BILL'S BLOG

Unfortunately Bill has suffered from ill health this season, undergoing a quadruple bypass. The Eagles wish him the best of luck on the slow path to recovery and hope to see him down the road.

By Bill Lankhof

6 February 2019

BOWMANVILLE - The memories of his days playing with the Clarington Eagles surround Scott Webster like a cozy blanket on a frosty winter evening. The pictures in his garage, the sounds of laughter from old team-mates as they reminisce; memories that stare back from the trophy cases at the Rickard Centre. And now those memories are being replayed in front of him by his son, Reid.

 

“He’s heard a lot of stories from when I played … hockey and the Eagles have always been a big part of our lives. And now he’s living those stories himself,” says Scott, of Reid, an Eagles’ assistant captain and regarded as a stalwart on defence for the Junior C club. That would be the same team for which Scott played goal from 1987 to 1991. “Back then it was a big league with teams from Trenton, Cobourg, Ajax - a lot of places that now have junior A teams. And the Eagles had some good teams back then.”

 

Reid’s Eagles team will face Port Perry in a playoff qualifying round in what has been a rebuilding season. His father’s teams went to the league final three times. “Went to Game 7 one year against Wellington. We lost. Next year went to Game 7 against the Lakefield Chiefs. We lost,” says Scott, then a smile creeps across his face.” Next year it was Game 7 against Port Perry. And we lost, guess they should’ve had better goaltending.”

 

But there is pride in his voice. Father and son agree there was something special about being with the Eagles then, and there is something special about it even now in an era that has seen Bowmanville grow; in an era where computers and social medial, and other sports now occupy the interest of young people and fans.

 

“I remember guys would have workouts with other teams or maybe have a chance to move up but it was usually, nah! I’m going back to play with the guys. Once you played for the Eagles you got sucked in,” says Scott, chuckling.

 

“We had guys would could've played Junior B in Oshawa but why go there and play in front of a few people when you could play here and be a hometown hero. There was pride in wearing the Eagles’ jersey,” recalls Scott. “It was the only team in town. Tickets would go on sale for playoff games at 6:30 but the ladies would be there by noon spreading their blankets out getting ready.”

 

While Reid’s Eagles have played in front of sparser crowds this season, Scott predicts if they do well in the playoffs the Rickard Centre will rock again. If it does, Reid will get to relive another moment from his father’s past. He yearns to feel the passion he heard about as a rookie from older team-mates who talked of winning championships.

 

“My first year they talked about winning the Cougar Cup and how special that was,” says Reid. “Growing up I always thought how great it would be to play for the Eagles. And it has been special to play in front of family and my buddies.”

 

As well as being a rambunctious defenseman with a love for the physical nature of the game, Reid is a scholar, topping his high school class in math, chemistry and gym.

He is studying electrical engineering at Durham. But that is another world in the future.

 

The next few weeks will be about hopefully reliving another part of his father’s past. A past that is displayed in the paraphernalia on the walls of his family home.  When the Goodyear company which backed the team folded, many of the photos from the old Bowmanville arena that decorated the company’s front office ended up in Scott’s hands.

 

“I still see a lot of the guys from 35 years ago … once an Eagle, you are always an Eagle,” says Scott.

 

That bond is still there with this year’s edition of the team says his son. “This year the team is a lot closer and maybe it’s because a lot of the guys are local. We hang out together away from the rink, go to dinner and do stuff,” says Reid. “We have a lot of younger guys coming out of minor hockey and it’s been a learning year for them playing a faster game against bigger guys.”

 

They are lessons Reid himself had to learn. And, he has learned well. Off and on the ice. He has been called up six times this year to Whitby’s Junior A club. “It’s been a good experience. I enjoy it,” he says.

 

Still his heart remains with the Eagles. “It’s a family thing,” says Reid. “What’s made it special for me is all the friendships. I’ve met people that I know are going to be friends for life.”

 

There is something unique about that; something that doesn’t show up on the score sheet; something that comes with hockey; something special passed from father to son.

 

 

By Bill Lankhof

6 January 2019

BOWMANVILLE - The Clarington Eagles may have issues putting together lengthy winning streaks this season but when it comes to winning hearts, they’re in championship form. The Junior C club is making life-long friends out of local kids through its Little Buddies mentorship program and its affiliation with the Clarington Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) organization.

The rafters of Bowmanville’s Rickard Centre echoed with the laughter, shouts and cries of joy from players with the Clarington Atom AA Rep team that has hooked up with the Eagles this season. They were joined on this Eagles’ game night recently by a group of 80 kids and parents from Big Brothers Big Sisters who enjoyed a Christmas pizza party hosted by the team, and of course, Santa Claus.

The mentorship program is unique to junior hockey in the province. It works like this:

Each season for the past six years the Eagles has mentored a Bowmanville minor hockey club. At the beginning of the season each the Eagles pulls a name of one of the kids from a helmet. The two then become Little Buddies and Big Buddies. They share talk, they share practice time, they become… well, buddies.

“The kids are all gung-ho about it.,” says Eagles’ general manager Dave Bell. “Curiously a lot of the players are a little shy about it at first until they realize the boys just want to talk about school or hockey; that they just want to be with them, and to learn from them. ” Several of the Eagles have gone to help coach the atom team’s practices. But sometimes it can be as simple as sharing an email, a laugh, a chat.

“It’s been fantastic the way guys have connected with the kids and the community.,” says Eagles’ coach Dave Miller “These players are role models and I’ve heard stories of how some of the Little Buddies families have connected with players and taken them to dinner; how the kids email the players and become friends outside of the rink.

“It can become a lifelong relationship, friendship, if the chemistry is there.”

Bell has seen that chemistry at work personally. Six years ago, before he became Eagles’ GM, the minor hockey team he coached was mentored. His son, Quinn, was on that team. “I have seen it from both sides. My son to this day hangs out with his Eagles Buddy, it’s a program that works really well. The two go golfing, still see each other at the rink. It’s more than hockey. The kids can end up with lifelong friends and mentors.

“It’s a fantastic program and it doesn’t cost much, maybe a couple hundred dollars and a pizza party at Christmas.”

And sometimes the mentorship program spills over into the BBBS organization. 

Michelle Hosier, case worker with the BBBS, which served more than 500 children in Clarington last year, points out ex-Eagles captain Mack Morissette is becoming a Big Brother.

As kids from the BBBS enjoyed their pizza at the rink, she said: “This is a celebration of mentorship. We do the same things in different programs and that’s why we love each other. The kids are super excited to be here.” They talked to Santa. They watched hockey. They inter-acted with the players.

The Toros then got to play a game between periods of the Eagles’ game and got autographed sticks. “It means everything at this age for the kids because they just idolize these players,” says Dan Hope, coach of the Double a Toros. “They come to the games, they get to sit with their mentors at a pizza party.”

Hope recalled one night this season when his kids got to use the Eagles’ dressing room. “They put the atom teams name tags on their own stalls and had their uniforms hanging up. Or guys played their best game of the year,” he says, chuckling. “It’s just a neat program. It’s giving back to hockey at the grass roots level.”

All of which is superb for the kids. But what do the Eagles players get out of it? 

“They get a sense of community, says Miller “It doesn’t allow them to take hockey for granted. It keeps them grounded; it’s a realization that life is bigger than just a game of hockey.” Adds Bell: “It shows them some maturity and that there is a responsibility that comes with the game to give back to the community. It shows them that they have to grow the game.”