Ice Hockey: Diversity profile -- H.E.R.O.S.

You might think in the birthplace of hockey everyone should have access to playing hockey. Not true.

Only a year old, the Vancouver based HEROS was created so that inner city children in Vancouver would be exposed to a game that probably somebody in their family had played at one time or another. HEROS, which stands for Hockey Education Reaching Out to Society is the only Canadian member of the DTF, which is based in Canada. It was created by a former hockey player, Norm Flynn, who with his business partner and current HEROS director, Casey Cawley, saw first hand how much ice hockey in Harlem had done for inner city children in New York. They wanted to do the same in Vancouver.

The HEROS program is different from its U.S. counterparts in that not only are education and hockey stressed, but participants are provided with ice time, equipment, and meals. Every child is considered a hero and their hockey skill level isn't important.

To be considered for the program, children are selected based on the five following criteria; A. Aptitude B. School Attendance C. Family Involvement D. Leadership Qualities E. Character

Once participants have met those five criteria, they agree to abide by a player code of conduct. That player code of conduct is another point that distinguishes HEROS from their U.S. DTF bretheren.