O'Ree Award finalist spotlight: Vinnie Matteo

The Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award presented by Discover in the United States and Hyundai in Canada is given to an individual who, through hockey, has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society. The award honors O'Ree, the former NHL forward who became the first Black player to play in the NHL on Jan. 18, 1958, and has spent more than two decades as the NHL's diversity ambassador. After a public voting period and votes from O'Ree, NHL executives and Discover executives, one winner from the United States and one from Canada will be announced in June.

Today, a look at one of three Canada finalists: Vinnie Matteo

MONTREAL -- For Vinnie Matteo, happiness is seeing the joy on the face of a child, and a parent, when a youngster shuffles around a rink taking part in a sport that seemed impossibly out of reach.

Four years since its modest birth, Matteo's Avalanche Kidz in Montreal is bringing special-needs children to hockey in a multitiered development program that is both fun and supportive.

With his daughter, Linda, and a dedicated team of coaches and support staff, Matteo has used his decades-long background in elite and women's hockey to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for children who might otherwise never know what it's like to skate on a rink fully equipped.

Avalanche Kidz embraces children who are on the autism scale, developmentally challenged or facing neurodivergent conditions that might leave them on the sidelines. Teaching on-ice skills is just part of a program that helps these children gain confidence, develop social connections and feel a part of a team.

Participants take part in weekly hour-long sessions aimed at learning to skate, designed for players with little to no skating experience, focused on teaching and reinforcing fundamental techniques; developmental hockey skills, an introductory class for proficient skaters that focuses on skating, stickhandling, shooting, passing and game play; and special needs, a program focused on fun, teamwork and social interaction with goals tailored to each child's ability.

"These children are taking part in a sport that many parents never imagined for their kids," Matteo said. "They put their trust in us. This is about going out onto the ice, falling down and getting up, and having fun. 

"What's important is that they come out, play the game and leave with a smile. For many parents, now they can say, 'My kid plays hockey.'"

Matteo was operating a hockey program at Montreal's Sun Youth Organization when a mother came to him to discuss her special-needs son's desire to play hockey.

"I was thinking, 'Hockey is for everybody. A special-needs child is still a child,'" Matteo said.

He took the boy of about 7 under his wing, outfitting him from the Sun Youth program, an initiative that does excellent work with low-income families in Montreal and immigrants who see hockey as a way to integrate their children into Canada.

Impressed by her son's progress, the mother told Matteo that there were other special-needs children who would love a chance at hockey, too. Many arrived at a subsequent introductory tryout session.

A conversation with convinced Matteo to establish a program, Avalanche Kidz taking shape with the enthusiastic support of his wife, Sylvia.

He would meet many children in their homes, dressing them in familiar, comfortable surroundings, and remains involved with Sun Youth.

"They'd hang on me. Maybe I was a bit of a father figure to them," Matteo said of those early days. "They knew I didn't judge. A kid's a kid. He or she can do anything."

Ice time was a challenge, special-needs children requiring consistency and structure in their lives. Sunday morning sessions, from September through April, found a home in a Montreal arena suitably located for a multicultural community.

The program has a healthy roster of sponsors, who help in a variety of ways, but it's the human touch of Matteo and those working with him that makes it thrive.

"It's a challenge but it's a fun challenge," Matteo said of program that continues to grow in popularity. "We look at what's needed that day. A kid may want to skate or just sit on the bench or sit in the corner, and we have to adapt what we're doing so that this child has fun. From week to week, we never know. That's the beautiful part about it. We have to stay on our toes."

Matteo, 67, is on the ice less now, Linda running the operation with a dedicated coaching staff. He'll move among the participants to accept their hugs, help them suit up and remind them that the door is always open in life as it is at the players' bench.

"The first time I meet them, they're very innocent, they don't know what they're getting into, but I know exactly," he said. "We have to do this in a way that they'll have fun. They have to build trust, it won't work without that. 

"To see them start, coming to the rink, it's all new to them. I made a video teaching them how to dress. I'll dress kids in front of their parents. Every kid is different, some can't wear a helmet easily because of physical sensitivities.

"At the end of the day, when you see her smile, you can see that she feels comfortable, she's in her zone, that the environment is perfect. There's no 'Am I doing this wrong?' She's just having fun, with no pressure."

Matteo jokes that many of the children in Avalanche Kidz are young enough to be his grandchildren. If they're enjoying their time with "Coach Vinnie," the feeling is very mutual, the founder saying "these kids keep me young. I'm having fun, too."

The coaches are the cornerstone of the program, he said, "good humans who just like to be with kids. Yes, it's hockey but this is like a family, and Matteo is proud that his three children are following the example their father sets.

"I've been around the game a long time, but this is very close to my heart," he said. "This program is a blessing in that it allows me to really give back."

He still can't quite compute having been named one of three Canadian finalists for the annual Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award presented by Hyundai.

"To be a finalist for the Willie O'Ree Award, I still have no words for it. It's phenomenal," Matteo said. "Mr. O'Ree helped a lot of kids get into hockey. I'm just trying to do the best I can. My nomination creates more awareness of the Avalanche Kidz program and that's more important than any personal recognition. Maybe other people can do the same thing in their communities moving forward. 

"What I do is because I love to do it, because I have a passion for it. I've made it my duty to help kids get into hockey. I'll use all my resources, all my contacts, all the people I've done business with, to make sure it happens."