By Christine Miles I am a former varsity-level ice hockey player, high-performance youth coach and a seasoned leader in the corporate world, yet the support in coaching didn’t always follow. Without more women leading on the sidelines, we risk losing the perspective, mentorship, and representation that help girls stay in sport and see themselves in future leadership...Read More

November 3, 2025 Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities supports Captains & Poets to Empower 50 Youth Sport Teams Across Canada Initiative integrates emotional intelligence and leadership into sport, with a focus on keeping girls in the game. [Toronto, Ontario] — Today, Captains & Poets, with the support of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities (Jumpstart), announces a groundbreaking...Read More

By Owen Brine “You will never discover new oceans unless you have the courage to hoist your sails and set course into the unknown.” As a naval officer, nautical metaphors come naturally to me. And yet, they’ve taken on new meaning during my time as a volunteer hockey coach. Coaching, like commanding a ship, is...Read More

By Chris McCallum, Founder of Truth-Based Sports What is a Game? According to philosopher Bernard Suits (1978), the definition of a game is the common acceptance of unnecessary obstacles. This concept might sound ridiculous – why would anyone accept an inefficient path to achieve random and unnecessary outcomes? Yet, people spend extensive amounts of time...Read More

Where Captain Meets Poet: How Sport Shaped Our Inner Leaders By Ella Hupka and Nicole Bucur Over the summer, the Girls Forward Youth Advisory Council (YAC) participated in a powerful workshop led by Jennifer Johnson, founder of Captains & Poets. Through exploring the “how” and “why” behind our actions, we came to better understand our...Read More

What’s in Your Backpack? By Jennifer Johnson, B.Ed., M.A. As the new school year approaches, most of us picture the backpack filled with books and supplies. But there’s another backpack we carry every day (often unconsciously) filled with our strengths and weakness, thoughts, emotions, habits, and stories. Together, they define our learning edge for the...Read More

By Jennifer Johnson, B.Ed., M.A. You’ve heard of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz? So, I took the time to read Don Miguel Ruiz JR.’s book The Five Levels of Attachment as I sat on the shoreline last week and what resulted was a reflection on the role of self-awareness in authenticity and how...Read More

By Julie Peterson, Principal, Woodford House, NZ I have always seen education as the land of opportunity. The role of teacher is narrowly typecast by those who have passed through their classrooms and people don’t realize how varied teaching positions can be. I started out as an English teacher and have had the most diverse...Read More

By Jennifer Johnson  We all remember showing up to Phys. Ed. class with a mix of trepidation and excitement. It was a place to stretch ourselves, both literally and figuratively, share sides of ourself that may not show up in the classroom, interact with others, and have fun. Health and Physical Education (HPE) is a...Read More

By Mike Anderson As both an elementary school principal and a U17 Girls’ Basketball Coach, I know how important it is for youth to face challenges in positive environments, outside of the traditional school setting.  It gives young people an opportunity to be mentored in a focused way, and it expands their identity and community....Read More