Grades and Blades Program Teaches Deserving Nashville Students to Skate

Seven weeks ago, young Hashim had never laced up a pair of skates before, had never even been to an ice rink and certainly didn't know how to handle himself on a frozen sheet without needing assistance.
Tears, his mother says, streamed down his face in the early moments of his participation in the Grades and Blades Program at Ford Ice Center Antioch, and he wanted to give up.
Less than two months later, Hashim, an elementary school student in Metro Nashville, wants to be a hockey player.

"When you accomplish something, you just feel good," Hashim said following his 'graduation day' from the first installment of Grades and Blades. "You accomplished something, and you're happy."
Hashim is one of the first to attain the feat and learn how to skate courtesy of the program, an opportunity born out of the Predators' GUIDER initiative.
An acronym that incorporates the following guiding principles: Growth, Understanding, Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Representation
, GUIDER's goal is to utilize the resources, relationships and reach of the Preds to implement change via Nashville's staff, fans, the sport and community.
Grades and Blades is one of the first on-ice components of GUIDER and rewards children for their good grades and attendance at school with a free, learn-to-skate opportunity every Saturday morning.
Hashim is part of the inaugural Grades and Blades class, and the reviews are in.
"It's a great accomplishment, a new skill he gained," Hashim's mother, who is originally from Somalia, said. "Even though he's smart, he still has some athletic challenges, but he's getting there. The program is great. I like the fact that they reward the kids for their hard work, which is a great thing. Some kids don't get that opportunity, and they do have this opportunity, so it's amazing."

"The overall mission of GUIDER is to use Preds resources and relationships to be able to create opportunities for underserved markets, and I think our GUIDER program does just that," Preds Director of Corporate Sponsorship Robin Lee said. "We're able to use the fact that we have these ice centers, and that we have relationships with different communities and schools within that community, and we've been able to merge the two and create a program that's completely free so there's no financial barrier that prevents anyone from being able to participate. We've targeted the kids that we want to have in this program that align with what our GUIDER initiatives are, so it's been awesome to be able to see what we thought of in a room as a bright idea come to full fruition and graduate our first class."
Learning a new skill, particularly one as challenging and rewarding as ice skating, not only provides physical exercise, but it also gives participants the belief they can accomplish anything if they work hard enough.
Those who oversee the programs at Ford Ice Center have seen it happen time after time, and Grades and Blades will do wonders for the young skaters as they continue to develop in all aspects.
"This gives them the confidence to do anything in their lives," Ford Ice Center Learn-to-Skate Director Paula Trujillo said. "Some people who are really smart have a little bit of difficulty with athletics. It's probably the hardest thing they've ever done, and I want them to know that they can struggle and it's OK. When they get to college and they have a really hard exam or something, they'll know they did this way back when, and they struggled through it and they persevered and they learned how to skate. So, those kind of lifelong skills and things that have carried me throughout my entire life, they're gaining that knowledge now, too."
Scott Hamilton, who stopped by to speak with the Grades and Blades graduates following the final session, also knows what is possible just from putting on a pair of skates.
An Olympic Gold Medalist and director of the skating academy that bears his name at both Ford Ice Center facilities, Hamilton had to start somewhere, too, and witnessing the progress of a new skater firsthand never gets old.
"Learning to skate, if you have a legitimate skill progression, you're going to go from zero to proficiency in a really good amount of time, and that's why the program that has been created here is so phenomenal," Hamilton said. "The kids who come through…and say, 'I've always wanted to learn how to skate,' and now in just a matter of weeks, they don't even think about holding onto the wall anymore. It's fun to go out and just enjoy the ice and just that cool air in your face knowing that you can accomplish your goals."
Hamilton, who spoke with Hashim and his mother, says people like them make the skating community in Nashville one-of-a-kind. Race, religion, financial background, none of it matters - all that's needed is a desire to get on the ice.
Now, the GUIDER initiative is making stories like that easier to come by, and Grades and Blades is set to expand in the months and years to come to include more students from Metro Nashville Public Schools to allow them the chance to do something they never thought possible.
Hashim gave an emphatic "Yes!" when asked if he's going to continue skating, and although he'll face new challenges ahead on and off the ice, a newfound love for the sport might just keep him going no matter what.
"What we learn on the ice, we take into our lives," Hamilton said. "You learn how to fall down and get up, and that's life. We're going to fall down, but it's how you get up and how you go back after it and conquer that skill. It'll show up in every aspect of our lives, so I'm really proud of the program here. I'm really honored to partner with the Predators, and I can't wait to see where this thing goes."