Hockey dads teach lessons on and off the ice

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Hockey legend Reggie "The Rifle" Leach missed his son's climb through the hockey ranks because his own career was in full swing. Leach, 47, is now getting a second chance to teach kids all over again - but not his own kids and not about hockey.

Leach, the superstar Philadelphia Flyers right-winger, retired from hockey in 1984 with 14 years of NHL experience, one Stanley Cup ring, and a drinking problem.

Leach, now sober for 12 years, has turned into a role model for young Aboriginal youths. He tours Aboriginal communities in the United States and Canada telling kids to stay away from booze and drugs.

Leach said he drank since he was 12 years old in his home town of Riverton, Man.

"It was just the way I was brought up. There was always drinking in the house and in the town," he said of the small Aboriginal community.

He said he is giving something back to communities like the one where he grew up. He is also spending time with kids that he couldn't spend with his own son.

"I'm trying to give something good back," said Leach who now owns his own landscaping company. "I was always taught to give something back."

At the schools and community halls, Leach also tells his young audiences to set their goals high and work hard to achieve them.

"You've got to be focused right off the bat," he offered as advice for anyone trying to reach a goal.

His own son played in the NHL for five years and ended up with two Stanley Cup rings. Jamie Leach, 27, is now playing in the English hockey league for the London team. Leach said he didn't pressure his son to play hockey.

"I never pushed him into hockey. It was what he wanted to do."

Leach is proud of his son, but would have liked to help him a little more.

"I wish I could have spent more time with him, but it just didn't happen."

Kirk Buffalo is a hockey dad from Lethbridge and tries to spend as much time as possible with his athletic kids.

Buffalo agrees that kids need role models and high goals to help them succeed and stay on the right path.

"Keeping your kids active and into team sports is something good for them," said Buffalo, a member of the Hobbema area Samson Indian Band. "It's a way of keeping them off the streets and involved in something good. It's worth the extra effort."

Buffalo says all four of his childrenr are into sports, so it wasn't difficult to get their interest started. Along with the support of the parents, Buffalo said coaches and teammates have helped keep the interest level high for his kids.

His oldest son, 12-year-old Gerry, is playing for the Chinook Country Selects, a triple A provincial championship team.

Buffalo is a typical hockey dad. He drives the kids to practices and games, cheers them on and gives them advice. But dad draws the line at urging them to be more aggressive - even though he admits to being a bruiser as a kid.

"This was Gerry's first year of full contact hockey, and he's been getting knocked around a fair bit. But he keeps pretty good control of himself. He doesn't retaliate the way I would have when I was a kid," Buffalo said. "I'm really proud of him."

Gerry, like a lot of young players in the minor leagues, has his sights set further up the ladder.

"I'd like to be a professional hockey player when I grown up," said the shy youth.

Role models like Reggie Leach and other Aboriginal sports stars give kids someone to look up to and to show them that Native players can make it to professional sports, he said.