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Wednesday January 24 2001 7:41 PM EST Pat LaFontaine's inspiring project is helping many less fortunate By NEIL STEVENS  TORONTO (CP) - Pat LaFontaine, who earned all-star honours as an NHL player, continues to
impress off the ice. LaFontaine retired in the spring of 1998 at the age of 33 after numerous
concussions, and he never stopped visiting childrens' hospitals and devoting himself to making a difference. His book, Companions In Courage: Triumphant Tales of Heroic Athletes, is an inspiring work that profiles the famous, such as Mario Lemieux and David Duval, and some who are less well known. "My companions in courage have taught me important lessons," LaFontaine wrote in the book's preface. "I've come to understand that courage comes in many forms." LaFontaine scored 478 goals and accumulated 1,013 points in 865 NHL games in 15 years. He won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and sportsmanship. He won the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. He becomes eligible for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year, and nobody would be more deserving. Yet, even more impressive than his achievements in hockey, is his commitment to helping others. LaFontaine used part of his advance from Warner Books to set up companions-in-courage.org, a Web resource intended for athletes, trainers, and others to "share their experiences and provide one another and all who visit with information and the power and support they need to achieve their individual dreams." Since being set up last November, the site has 57,000 hits. Another portion of the advance was donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Fox, the Canadian-born actor, wrote the forward. All of LaFontaine's earnings from sales of the book are being donated to the NHL Hockey's All- Star Kids program that aids patients and their families. He has been symptom-free since October 1998 and has moved easily in post-hockey life. He is involved in a management and design capacity in a home renovation business in Connecticut, and is getting a chance to watch his children grow up. Daniel LaFontaine, 5, scored his first goal for the Greenwich Blues last weekend. Several years ago, LaFontaine was asked while a member of the Buffalo Sabres to visit children in hospitals. "I went there with the thought of putting a smile on their faces, and their courage and their relationships and friendships inspired me and made my injuries seem trivial to what they were dealing with," he explained in an interview Wednesday. "We became friends. "I don't think I realized at the time how close I'd become with them until a couple of those special kids passed away. In memory of their courage, the book is dedicated to them." Others have pulled through. They also have become his companions in courage. He has returned time and again to childrens' hospitals. It has become an important part of his life. "Their courage inspired me to go back," he said. Stories about 56 individuals and the physical or emotional hardships they endured are contained in the book. Some of the stories bring tears to a reader's eyes. Some bring a smile. LaFontaine was one of the first NHL players to have a box in his team's arena set aside for the use of sick kids. Curtis Joseph has done the same in Toronto, Wade Redden in Ottawa, and Trevor Linden in Montreal. LaFontaine would like to see similar boxes in every NHL arena. "Kids will get out of the hospital, see a game, be inspired, maybe meet their favourite player," he said. "That's what I hope for." The All-Star Kids' program sets a good example for young players entering the NHL today, he added. "I guarantee you, if they spend some time meeting some of these special kids, and helping raise money, it will change their lives," he said. "When you become an athlete, sometimes you have these blinders and tunnel vision and you're whole focus is one thing. But there's a whole other world out there. "It easy to skate on a surface of ice but when it starts cracking around you or when you fall through it's cold, dark and scary, but it's where you learn and grow the most, and you never know when the ice is going to break around you." There will be another book with more stories about his companions in courage, he hopes. His commitment to the project will never end. |
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