Moss Park hockey league seeks more sponsors Neighbourhood kids and have a lot of respect for league volunteers

Kimberly Spice –

The Moss Park Hockey League (MPHL) is a free league with a long waiting list of neighbourhood boys and girls who would like to join, but the league is in need of sponsorship to enable more kids, ages 4 to 15, to play.

Gabriel and Aidan Hodgins, 10-year-old twins from the St. Lawrence Market area, enjoy playing in the league with the other neighbourhood kids and have a lot of respect for the volunteers that dedicate their time and coaching skills to the various teams.

“They include everybody,” Gabriel told The Bulletin. “They help you a lot and make you feel like you belong there. All the coaches and refs are respectful and polite.”

No checking is Aidan’s favorite part of playing in the league.

Catering to the downtown core of approximately 300 kids, there is no cost to families except to purchase individual undergarments plus a neck guard, which is mandatory. If a person plays in another organized league they are not eligible to participate.

“It gives a team that kids can play on,” stated the boy’s mother, April Hodgins. “It means more kids can play. We have a significant waiting list. The coaches are volunteers, the parents help out and we do a lot of fundraising. Sponsors help reduce that stress on families. Sponsors are actually the lifeline of the league.”

Much of the equipment is secondhand, which is borrowed for the season and then passed down from person to person. On special occasions the players do receive a few pieces of new equipment. The Timbits program provided skates to the younger children and Aidan, who is a goalie, was lucky enough to receive a few pieces of goalie equipment.

“It was still in the package when I got it,” reflected Aidan.

From ice hockey to street hockey kids playing in the MPHL get more than learning the skills of the sport, they also learn fair play both on and off the ice.

“Sometimes we will play street hockey in the neighbourhood with older kids and they will make the teams fair,” Gabriel said. “If there are us two and four of them, they won’t have us play together. It will be two of them and one of us.”

The MPHL is grateful for all donations, which can be put toward a number of items such as team jerseys, equipment supply and end-of-season banquets that include trophies. But, to their disappointment, although they are considered a non-profit organization, they cannot provide charitable receipts.

“Donors should keep in mind that, while the League is a registered non-profit, we are not a registered charity so unfortunately aren’t able to issue charitable receipts,” Megan Takeda, volunteer, stated in an email. “We had a lawyer look into this for us a number of years ago but the government is pretty strict about the fact that it does not grant charitable status to sports leagues or teams, even though the MPHL is a bit of a unique case.”

Visit www.mphl.ca for details. Potential sponsors email mossparkhockeyleague@gmail.com.