Philadelphia Tribune - Philadelphia, PA - August 21, 2009

Hockey hasn’t been a major sport in the Black community and there’s good reason why.

Blacks have been very prominent in basketball, football, baseball, boxing, track and field, etc. Kids need to be able to identify with someone playing the game.

Well, it looks like they have a person who they can watch on a regular basis. Ray Emery, the Flyers new goalie, is one of the National Hockey League’s most visible players. Emery is an inspiration for a lot of inner city kids.

“For kids to be able to relate to me, that’s fine,” Emery said. “In the past, there haven’t been that many Blacks playing hockey. I know I had a few growing up like Grant Fuhr and Tony McKegney. It made it interesting to watch because there was someone out there I could relate to as well.”

Emery is from Cayuga, Ontario. He grew up playing a number of sports. Emery was quite an athlete.

“I was born in Hamilton,” he said. “I lived in Cayuga, which is about an hour and a half from Toronto. I played everything growing up. I was really into baseball. I played high school basketball. But I played hockey the most. I always played hockey because it was the most accessible and everybody played it well back home. I also boxed a little bit.”

Emery is actually a huge boxing fan. He usually has photos of boxers on his goalie mask every time he steps on the ice.

“I’ve tried five or six fighters on my helmet,” Emery said. “I’ve had Jack Johnson, Marvin Hagler, Roger Mayweather and Muhammad Ali. I know Bernard Hopkins is the “Executioner.” I got a helmet coming with Joe Frazier on one side and Bernard Hopkins on the other side.”

The new mask shows a lot of love for the city’s legendary boxers (it doesn’t get much better than Frazier and Hopkins.) Emery plans to participate in the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. Snider created the foundation in 2005 as a personal commitment to provide opportunities to those who would otherwise not have such options.

The foundation has developed over the years and uses hockey as a way to gain and maintain the attention of young people, bringing inner-city kids together and resulting in positive youth development.

The overall mission of the foundation is to use the sport to help educate youngsters on how to succeed in the game of life.

The foundation provides equipment, ice time, classroom assistance and a safe haven for young people who can maintain good grades and classroom attendance in their schools. Emery will be participating in a clinic for the kids on Sept. 1.

“They’ve already talked to me about the program,” Emery said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of it. It’s cool to have somebody kids can talk to about the game.”

Friday, September 04, 2009