It was a win, win, win event as a two-day hockey camp was held recently for players in the Novice Division of Yorkton Minor Hockey.
The first win was there were more than 50 youth who took part.
The second win was having Grain Millers come on board to help fund the event.
And, the third win was the Jim Pattison’s Children’s Hospital Foundation as event instructor Derek Serdachny passed on his fee to the Saskatoon-based facility.
Mark Schendel, Novice Division liaison with Yorkton Minor Hockey said he had the idea for the mini-camp several months ago.
“The past summer my two kids attended the Serdachny High Performance Hockey camp,” he explained, adding the idea of an inclusive camp for all players, even those who might not otherwise be able to afford going came to him.
So Schendel said he talked to school operator Derek Serdachny after a session, and he was immediately interested.
“I didn’t hesitate. I was 100 per cent on board,” said Serdachny.
Next Schendel sought out Terry Tyson with Grain Millers to support their Outdoor Hockey Day, which was to be held recently but was postponed until mid-February due to cold weather. Grain Millers came up with $2,000 which flowed through to Serdachny to host the camp, which was held Jan. 22 and 23 in Bredenbury.
It was Serdachny who offered to donate the money to the new hospital in Saskatoon, making the decision for deeply personal reasons. He said their daughter was born with Craniosynostosisa birth defect in which the bones in a baby's skull join together too early. The condition required 18 trips to Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, because there was no similar facility in Saskatchewan at the time.
“It’s a service that we need,” he said of the facility in Saskatoon, adding had it been open when his daughter – who is doing fine now – needed the care, it would have saved his family a lot of kilometres.
Schendel said there are 66 players enrolled in Novice this season in Yorkton, and most took part in the camp.
“Both days we had more than 50 kids attend the camp,” he said, adding for many it was their first hockey camp.
“It was about learning skills, having fun and meeting other kids,” he said.
In addition to Serdachny running the camp the Yorkton Hyundai Terriers sent players to help out.
“That was really cool to see,” said Schendel. “They had such energy and enthusiasm with the kids.”
Schendel said the Terrier fundraiser for Brayden Ottenbreit Close Cuts was helped out at the camp as a result of the players being involved, with a bucket set up that collected just shy of $300.
The bigger winner was the children’s hospital.
