Learn 2 Skate Day 6: Green Kids

Brian, Danny, Markeitha and Franco all started DinoMights through Learn 2 Skate. Today they came to help teach the first graders

The half-way point of Learn 2 Skate has arrived! Each school has had three skating lessons, and each has three left. There has been a lot of improvement. One girl stands out in my mind. On the first day she was crying from fear. She was pretty worried while holding onto the wall, but with each step away from the wall, she just could not control the emotions. It is not that she couldn't do it, it's just that she was afraid. Today, she had huge smiles on her face. She was the head of the pack the whole time saying, "Look at me!"

Maybe she will become a full year round DinoMight after Learn 2 Skate is over. We have been doing this project with Richard Green Central School for about 10 years. At the current time we have about 25 Green students in our year round program.

Today four students, who all began their DinoMights careers in Greg Carroll Learn 2 Skate, came from Green to volunteer with the first graders.

Brian, Danny, Markeitha and Franco were all first graders at Green School. They rode the bus to the arena just like the first graders did today. They were probably a bit scared and also really excited. After it was all over the DinoMights staff visited their homes to tell their families about the program. They said yes. Then we fitted them with hockey equipment in the front yard!

The remarkable thing about these volunteers is that they all also have siblings who have been or are in Learn 2 Skate too. Brian's sister Charlin was in Learn 2 Skate 2 years ago, and she has also joined DinoMights. This year we have Danny's cousin (they call each other brothers sometimes because they live together), Markeitha's brother Pierre (Pierre is already in DinoMights. He is wowing his classmates having already learned how to skate.), and Franco's sister all in Learn 2 Skate as first graders.

So the cycle will continue. In a few years the cousins, brothers, and sisters will be the ones coming to serve and to bless a new generation of future Dinos!

Franco's sister Jennifer with Phillips Foundation volunteers

Pierre (far left) with older sister Markeitha (far right) at Learn 2 Skate with Phillips Foundation volunteer

Danny's Cousin Alex (left) with Phillips Foundation volunteer

P.S. Don't forget to vote in the poll!

I want to know Wednesday

For the last few Wednesdays on the DinoMights blog I've been asking a series of questions about things that I want to know--some serious things, some not so serious. We call it, "I want to know Wednesday." So I have a few things I want to know today. If you know the answer or you have things you want to know too, post your Questions and Answers on the comments.

1) I still want to know who to root for in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

One of my teams, The Sharks, are out. Shocking! However, the Canucks and Willie Mitchell are still in. I am still rooting for Willie to get his chance to raise the Cup. On the other hand, there really are a lot of likable teams left. In addition to Vancouver, Chicago, Boston and Washington have not won the championship in my lifetime. I enjoy the "youth movement" in Pittsburgh and the DinoMights got to skate at Joe Louis Arena home of the Detroit Red Wings last winter.

Sandy and Layana pose under the banners in Joe Louis Arena, home of the defending Stanley Cup Champs, Detroit Red Wings

So I can be happy for almost any of the teams left. The only team I'm not rooting for is the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Originally the Mighty Ducks were a diverse bunch of rag tag kids playing hockey in South Minneapolis with Emilio Estevez as their coach. They played at Powderhorn Park and Eliot Park in the Phillips neighborhood (neither of which even have hockey rinks anymore); they played at Augsburg Arena and Parade Ice Gardens too. They had to overcome great odds and socio-economic challenges to become the PeeWee champs. Sound familiar? Then they took our idea, moved it to Southern California (where there are no outdoor rinks as well), changed the team colors, knocked out the Wild in the first round two years ago and now they beat the Sharks, whom I had previously decided to cheer for this year.
(No offense to any Ducks fans. I'm just having fun with the playoffs).

At any rate, if you have suggestions for which team should have my loyalties going forward leave your comments, and if you are an NHL fan let me know who you are supporting on this weeks new Poll.

2) I want to know why people in Minnesota say, "I don't know why I live here," in the middle of the winter.

I know why I live here when it comes to the weather. For example, yesterday the temperature was in the mid 60's Farenheit most of the day, and the sun was shining. Here's what's great about weather like that: you can do whatever you want!
a) Clothes: You can wear warm clothes or cool clothes. You can wear your short sleeve DinoMights shirt or your long sleeve DinoMights shirt. You can actually wear your DinoMights hooded sweatshirt AND Shorts at the same time.
b) Activities: You can go out and enjoy the weather or you can stay in if you feel it is too cold. For example, you can be inside an ice rink teaching first graders to ice skate and not feel bad that you weren't outside. Then in the same day you can play recreational Soft Ball outside with fellow DinoMights volunteers, alumni, and parents (Kelsey, Rich, Leah, Al, Cindy and John). Not to mention current DinoMight fan base of Gabby and Tekle.
c) Food: When it is as nice as it was yesterday you can cook comfort food in the Crock Pot or you can cook outside over a fire wearing your DinoMights hooded sweatshirt and shorts.

If anything it is too hot here. We're supposed to be closer to the North Pole than the equator, it should be cold. It gets just as hot here in the summer as it does in Anaheim, California where there are absolutely no outdoor rinks.

Learn 2 Skate Day 5: Champ

There is one boy in the Andersen group that has Cerebral Palsy. He has been a total champ out there. He actually doesn't have full control of his motor functions. CP is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain. The term CP can refer to a wide variety of issues, but for this boy it means that he doesn't have full control of all the muscles on his right side.

Think about how hard it must be to be 6 years old with CP. Now think about how hard it would be to be 6 years old, have CP, and ice skate. He could choose not to do this. No one would question it.

He might fall a lot (and he does).

It might be hard to get up once he falls (and it's hard).

It might be discouraging (and it is).

But, he's still doing it. In fact, he is doing it about as well as many of the other kids.

Today this boy was discouraged. It was really hard to get up after falling today. He seemed to be on the ice a lot. I kept saying, "O.K. get up," but it is just not that easy. So here is what I want to say to this Andersen First Grader. This is what I hope he knows deep in his heart.

"The whole purpose of Learn 2 Skate is summed up YOU! 150 First graders are all trying something that they would have never imagined they could do. It is scary to many of them, but You have shown courage! Don't give up and don't be ashamed when you fall. Finding out that you can do something that is hard or scary is the real reason we are here, and you might fall while you are doing that. Yes, we are learning to skate, but we are learning to be people first and foremost. We are learning from you, keep up the good work!"

Volunteer Party

DinoMights held its volunteer appreciation party this past weekend. We had a great time. We spend so much time serving the kids together, that we really do get to be close. On the other hand, we don't get a lot of time to just be together as adults. So these occasions are really special. I'm adding a poll to the blog this week on whether or not we should try to do some kind of mid-season volunteer get together next year. Let us know what you think. If you aren't a volunteer, but you read the blog you can still vote. Just vote how you would if you were a volunteer. Below are some highlights of the party.



We cooked Bison Burgers and Bison Dogs. They were a big hit. Here are some comments about the food:

"This is the best hot dog I've ever had."
"I'm never buying beef again!" (Because Bison is just sooo good)

Bison is very lean and no one has ever gotten sick from eating undercooked Bison. Also, it has a lot of environmental benefits. It is local and organic.

A big thanks to the North American Bison Cooperative and TenderBison for donating the food!


We had a lot of fun at the home of Ken and Carol Engelhart. Here we are in the backyard playing beanbag toss.


Leah, Rich, and Kevin have been Mites coaches for a long time. Rich and Leah completed their seventh season, and Kevin completed 5. The four of us all went to Gustavus Adolphus College. We met as a part of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). It is pretty special to be serving together after so many years.

Adults can have fun too. Here we are at the volunteer party playing Nintendo Wii Tennis. The Wii was courtesy of volunteer Brian. Thanks Brian!

The Value of a Volunteer

Grants

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a some of the grants that DinoMights was submitting. I asked people to pray that God would be a good provider for DinoMights. Well I'm glad to say that a very important grant came through today! Thanks for praying!

Volunteers

Tomorrow is our volunteer appreciation party. The three of us on staff went out shopping for the party. What a fun time. It is going to be a great party. We are going to have Bison Burgers, veggies, fruit, chips and homemade guacamole.


When you think about volunteers and what they give it is worth about twice as much as the biggest grant that we get in a year. If we were to pay our volunteers $10 per hour, just for the school year, it would equal almost $40,000 . . . and when the year is finished it only costs us a Bar-B-Que. That is a pretty generous gift from our volunteers!

Learn 2 Skate Day 4: J

A boy was making his way all the way across the ice for the first time today at Learn 2 Skate, and said out loud, but not to anyone, "This is awesome!" I heard him say it, and that was awesome for me.

The other memorable quote by a Learn 2 Skate participant today was from a boy trying to explain that he had been sweating. "My hair is wet. Hey," he said to me, "My hair is wet. Touch my hair."

I declined.

J

One of the volunteers from the Kelly Phillips Foundation today was J. Lindsay. J was a DinoMights coach in the very earliest years of the organization. He's truly been the definition of long term relationships through DinoMights. Many of the original kids that he coached in the 90's are still in touch with J.

There are a lot of people coming to Learn 2 Skate as volunteers through the Phillips Foundation that are hearing about DinoMights for the first time. They all seem very interested. I've been telling them the stories as best I can, but J told some very cool stories that I didn't even know today. I think that hearing about DinoMights from a friend is much more powerful than hearing it from someone you just met. I personally want to thank J for asking about how things are going for me and the Harman family too.

J was there today with his daughter Shay. How cool that he and his daughter were serving together representing so many good causes. Serving a program that he helped build, Serving the legacy of Kelly Phillips, and all while strengthening the father daughter bond.

I want to know Wednesday

And now for another installment of "I want to know Wednesday".

Today this blog was officially linked on the NHL website! We are listed under the blogs tab on the Hockey is for Everyone page. That's big news for our humble blog here in Minneapolis. If you linked from the NHL website or you are a fellow Hockey is For Everyone Director, I welcome you to the DinoMights blog.

On Wednesdays I have begun asking questions about things I want to know. If you know, have things you want to know, or you can relate to the things I want to know feel free to leave a comment.

1) I want to know who to root for in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Our hometown team, the Minnesota Wild missed the playoffs by just two points. However, the playoffs are still a lot of fun. Here's what I'm thinking. My uncle is a Sharks fan so I kind of like them. I kind of like the Vancouver Canucks, despite their rivalry with the Wild. My reason for liking the Canucks is that they have former Wild player Willie Mitchell, who was a very good friend of DinoMights when he played here. It would be cool to see Willie raise the Cup.

Willie Mitchell, formerly of the Minnesota Wild, currently of the Vancouver Canucks, with DinoMights Aaron, Jesse, Maurice, Mari and Jatessa

2) I want to know what it is like to lift the Stanley Cup in victory.
Alas, if I were an NHL player at my age I'd be trying for my last big contract to get me to retirement. Since I am not already at that stage, I will most certainly not achieve this for myself. If you are reading this and you have actually won the Stanley Cup Championship, I would love to hear your story. DinoMights is inviting the Cup to our annual fundraiser which will take place either November 9 or 16 (Stay Tuned for more details). I doubt I'll get to lift it up over my head even if it is at our event, but at least I'll know if I pulled for the right team this year!

Jesse and dad, Jeff with the Stanley Cup at the Hockey in the Hood Tournament, Detroit, MI