On a Sunday afternoon in September, 50 exhilarated girls arrived at the Class of 1965 Arena to meet their new mentors — members of the women’s hockey team.
The event kicked off a new program called Rising Raiders, which connects each of the 25 members of the women’s hockey team with local girls ages 6–14.
“We want our players to be role models whom young girls can look up to and aspire to be one day,” says Assistant Women’s Hockey Coach Chelsea Walkland. “It wasn’t too long ago that [our players] were kids themselves, and could probably pinpoint someone who inspired them to pursue their path.”
Walkland recruited Sydney Marsh, the team’s director of player support and creative media, and team captain Danielle Serdachny ’23 to help her bring Rising Raiders to life. They contacted the heads of youth hockey programs within a two-hour radius of Hamilton, asking them to spread the word. When registration began, all 50 spots were filled in days.
The program allows each participant to attend a home game as either a “Raider of the Day” or “Youth Manager of the Game.” Children selected as a “Raider of the Day” have their names announced during the starting lineup and join the team on the ice. The “Youth Manager of the Game” works behind the scenes by arranging pucks and sticks, and bringing water bottles to the bench. The child also watches on-ice warm-ups from the Raiders’ bench.
“The goal is to give our participants as many opportunities to interact directly with our team as possible,” Marsh says. “We pull back the curtain and let them and their families see what our players see as they prepare for game day.”
Serdachny adds: “We also think it’s an awesome opportunity to help grow the game.”