St. Albert is a small city, a prosperous, progressive place with small-town values and a great sense of community.
You know your neighbours and they know you, and both of you know “that guy from across town.” It’s a close-knit colony and a fine place to raise a family.
Part of that success can be attributed to the amateur sports scene.
Here, local sports organizations are bursting at the seams with year-round activities; there is no off-season here in this busy hive.
There are obvious benefits for the community: Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters make new friendships, some that last a lifetime. Social and business connections are made that create a network in which new friends help each other and others in the community.
A healthy lifestyle is promoted, youngsters learn about teamwork, discipline and sacrifice – it’s a win-win scenario.
Chris Spaidal, executive director of the St. Albert Soccer Association, concurs.
“Most parents find these friendships invaluable and will say there can be no real dollar value placed on them in any sense.”
That doesn’t mean there aren’t inherent problems – competition between teams can get overheated at times, some parents don’t always observe the rules of proper conduct and this city needs more space to play sports.
But ask any parent who has gone on a road trip with a bunch of 14-year-olds if they have had fun. Most of the time they will say yes, that watching the team come together in the crunch was amazing. That eating pizza at 10 o’clock at night with a gaggle of starving teenagers was absolutely crazy – you get the picture.
There is also an economic benefit as teams frequent restaurants and hotels in the city and surrounding areas, says Clayton Billey, president of the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association, which is the largest, local association of its kind in Western Canada.
Billey adds that minor hockey promotes “life skills and lessons that our youth can carry with them to other aspects of their lives.”
That’s the immediate, visceral reward of the sports community, but there is much more to it than that.
The Gazette’s award-winning sports editor Jeff Hansen, who has covered the games they play around here for 27 years, says local sports help build the community brick by brick.
Over the years he has seen many young athletes come through the St. Albert sports system, only to leave for college or university and then return some years later to give back to their communities.
Many of them have become coaches for various St. Albert sports teams or they return as teachers who assist with the high school gymnastics team or the soccer squad.
Hansen says they are part of the local legacy that keeps amateur sports thriving now and for years to come. They keep the cycle going by injecting new blood. Their value as contributing individuals cannot be overestimated nor can the value of the organizations that help to mould these young men and women.
That’s the key: Contributing to the development of our youth and future community leaders; these people are pieces of a larger mosaic that comprise St. Albert.
The minor sports scene is one piece that makes this city a special place. For the record, they are doing a great job.
