Columbus Division of Police officer Trent Everhart has been playing hockey since he was in fourth grade, giving him more than three decades of experience on the ice.
On the other side of the equation, many of the kids he was working with Feb. 23 had never picked up a hockey stick before.
Everhart was one of two members of the Division of Police along with four members of the city’s Division of Fire to take part in the Blue Jackets Get Out And Learn! street hockey clinic at the Blackburn Community Center on the city’s East Side.
The collaboration between the Blue Jackets, the divisions of fire and police, and the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department introduced around 80 kids to the sport in a hands-on event.
“It’s great,” Everhart said. “It’s a lot of fun. Columbus is a hockey city, and hockey has grown so much here, so to be able to come out here in the community and introduce hockey to all these kids is awesome. We are growing the sport here in the city. I love what the Blue Jackets are doing out here, and I’m really glad to be a part of it.”
The event took place ahead of the Blue Jackets’ First Responders Night presented by Jet’s Pizza, set for tomorrow when Columbus hosts San Jose at Nationwide Arena. It came together through the Center Without Walls program, an initiative for kids aged 6-14 that that provides access to Columbus Recreation and Parks Department services for youth who live in areas without a community center or where there is no safe walking route to the nearest location.
CWOW’s core services include after-school programming, summer camps, in-school outreach and community pop-ups. Programs consist of competitive and strategy-building games, field trips, various sports, arts and crafts, science experiments, special guests and more.
And about a month ago, that meant it was time to grab sticks and play hockey.
“At the heart of our programming is a commitment to first-time experiences, the kind that spark imagination and expand what feels possible,” said Alex Passas, recreation administrative manager in the youth development division of CRPD. “For many of our youth, opportunities like attending a professional sporting event simply wouldn’t happen otherwise. Introducing them to hockey in a region where it isn’t traditionally predominant adds an exciting layer of discovery.”
The kids on hand went through the Blue Jackets’ GOAL program, a free initiative presented in association with Apex Pros that introduces youngsters to the sport through various drills. Members of the police and fire divisions joined CBJ instructors to help kids learn how to hold a hockey stick and introduced them to the basics of the game like passing and shooting, and kids were able to leave with a street hockey stick and ball to take home.
“Part of our job is giving back to the community,” said Kyle Sloan, a firefighter paramedic at Station 8, which is mere blocks from the Blackburn Community Center. “We like being involved in the community, and this is a natural outlet for that.”
A Central Ohio native who started playing hockey as a kid when the Blue Jackets came to town, Sloan is a member of the Columbus Division of Fire hockey team.
“It was a blast,” he said of the event. “Any opportunity you get to play a game you enjoy and share it with other people, that’s what it’s all about.”
And everything came together because of a partnership between the Blue Jackets and other members of the Columbus community.
“Collaboration like this is transformative,” Passas said. “It gives young people the chance to step beyond their daily routines and connect directly with organizations they may see every week but rarely engage with personally. When youth are invited into spaces that might otherwise feel large or intimidating, something powerful happens – barriers come down, confidence grows and curiosity takes over.
“By bringing community partners together and creating approachable, one-on-one interactions, we turn big institutions into real people with open doors. These shared experiences don’t just educate, they inspire. They show our youth that support, opportunity and compassion surround them throughout the city, often in places they may not have realized were accessible to them.”
