Adopt-a-Hawk
Of all pro athletes, I think hockey players are my favorite. Any guy who gets oral surgery at intermission and still plays the other 2 periods is my kind of guy. Not to mention, the word "hoser" is part of their vernacular.
And becoming a pro hockey player is the loneliest journey in sports. Baseball players can lament about riding buses to small-town ballparks, but at least most of them were grown men when they did this.
Hockey players leave home at 15 for junior leagues! Imagine being a hockey prodigy from New York City, who has to go live with a Canadian foster family so he can play for the Onion Lake Winterhawks of the Northeastern Alberta Junior League!
(Nothing against Canadian foster families. I'm sure they're very lovely).
Point is, hockey players have to grow up fast. But some of them are so gifted they still reach the NHL before they do. That's why the Hawks have established their "Adopt-a-Hawk" program.
Comments
Pat,
I never really thought about very young pro atheletes before. Children away from their families playing one of the toughest sports there is. Gifted or not; should they play this young? Not to mention the potential injuries to these kids. Perhaps the system needs to be changed instead of this "adopt a Hawk" program.
Posted by: Christine | December 4, 2007 7:49 PM