Hockey is a much loved sport in Canada and girls and boys seek to play to the best of their abilities and outperform their peers. While some children play for fun, there are many student athletes who are committed to making hockey part of their life and, ultimately, their career. While there are hundreds of student hockey athletes, only a handful will actually make it to the NHL.

Dwayne Hay understands the thinking and drive of his students. He was once there himself. Dwayne Hay devoted every spare moment to perfecting his athletic ability. “Hockey was all I ever thought about and I wanted to play in the NHL. As a student I didn’t put as much focus into my education as I should have and I want students to know that education truly is important; even for student athletes,” says Dwayne Hay.

For years, the Calgary Flames has been a partner of the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation. Through the partnership, hockey athletes like Dwayne Hay spoke to students on the importance of education and reading. The Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation created the Reading…Give It A Shot program specifically to encourage and reward students for reading.

“Players like myself would talk to students about reading and encourage them to join the program. For the children who loved hockey there was an incentive to read because they would be rewarded with seasonal Calgary Flames bookmarks,” says Dwayne Hay. Children receive a bookmark for every one hundred minutes spent reading.

After Dwayne Hay left the Calgary Flames, the importance of encouraging students to read went with him. As an elite trainer at Strive Fitness and Nutrition, Dwayne Hay encourages his student athletes to read and further their education whenever the topic comes up. While Dwayne Hay had been successful at reaching the NHL, there were many aspiring athletes that had not been so lucky.

“If I had not been drafted into the NHL then I would have had to find another career path for myself. Without taking education seriously, that would be difficult. Student athletes need to put as much effort into their schoolwork and education as they do their athletic training,” says Dwayne Hay.