By Brendon Crossman, @coachcrossman

 

Gary Titmarsh has a motto: “Always do the little things right.”

 

Titmarsh, a volunteer head coach, encourages the 11-year-olds on his Markham Islanders Minor Peewee A team to apply the phrase both on and off the ice.

 

It should come as no surprise, then, that on the morning of Oct. 26, during the club’s final home game of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, his players joined hockey’s fight against cancer by raising money and awareness for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

 

The club’s “Pink in the Rink” day was simple and effective, raising $103.70 in approximately one hour during the Islanders’ game against the Willowdale Blackhawks at Thornhill Community Centre.

 

“We asked everyone to wear as much pink as possible,” said team manager Alacoe MacTavish. “We converted a piggy bank by putting a handmade sign on it indicating our cause and simply went around the arena [for donations].”

 

The club also used pink laces, pink hockey tape and one player even dyed her hair tips pink. “It’s not just about the amount of money raised; it’s about raising awareness and showing that every little bit truly does makes a difference.”

 

The fans and coaching staff also wore pink and players, coaches, GTHL workers, referees and arena staff all acknowledged the players for their “Pink in the Rink” efforts. “Plus they all donated,” MacTavish added with a smile.

 

While the event was a team effort, it was MacTavish’s son, Everett, who suggested the idea after seeing the National Hockey League’s Hockey Fights Cancer program and the National Football League’s breast cancer awareness initiative.

 

“Everett asked if we could do [a similar fundraiser] at our level with our team,” said MacTavish. “This cause is close to our hearts as I lost my mom, Hope, to breast cancer five years ago. She was only 60.”

 

It is enlightening to see our young kids take initiative to help others, to “do the little things right.” Teaching players that life is bigger than hockey and that we should pursue off-ice endeavours as vigorously as we pursue the puck is an important lesson to be learned.

 

“I feel that it is important to get our young hockey players to think about giving back at an early age,” said MacTavish. “If we do this, we will not only have great hockey players, we will have great, concerned citizens that know it is always about doing the little things in all aspects of life, not just hockey.”

 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is every October, but you can donate to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation at any time.