the Eaglets squad have been able to take to the ice.
They, like all Innisfailians seeking recreational opportunities, were shut down by the pandemic. But through careful attention to all provincially mandated restrictions at the Arena all is good in the world of hockey for this young and extraordinary team, whose 27 members is the highest number in more than three years.
“I think it’s because there are more younger families in town, and so you end up with seven more kids,” said Bernie, adding his young squad also has kids from Penhold, which does not have a hockey program for four-year-olds.
They will remain under the Vanderhams guidance for just one year and move on if they choose to the Dynamite division as five and six-year-olds.
“We are learning very valuable life skills. When you fall down you always get up. You never say quit. And you try new things,” he said. “These kids basically just started running two years ago and now they’re on the ice. Nobody has tried skating before, so that’s what I try to teach them, the skills of skating and introducing them to hockey.
“We start at the start of the year just learning how to get up and manage our skates. And then we graduate to getting forward motion going. In January we usually work on stopping because we got some forward motion going by then.”
It's at this point of awestruck youngster progress to introduce pucks.
“Once they are capable of fully standing up then you can start introducing pucks to learn the skills of puck handling,” said Bernie. “I try to get the kids involved in the sport that is fun and challenging.”
He said the kids will ultimately play only “mini games” amongst themselves. They don’t travel and only practice once a week.
“And it’s grassroots learn-how-to-skate hockey,” said Bernie.
But at the end of the year Bernie and Logan introduce the Eaglets to a real game between themselves. It will prepare them for what will come the following season when they move up to the Dynamite division.
“The kids are willing to try and learn. They all have different individual skills, so if you work with each one individually you try to bring them along,” said Bernie. “My savior is that if I have a good kid that takes off, the other ones want to catch them, so the enthusiasm is all the same there.
“Parents are really happy that their kids are doing something. Parents are really upbeat as to participation and wanting them to be there. They are upbeat.”
