Although this column is about one coach, it is meant to acknowledge all those coaches ... and their families ... who, year after year, give thousands of hours to our kids.

Darren Hauca coaches a girls Peewee, twelve and under, hockey team and, although he loves the game, his primary goal is to help kids become responsible adults, not professional athletes.

Darren works hard to develop leaders for the future; to instil confidence and self-esteem; to inspire his players to always give 100% in hockey and everything else they do. He even includes a component that teaches public speaking. So at the end of each season, his girls have gained a lot more than just improved hockey skills.

Out of sixteen players on this year's team, nine are young first year players and, to no one's surprise, they got trounced in the preseason games. But by the time the season rolled around, Darren's magic had taken hold. Although his primary goal is to teach his players how to win at life, he also teaches them how to win at hockey. And win they do. His team has lost only one league game in two years.

In part Darren's magic is about instilling team spirit. When a goal is scored the shooter gets a little extra accolade but the whole team celebrates because Darren has taught them that it takes a team to put the puck in the net, not an individual star.

Kathy Reynes' has watched Darren closely over the past two years. Her daughter has been playing on his team.

"Everything Darren does is beyond sport," she wrote on his Neighbourhood Heroes certificate, "It's about who you are as a person. This is a twelve and under team," she continued. "He has kids as young as eight and nine playing for him so there is a huge age and ability span but somehow he is able to challenge everyone at their own level. He's amazing."

At the first team meeting of the year, each player is required to stand up in front of her teammates and their parents and state her hockey goals for the year and what she hopes to achieve outside hockey. They also are required to thank their parents for the support they have been given. At the team Christmas party, each girl stands up in front of her teammates and their parents once again and reviews her goals for the year.

Then, towards they end of the season, Darren hands out a sheet and everyone is asked to write one thing they like about each of their teammates as a person and as an athlete. Then his wife, Teresa, prepares a special laminated memento for each girl with a team photo and a list of all the things her teammates have said about her.

At the end of season party each girl stands up, one by one, as all the comments about her are read and then, speaking to everyone there, they review their accomplishments for the year and, of course, thank their parents once again.

"Many of the girls have difficulty speaking in front of everyone at the beginning of the year," Darren says, "but by the end of the season they all do a pretty good job."

So here's to Darren Hauca and all the other coaches out there who work hard to help our kids become better citizens.