The Soo Greyhounds team up with Sault Ste. Marie Special Olympics will launch a new program aimed at teaching and developing the skills of typical and atypical athletes.

Through the new “Greyhounds Guardians” initiative – Greyhounds players and staff will work for three months with these athletes through a sequence of training involving both groups.

This year’s participants will be aged between 10 and 63 years old and have been mutually chosen from a wide range taking into account the candidates’ ability, economic status and geographical location in order to be as inclusive and make the program as enriching as possible in its first season.

Greyhounds staff and players will work with participants over the course of eleven (11) training sessions, including their inaugural event which took place earlier this week.
Other training sessions will take place on January 6, January 13, January 21, February 4, February 11, February 19, February 25, March 3, March 10 and March 17.

The program will conclude with the inaugural “Game Night Experience” on Wednesday, March 5 at 4 p.m.

For more information, see the press release below:

The Soo Greyhounds Hockey Club, under the leadership and initiation of Head Coach John Dean, is extremely pleased to announce the launch of a program offered through the non-profit Hound Power Inc. recently created by the Greyhounds, integrating the Ontario Hockey League club with athletes. and associates from Sault Ste. Marie Special Olympics.

Sault Ste. Marie Special Olympics (Northeast District) brings together people from across the Algoma District.

“We are excited to partner with Special Olympics and take to the ice with athletes who love the sport as much as we do,” Dean said.

Through the new venture – ‘Greyhounds Guardians’ – Greyhounds players and staff will work for three months with typical and atypical athletes to teach and develop their skills and understanding of hockey through a sequence of practices involving both groups .

This year’s participants will be aged between 10 and 63 years old and have been mutually chosen from a wide range taking into account the candidates’ ability, economic status and geographical location in order to be as inclusive and make the program as enriching as possible in its first season. .

Greyhounds staff and players will work with participants over the course of eleven (11) training sessions, including their inaugural event which took place earlier this week.
Other training sessions will take place on January 6, January 13, January 21, February 4, February 11, February 19, February 25, March 3, March 10 and March 17.

The program will conclude with the inaugural “Game Night Experience” on Wednesday, March 5 at 4 p.m.

On that date, two teams, each made up of half Greyhounds players and half Special Olympics members, will take to the ice at GFL Memorial Gardens for friendly competition.

The game will resemble an OHL experience with a formal warm-up, three periods, officials and PA announcers.

All practices and game night experience will be open to the general public and aspiring participants.

Further details on spectator participation will be released at a later date.

“The opportunity this unified sport offers goes well beyond the technical aspects of hockey. It offers these athletes, coaches, support staff and our community the chance to foster an inclusive society that embraces our differences and celebrates our successes,” said Joann Harman, Community Coordinator of Sault Ste. Marie Special Olympics.

The Greyhounds Guardians program supported by Hound Power Inc. is a proud coordination between the Soo Greyhounds and Sault Ste. Marie Special Olympics has focused on creating opportunities and building connections within both user groups in our community for the present and the future.

Further opportunities to participate will arise after this inaugural season and both groups encourage those interested to contact (email protected) to express their interest.