Cherry in Kids Book’s Corner
By Brian Medel
Halifax Chronicle Herald
Don Cherry pulls no punches. He dresses like a
19th-century dandy and talks tough about pro hockey. That is why it might be
hard to picture Don as a 15 year-old with red eyes, wiping away the tears as he
trudges home through the crisp Kingston,
Ont. night air after playing the worst junior B game of his life.
“That’s a true story,” Cherry said in a phone interview from
his Toronto
home. He has seldom told anyone that tale from his youth, but thought it would
fit in nicely in the pages of a new children’s book published in Nova Scotia.
Cherry told about events on a snowy evening in Kingston...
where he tried too hard and played a lousy game.( Details in book ) Cherry has
tried to keep a positive attitude about everything in life ever since.
Cherry rarely allows his name to be used in connection
with books, but this time has made an exception.
As a result, Christopher Meuse, a first-time author, has
something few others will ever get- accolades from Hockey Night in Canada’s
resident curmudgeon.
“ I’ve seen hockey books before, but I’ve never seen one
like this that hits the mark as good as his,” said Cherry.
This children’s book is entitled, “Dear Don Cherry:
Does Hockey Love Kids?” It’s written from the perspective of a ten
-year-old boy and deals with the often intense emotional pressure placed on
child hockey players by their parents or coaches.
“ I get about 9,000 offers to be in books and stuff like
that and I usually turn them down, but with this one I liked it so well, I
said, ‘Let’s go!’ ” Cherry said.
(The book) is a fiction flavored with truisms.
In the book, young Tony loves to play hockey, but things are
taking a strange twist. His coach wants him to be more aggressive while his dad
wants him to exercise more and give up the junk food he enjoys.
Tony needs someone to talk to and turns to writing Don
Cherry a letter.
The star of CBC-TV’s Coach’s Corner responds with a true
story from his own youth that changes everything.
Kids must be accepted for who they are and what they can
do, on and off the ice. That parents and coaches should not live their lives
cariously through young hockey players is the book’s message.
Cherry agrees. “I’d like to get 50,000 of the books and
give them to every parent, that’s what I’d love to do,” he said.
“The only word I can think of is sad, the way (parents)
yell at the kids on the ice. You know, they can see the poor kids looking up
wondering what’s going on and everything. The book, I think, tells what parents
should do- let the kids have fun.”
“I never ever liked parents hollering at kids during a
game. I know it’s tough. I had a son playing and you want to yell and scream at
them and all that, but it doesn’t do any good at all,” stated Cherry.
The only way to win a hockey game is with a positive
attitude, former coach of the Boston Bruins said.
When Meuse wanted to
included Cherry, he sent him a fax with the request, which was politely turned
down. Undaunted, he (mailed) a portion of the manuscript. Cherry liked what he
read and sent back his own reply to the book’s fictional protagonist.
(Detailed information about book can be viewed at the following link:)
Books
That Entertain, Educate
By Ron Barry
(Sports editor and long-time columnist for
the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal)
It's a story played out in arenas
across Canada- a youngster’s love for the game of hockey wavers
against the backdrop of overbearing parents, a win-at-all-costs coach and mean
words that "opposing" mommies and daddies roll off their tongues with
impunity.
Dear Don Cherry: "Does Hockey Love Kids?" (New
2nd Edition’s Title: "Hockey, Kids & Positive Coaching" is
one family's tale of an important lesson learned. Author Christopher Meuse
takes us to a small-town Canada-Saulnierville, Nova Scotia- where a youngster's
wish to have fun playing a game, he loves is quickly consumed by the collective
will of those around him.
They want more-so much more- from the boy that he
begins to question the very nature of the beast: Michael knows he loves hockey,
but does hockey love kids? He is torn by the puzzle...for many reasons:
* Is it part of the game to endure peer pressure to
excel?
* Is it necessary for the game to tear away at the
very fabric that bonds a family together?
* Is it part of the game to have a child become the
subject of abuse from grown-ups he doesn't even know?
* Is it part of the game for a coach to lose touch
with the "real" purpose of team sports?
Of course, any human being knows the correct answers
to these questions. Sadly though, all of us can walk into any facility where minor
sports are played-any day- and witness this dark side. We all know where it
starts-in the stands. When it filters down to the bench, any hope of fun is
gone.
Michael needs help, and he calls upon the most famous
hockey face of them all- Don Cherry. He writes to Grapes about his problem and
gets a reply that fills a young boy's heart with hope. Once his parents read
the letter, a wonderful thing happens.
"Hockey, Kids & Positive Parenting" is
a quick hit that should be required reading for those who find beauty in simple
words. It has a message for the millions of kids out there- an easy read
for young children.
And, guess what, parents? We could learn something
from it too.
https://thepositivecoachingparent.blogspot.com/
