Jan 30, 2023 | Shannon Gardiner | 775 views
OMHA Showcase Video - True Sportsmanship U15MD
Today, I am writing to you on behalf of the coaching staff for the Bradford Bulldogs U15 MD team.
In a game in December, an unfortunate incident occurred towards the end where our goalie tried to play a puck in our zone. He accidentally collided with a player from the Ajax-Pickering team and immediately hit the ground. After being cared for by our staff, a representative from Ajax-Pickering left the stands and also tended to Emerson on the ice. I suspect that she was either a medical doctor or nurse practitioner. After a few minutes, our coaching staff instructed me to call paramedics and they tended to Emerson and transported him the hospital.
For the approximately 40 minutes that Emerson was on the ice, both teams took a knee and waited patiently. When Emerson was eventually loaded onto a stretcher, the echo in the arena was deafening as both teams banged their sticks on the ice as a show of support. Once both teams had exited the ice, the Ajax-Pickering player who was involved in the collision came to our dressing room to apologize for the unfortunate incident. In our opinion, this was one of the classiest moves that any player could ever make, as he undoubtedly felt terrible about the incident which was unavoidable.
But my writing to you is to express sincere gratitude on behalf of our Bulldogs team for the outpouring of support that our team has seen from the Ajax-Pickering head coach and his entire parent group. They sent me an e-transfer with a substantial amount of money, following a collection that his team took to support Emerson and some of the fallout from that evening. To tend to his injuries, paramedics not only had to cut off Emerson's jersey, but his chest protector. As you can appreciate these pieces of equipment can be costly for any player, but goalies always a bit more. The support and the class shown by this Ajax-Pickering squad was never expected and it goes without saying that this team has really stepped up to support a fellow player in need. We can't thank them enough for their generosity, their compassion and interest that they have shown towards our team and specifically Emerson.
To view the video click this OMHA Video Link