‘You’re never too old to learn something new’

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This article was published 04/03/2025 (387 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the ultimate example of practising what you preach.

A group of second-generation Indo-Canadian men from Winnipeg who are getting their first taste of hockey through their children decided it wasn’t enough to simply cheer from the cheap seats. Instead, they obtained some equipment, put aside any fears they may have had and hit the ice for a crash course — in some cases literally — about the sport.

“It brings everyone together,” one of the participants, Sukhbinder Lidder, told the Free Press on Tuesday. “And I just love getting out there.”

One of his friends, Sumit Sharda, was the brains behind the idea and convinced the group of six “new hockey dads” to sign up for the First Shift program, which is subsidized by the Winnipeg Jets as part of an NHL initiative to try and grow the game in non-traditional communities and markets.

“You’re never too old to learn something new,” explained Sharda.

“None of us had the chance to play hockey as kids. It just wasn’t an option for many of our families. Now we’ve put our own kids in the game. Instead of just watching from the sidelines and expecting more from them on the ice, we decided to learn, too.”

Lidder, 43, said he initially thought it would be a fun way to spend some time with his buddies, admitting the idea of post-skate beers was the hook. It quickly turned into something far more fulfilling and meaningful as they gathered Monday evenings at the Hockey For All Centre for eight weeks in a row to learn the basics.

“None of us had the chance to play hockey as kids. It just wasn’t an option for many of our families.”–Sumit Sharda

It wasn’t always pretty — several of the men had never been on skates before and they were grouped with some more advanced skaters — but there was strength in numbers and a common bond they shared.

“It was a structured program. You’d do some skills for the first half — like working on your edges, learning how to protect the puck, learning how to stop. Getting the fundamentals,” said Lidder.

“And then halfway through the session you’d get to play a game against everyone.”

There were a few bruised egos, along with other body parts, along the way. Lidder had skated a bit in his life, going back to when he was nine and a friend dragged him to an outdoor rink for some shinny, but said this was his first foray into anything organized.

“Some of us had dabbled a bit, like going to The Forks for a skate, that sort of thing. But there was one guy who had never even owned a single piece of equipment,” he said.

Lidder’s eight-year-old daughter recently started playing organized hockey — she also participated in the First Shift program — and his six-year-old son is now learning to skate through it as well.

“It was funny, she didn’t think I knew how to critique her. She was like ‘Oh, Dad doesn’t know how to do this.’ Then I told her ‘Hey, I’m playing Monday nights!’” he said.

“Then it became ‘Oh, Dad actually does know what he’s doing when he tells me to get low and bend my knees and things like that.’”

“Hockey and skating are very quickly becoming a family activity for many communities.”–Ganni Maan

Sharda was a complete newbie, knowing only what he’s seen while taking his eight- and five-year-old sons to practices.

“There was a bit of ‘Oh, what are we doing?’ We’re basketball guys, we’re football guys,” he said. “Now we have children and we kind of have to adapt as our kids are learning this beautiful game.”

Lidder, Sharda and their teammates wrapped up the program this past week. While they may not exactly be ready for prime time, the improvements were significant.

“(On Monday) we went to The Forks to skate and my kids are like ‘Holy, Papa, you got a lot better!’” said Sharda. “This was something I wanted to do to challenge myself. But now we can have a little more empathy towards what (their) kids are doing.”

Ultimately, it’s not about the final score but about the lessons learned and the friendships made along the way.

“It’s just about hitting the ice, win or lose,” said Lidder. “We just had our season-ending party this past week and all the parents were like ‘Can we keep this group together.’ All the girls get along, and we’ve met a bunch of parents, too. It’s great.”

All of this is music to the ears of Ganni Maan, who helps co-ordinate the First Shift program and has worked closely with the Jets on putting together their annual South Asian Heritage Night over the past three years.

“It’s great to see so many parents being inspired by their kids and First Shift,” said Maan. “Hockey and skating are very quickly becoming a family activity for many communities.”

Lidder, Sharda and the rest of the squad are now planning their next on-ice moves, ones they expect will be a lot smoother given the growth in their own games. They likely will have some company next time out.

“So many other people from our community have now come up to us and said ‘How do we get involved with this?’” said Sharda.

“It’s just really neat to have an opportunity like this and learn together. A lot of these guys are my best friends, people I grew up with. If you would have told me when we were in high school that we’d be skating together at 8:50 p.m. in the dead of winter together, playing organized hockey, I would have never pictured that.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg