GBHA is stepping up for players: “We’re there for them”
"One day, your hockey career is going to end, right? And when it does, you've got guys at the U of A who are willing to help," Peterson says.
Supplied At first glance, you might assume the University of Alberta Golden Bears Hockey Alumni Association (GBHA) was a group of old(er) guys getting together for games, planning golf tournaments and fundraisers, year after year, season after season, one title after the other.
Hey, there’s a place for it.
As recently as last season, it was quite the norm for those in the 40, 50, 60, 70, whatever it may be age-range, to take on the casino and golf fundraiser, contribute to the Bears program in fitting with the status quo, and occasionally donate financially.
This season though? They’ve “stepped up.”
“Guys just want to reconnect, rekindle friendships, tell stories. But at the same time, what we’re also saying is, ‘let’s also step up and help the team’,” Rick Peterson, GBHA vice-president explained.
“What we can do is make the [GBHA] more meaningful to us. Each of us can help. Then each of us has contacts that we can reach out to and say, ‘hey guys, have a look at what the Bears are doing. Is there a way that we can have you partner and support our team, because it’s meaningful to me, and your business is meaningful to me.'”
“Then I think the really big thing is letting our players know that we’re stepping up for them. We’re there for them. We’re there for you guys.”
I’d vote for him.
The man behind the association — or I guess in front — makes a clear point though. What has been done is great, but there is more to do.
There’s ways to help recruitment.
Aid Bears’ general manager, Stan Marple.
Get involved with the community.
Help specific players with specific goals.
“Players that are coming in from the [Western Hockey League] are expecting certain things. They need a little bit of help, some of them with tutors. There’s scholarships which are big. So all of these are things that the team has to raise money themselves, and Stan has done 95 per cent of that,” Peterson added.
“What we’re doing with the Alumni Association this year is thinking of ways that we can complement and help Stan.”
Things like corporate sponsors, scholarships, job mentorships, and a website, are all the things that might have been overlooked in the name of “golf fundraisers” by the casual fan.
So, again, they’ve stepped up, shown some real care towards the players, and become an active component in and around the team.
No, they didn’t throw the skates back on, sub in for Blake Gustafson or Joel Sexsmith, and save Bruce MacGregor that stint on defence. But would they have? Probably.
Are we glad they didn’t? Also probably.
Instead, a small group of five or six alumni made the trek up to Calgary in early March, supported the Bears in a 6-0, last win of the season, shutout victory over Mount Royal, and reminded the team of the support and resources they have to offer.
“Our goal is to be able to help these guys any way we can. And we want our guys, when they’re recruiting, to say, ‘hey, you should come to U of A because the alumni guys got your back not only while you’re there. Go and play wherever you want after because one day, your hockey career is going to end, right? And when it does, you’ve got guys at the U of A who are willing to help.'”
That’s the reality of Bears hockey — most players are recruited with the plan to play professional hockey in whatever league it may be, Europe or North America, before and after graduation.
It is, quite literally, the dream.
Though, eventually, every player has to hang up the skates, reflect on a job well done, and maybe look back on a team that was once a blip in their career, but now has a 600+ member association dedicated to mentoring and guiding players.
“We want them to know that we’re not just going to recruit them hard to come here and play. That we can help set them up with an alumni in their chosen field of study and get them a job in, I guess you could call it, the real world,” Marple said.
