Photo Credit: Courtesy of NAYS
Four years ago Dave Parks, program administrator for youth sports for the city of Englewood (Colo.) Parks and Recreation Department, received a call from a concerned mother of a fifth grader.
She explained that her son was painfully shy and struggling with social anxiety. She wondered if there was a sport he might be able to play, though he wasn’t interested in baseball, football, or basketball. Parks suggested that the boy give hockey a try.
The department set him up with some equipment, placed him on a team, and as it turns out, changed his life.