Recap from yesterday’s event w the Goalie Guild, an org that brings together over 20k hockey goaltenders from arnd the world.
I met the founder of this nonprofit, a very genuine guy – Justin Goldman when we had a #SameHere Sit-Down at U of Denver in February. Justin & his group had just formed a partnership w Denver’s athletic dept., so the stars were aligned for us all to meet.
Fast forward to last night, & out in Breckenridge, goalies in this Guild from literally ALL over the world came in for a # of days, to get together, talk shop, technique equipment, drills, etc., all on ice surfaces at the complex where we were staying.
The learning didn’t end there. The reason Justin was gracious enough to invite me to be a part of this wk, is that their Guild cares deeply abt the MH of its members. In fact they formed an initiative within their nonprofit called #LiftTheMask (you’ll see the logo on an upcoming slide).
This group – which played hockey & ran thru drills all day, multiple days, sat from 7:30pm -10:00pm, as a # of us on a panel (mostly pro goalies from diff countries, other than me ), shared our own stories of “Lifting Our Masks” & being vulnerable. Ben Meisener was one such goalie who shared (he’s on the right in this pic), & if you remember he wrote an article in the Players’ Tribune abt his own suicidal ideations & past traumas – & he joined our #SameHere Alliance as well a # of months ago.
What I love about this initiative, this particular event, & their approach, is that all the stories, all the questions – were about LIFE. They had goalies who had served in the military, some who’d just lost their spouses, some who were bullied by coaches or other players. But, a safe space was created & vulnerability was shared.
Unlike other msgs out there, the Guild’s msg isn’t just to “Talk” or “TalkMH”…”Lift The Mask” has context in the goalie community that it’s about sharing vulnerabilities & getting out from behind the shield. A beautiful message & I’m so proud they’re #SameHere partners. See Theo’s video welcome to the group to encourage opening up abt trauma.