Learning to Fly
We were into our second year living on the South Shore - and I was starting to feel a little divided.
A community of friends had quickly developed around the LCLC. We were playing regularly, and helping each other out - whether it be supporting the guys with a small businesses on the go, or from a hobby standpoint, or just traveling around the area for games together - it was getting tight, and fast. It was late 2024, the South Shore Hockey League was in it's first season, and more time and effort were spent making it all work.
One ritual of mine that had matured by this point, was attending Carpenters Union meetings, back near our old family digs in Lower Sackville. The irony was I hadn't gone to many meetings when we lived just down the road fr0m the union hall - but move an hour away in 2022 and then start going regularly? Alright.
What else was going on Tuesdays, was the Tuesday pickup skate in Halifax. In 2022 and into 2023, I'd often go to the union meetings, and then head to the Halifax Forum and play. There was still a big group of people I thought the world of to see. Beyond that, I had to go there for the type of pickup I was used to. Those following Wednesday's at work were rough - with 4 hours of sleep at best.
So yeah, being in two places obviously doesn't work. So you bring two places together.
I had heard from players and friends on both ends. They were interested in traveling to play, so that's what we did. Before and after Christmas of 2024, we had our first Home and Home exhibition series. Teams went from Bridgewater to Halifax, and then the favour was returned as teams from Halifax went to Bridgewater. They were all regulars, and all of the admin participated. It was just too much fun. We played, we stuffed our faces, we did a 50/50 for Souls Harbour, and ultimately it gave us more than that.
We saw that there was an appetite to do more. There was conversation about expansion, or combining leagues. We were hearing the same things in each town.
Our hockey was helping people with their health. Their mental health. There were people in recovery it was helping. There were people that loved giving back to their community with a group of friends. There were beginners that couldn't find a welcoming place to play - never mind one that formally and informally helped them improve.
That's when we saw it. It made sense to put it all together, and we set out to do it.
Like everything else with the pickup and the leagues, people emerged that wanted to help. People that had different areas of expertise that they wanted to contribute toward the cause. A fiery shot blocking Cape Bretoner that put up with my wandering defensive play, was also the guy managing an entrepreneurship hub - and he gave advice. The goalie that put up with me screening him was also a calm, measured accountant - and he brought some key suggestions. The guy you couldn't keep off the ice even after being revived on it one night — he led our coaching as we dipped our toes into training sessions. Another Goalie, who patiently helped guide our efforts in Bridgewater, and gave me my first spare experience on a league team in the town - was also a Director of Communications that offered some key insights.
We had engagement sessions. We gave everyone the space to tell us why they liked our hockey, and kept coming back - and what they thought we should do next.
To me, 2025 was equally an eternity, and a blink of an eye. The meetings, the process of collecting and distilling information, the ultimate decision to choose a non-profit structure for our endeavours. It was a crucible, and we're still in it. Some of the people mentioned above are now key members of our board of directors. We've arrived at our mission, and have seen it through to incorporation.
The real work has begun. For me there is an ongoing division of thought around some items taking an eternity - but with other things happening fast. Governance, processes and the right things happening on the non-profit takes time. It seems to be a slow moving process with a monthly cadence of meetings and action items to work on in between them. We're putting the work in.
But development and uptake on our new App and Web platform that will allow us to scale, and progress there has moved and evolved very quickly. 270 users and counting within two weeks.
The point is that we're going to expand. The appetite is there to move to other areas. The process will begin with a new pickup night in a new community. We'll start to make the relationships, and we'll bring the enthusiasm. We have a track record of success, and the idea that another pool of folks might join - and see the merits and potential of what we've started - is incredibly exciting.
More training sessions, our own tournaments - and the opportunities and lessons we'll pick up along the way, will show us all what else we can achieve.
We're getting the scaffolding in place around the organization, along with the logistics to be able to do it all. The process itself has attracted talented people that want to help, and there is a lot of room for more.
Along the way, we'll bring community to others, while doing more in the communities we work in. The mission fits the times - Help and be helped.
We'll keep telling the stories, but this marks a wrap on the "origin story". There is so much more that could be said, and we'll do that too. As we mature as an association and really begin to perform - we'll use new methods and content to get the stories out there.
Thanks for sticking with it this far.
Here some things you should check out:
You can now find Nova Adult Hockey on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, or visit us online at novaadulthockey.com.
The new platform is a game-changer — watch for more content as we continue to roll it out.
Our leagues:
Metro Hockey League, South Shore Hockey League
Causes dear to us:
Doing great work in communities across Nova Scotia.
Thank you,
Jason Craig
