On this First Nations hockey team, young men sharpen their skills and find support
Drop by the arena in Maple Ridge, B.C., and you'll often find the Band of Brothers playing practice hockey games.
They're flying around the ice, firing slap shots, turning on a dime — and preparing for college. The players are all young men who come from First Nations across Canada. They're here as part of Bird's Nest, a program that prepares youth for post-secondary education and supports their hockey dreams.
Skating beside these young men, shouting words of encouragement, is their mentor Dwight Ballantyne.
"I'm basically here to be there for them, to motivate them and tell them they're doing a good job."
"My life was drinking, drugs, I was getting caught up into so much drama and negativity. When you're trapped in an environment like that, you feel like no one is there to give you an opportunity to let yourself shine."
Ballantyne credits hockey for helping him through those challenging years. He grew up on Montreal Lake Cree Nation reserve in Saskatchewan, which like many rural communities has a bustling hockey arena. Ballantyne would spend hours there escaping from the drama of his life and sharpening his hockey skills.
Having seen first-hand the personal growth that hockey can bring, Ballantyne became committed to share his passion for the game with other young men. That's how he joined Bird's Nest, first as a participant and later as a mentor.
Under Ballantyne's watchful eye, the players on the Band of Brothers say they are already finding the skills and the support they need to succeed — both in hockey and in life.
"My goal coming here was to gain family and support," said player Darian Brown. "I never really had much of that, not brothers that cared for me as much as these guys do."