Motivating youth through hockey

Lac Seul’s Mike Auksi is sharing his hockey skills with youth in Gull Bay through Motivate Canada’s GEN7 messenger program.
“My last visit we had some on-ice programming and it went really well,” said the former University of Toronto defenceman. “I’ve got even more tricks up my sleeve for working with the young people.”
Auksi, who has also played for the Lac Seul Eagles as a winger, began visiting the Superior Robinson community in early December to promote healthy lifestyles through sport as a GEN7 messenger. His fourth and most recent visit took place Feb. 26.
GEN7 messengers are Aboriginal athletes, peer leaders and mentors who engage, connect, educate and lead Aboriginal youth in a process of self-discovery. They visit Aboriginal communities three to six times a year to engage youth through empowerment and sport activities and to foster community development through lessons in leadership and teambuilding.
“My goal is simply to pass along the pride I have in my Ojibway-Estonian cultures and the joy I find in life through sport,” Auksi said, noting his father is from Lac Seul and his mother is of Estonian descent from Toronto.
During his Jan. 28 visit, Auksi brought $18,000 worth of junior hockey equipment, including youth skates, sticks, helmets and hockey pants. Nick Vescio of Big Hearts 4 Fresh Starts donated the equipment.
During his earlier visits, Auksi helped youth in the community clean up and flood the community’s ice rink.
Auksi said it is tricky to teach the youth about hockey when some of them do not have hockey sticks and their ages range from five years old to 15.
“What I generally do, with the support of one of the teachers in the community and one of the police officers, is run some drills,” Auksi said. “But I do like to circulate and get some one-on-one or get into some small groups to talk to the young people about what sports can do for them.”
Auksi also likes to be open about substance use awareness with the youth, noting he used to smoke, drink and use marijuana but has since changed his lifestyle.
During his latest visit, Auksi focused on nutrition planning, lots of fun games on and off the ice and circuit training on the ice.
“My goal is to bring in some better nutrition choices,” Auksi said. “If I can say try this snack, celery with natural peanut butter or almond butter with no salt, that’s a good healthy snack. Or if I can show some of the older youth how to bake sweet potatoes, these are super healthy foods.”
While Auksi played hockey overseas in the Czech Republic last year, it never worked out for him.
“That was discouraging in itself, but with my Estonian citizenship I’ve contacted the Estonian national hockey team and it looks like I will be going to Europe for the entire month of April,” Auksi said.
Auksi is currently training for the World Hockey Championship by going on a rigorous diet and exercise plan to increase his performance.
“I’ve never been more motivated in my life,” Auksi said. “Basically I have to start rehearsing plays at top speeds in my mind, because it’s going to be even faster than the games I’ve been playing now.”
For any person or any community interested in joining Motivate Canada, Auksi suggests checking out the www.motivatecanada.ca website.