By Jeff D'Andrea

Two-time Olympic hero makes appearance at hockey camp

Aug 22, 2017 | 5:00 PM

As if the North Female Hockey Program camp needed another big name to add to their instructors list, Canadian hockey star Sami Jo Small made a special appearance to the Art Hauser Centre on Tuesday.

Small has a large resume, winning two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada, at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, and 2002 in Salt Lake City, as well as four World Women’s Championships.

“I think the message I try to give to young girls is to really be a good teammate, to look around them and see how they can help the other people around them and build stronger communities,” Small said. “It’s really not just about hockey. It’s about teaching them to be better people… Sport can build better people and can really make friends for life, to really embrace the opportunities it provides and enjoy each and every day you get to play this great game.”

Despite all the trophies, awards and accolades she’s received in her career, it hasn’t always been easy for Small in both her hockey and athletic careers. One of the biggest things Small has learned through her experience is how to deal with adversity and to rebound from a tough game.

“There’s always another day, there’s always another practice, there’s always another puck,” Small said. “It’s always looking forward, rather than looking too much in reverse.”

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One of the questions that Small gets quite a bit, and for obvious reasons, is what winning Olympic gold feels like.

In her high school days, Small won a Manitoba provincial high school volleyball tournament in her native Winnipeg with the same team she played with for four years. There were a lot of parallels in how that championship felt, and how Turin in 2006 and 2002 in Salt Lake felt like.

“Winning that [provincial] championship together meant the world to us. It was just as exciting and just as meaningful as winning the Olympic gold medals,” Small said. “I know it sounds cheesy but the only big difference was that we did it on the world stage and that an entire nation watched us do it. But the feelings are no different. When you succeed together as a team with people that have believed in you and that you’ve gone through a lot with, that’s really what it’s like.

“I tell young girls, if they won a big tournament with their team or did really well on a test, it’s those same feelings. It’s just magnified on the world stage.”

Small may be 41 but she is still playing with the Toronto Furies in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League—the league which she is the vice-chairman of and founded.

Small credits her longevity in sport to her not just sticking to hockey, but playing other sports. In addition to volleyball, Small went to Stanford University on a track and field scholarship.

As a result, Small is an advocate for kids to play multiple sports throughout the year, as opposed to just playing hockey.

“I’m very fortunate and lucky to still be playing at 41 years of age,” Small said. “I think it’s because I played a lot of different sports and continue to cross-train and do things in the gym that maybe aren’t necessarily hockey related—might have to do with soccer or with swimming. I think that’s the way we keep our bodies from getting too overused in one sport.”

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW