‘Such valuable lessons’: Délı̨nę ice rink facilitates skill through sport one year after upgrades | CBC News

The Bahya brothers, 14-year-old Saoyue, and 10-year-old Tudze, spend most of their days at the ice rink in Délı̨nę, N.W.T., and when they’re not there, they’re working on improving their hockey game through fitness and nutrition. 

It’s been just over a year since the Sahtu, N.W.T. community upgraded its indoor rink from gravel to concrete and the boys’ mother, Mandy Bahya, says the facility is providing a safe space where Délı̨nę youth are learning teamwork, healthy living, respect, leadership and having plain old fun.  

“My youngest one especially, basically lives there now,” she said.

Bahya volunteers to help keep score and bring snacks, and she helps with anything else that comes up.

“I see such good things with the improvements [of the rink] and just the growth of my sons that I definitely spend my free time to support however I can,” she said.

With the new rink, the community also hired former NHLer Sandy McCarthy to run programming. 

In the summer, he ran ball hockey, lacrosse and boxing. Now that it’s cold enough to make ice, McCarthy runs clinics during the week and public skates for families on weekends.

“This arena has seen more action since they put that [concrete] pad in, than it has for many years,” McCarthy said. 

He says the rink is about more than learning sports skills. 

“One of my biggest rules here is to respect each other, respect yourself, respect the place you’re in.”

Bahya says she sees those values reflected clearly in her kids’ growth, and says they’re learning habits that will carry them through life. 

“Any organized sports where you’re playing in a team, you’ll learn such valuable lessons and skills on how to work with one another, how to be respectful and just things that will help you in terms of growing and integrity and honesty and fairness … there’s a lot more than just teaching skills about hockey,” she said.

“As a parent, I couldn’t be happier with having a program like that in the community.”

McCarthy says the facility and the community’s participation in its programs instills a sense of pride. 

He says he is working to put together a tournament in the new year and hopes to bring in some former teammates from the big league to help out with coaching.