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Fun read about a rec league goalie/reservist now serving in Afghanistan. Its good to read the human interest stories this time of year instead of the all too common stories about tragedy.
The military’s net gain
By ROB GRANATSTEIN
The war in Afghanistan hit extremely close to home when I opened up my Thursday Toronto Sun.
Staring back at me from under a military-issued helmet, sunglasses and vest, while brandishing a machine gun, was our goalie from Monday night hockey.
The headline screamed “Checkpoint Jeff” but I know Jeff Waghorne more from his butterfly style and competitive edge than from standing guard at a gate security checkpoint leading to Kandahar Airfield.
While Sun Media reporter Doug Beazley did a fine job telling us about Waghorne’s job in Afghanistan, let me tell you about the guy I know.
Our group of Monday night media hacks and lawyers recruited Waghorne from the learn-to-play hockey program that has the ice before we do.
Truth be told, his game a couple of years ago was well suited to the Hockey 101 crew. His angles were bad, leaving him horribly out of position frequently, his big white pads covering a spot a metre wide of the net.
Bad for him, good for your humble writer, who needs all the help he can get to score goals.
But that was a couple of years ago. In the few years Waghorne, 25, played with our gang of never-to-be-drafted skaters, his game soared. He developed a style. His glove hand became a force to be reckoned with. He thrived.
Still, he continued to play with the hockey school guys, honing his skill, working quietly and diligently, before skating with us the following hour.
I can also tell you Waghorne never backed down. No matter how hard the shot or where it hit him — and we tattooed him in the mask a few times — Waghorne popped right back up to face the next shot.
In the dressing room, Waghorne barely said a word. Sometimes he smiled as we teased him about a save or the one that got away, but that was all.
Most of the guys never even spoke to him because he kept to himself so much.
But there’s another side of Waghorne we saw that showed this guy’s determination and internal fortitude. He didn’t have a car, but loved to play so much he found a grocery shopping cart, piled his equipment in it and walked about 4 km from his home near the University of Toronto to the downtown core where we played our late night games, then trudged home again, often through the snow or rain or cold.
The following year, he ditched the grocery getter in favour of strapping his equipment — packed with military precision — to his back to make the long walk to hockey.And he never missed a game.
Shortly after joining our weekly skate, Waghorne let me know he had joined the Canadian Forces as a reservist. It didn’t take long for the training as a reservist to get serious and Waghorne moved to a Canadian Forces base to continue his preparation for war.
He sent me an e-mail a couple of months ago just to check in on the hockey guys and to let me know where he was stationed.
Until I saw him in the paper on Thursday, I didn’t know exactly where the Winnipeg native had landed or what his role had become.
It felt good to see him, and to see him smiling.
And we should all feel good knowing our armed forces feature strong, diligent and disciplined soldiers like Pte. Jeff Waghorne carrying our flag.
Get home safe, Jeff, your net awaits.
The military’s net gain
By ROB GRANATSTEIN
The war in Afghanistan hit extremely close to home when I opened up my Thursday Toronto Sun.
Staring back at me from under a military-issued helmet, sunglasses and vest, while brandishing a machine gun, was our goalie from Monday night hockey.
The headline screamed “Checkpoint Jeff” but I know Jeff Waghorne more from his butterfly style and competitive edge than from standing guard at a gate security checkpoint leading to Kandahar Airfield.
While Sun Media reporter Doug Beazley did a fine job telling us about Waghorne’s job in Afghanistan, let me tell you about the guy I know.
Our group of Monday night media hacks and lawyers recruited Waghorne from the learn-to-play hockey program that has the ice before we do.
Truth be told, his game a couple of years ago was well suited to the Hockey 101 crew. His angles were bad, leaving him horribly out of position frequently, his big white pads covering a spot a metre wide of the net.
Bad for him, good for your humble writer, who needs all the help he can get to score goals.
But that was a couple of years ago. In the few years Waghorne, 25, played with our gang of never-to-be-drafted skaters, his game soared. He developed a style. His glove hand became a force to be reckoned with. He thrived.
Still, he continued to play with the hockey school guys, honing his skill, working quietly and diligently, before skating with us the following hour.
I can also tell you Waghorne never backed down. No matter how hard the shot or where it hit him — and we tattooed him in the mask a few times — Waghorne popped right back up to face the next shot.
In the dressing room, Waghorne barely said a word. Sometimes he smiled as we teased him about a save or the one that got away, but that was all.
Most of the guys never even spoke to him because he kept to himself so much.
But there’s another side of Waghorne we saw that showed this guy’s determination and internal fortitude. He didn’t have a car, but loved to play so much he found a grocery shopping cart, piled his equipment in it and walked about 4 km from his home near the University of Toronto to the downtown core where we played our late night games, then trudged home again, often through the snow or rain or cold.
The following year, he ditched the grocery getter in favour of strapping his equipment — packed with military precision — to his back to make the long walk to hockey.And he never missed a game.
Shortly after joining our weekly skate, Waghorne let me know he had joined the Canadian Forces as a reservist. It didn’t take long for the training as a reservist to get serious and Waghorne moved to a Canadian Forces base to continue his preparation for war.
He sent me an e-mail a couple of months ago just to check in on the hockey guys and to let me know where he was stationed.
Until I saw him in the paper on Thursday, I didn’t know exactly where the Winnipeg native had landed or what his role had become.
It felt good to see him, and to see him smiling.
And we should all feel good knowing our armed forces feature strong, diligent and disciplined soldiers like Pte. Jeff Waghorne carrying our flag.
Get home safe, Jeff, your net awaits.
