Six-year-old Callan Perks has become an international star for his moving pre-game speech against the Peterborough Petes on Sunday.
Coach Cal, as he is known, has been interviewed on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” ABC’s “World News Tonight,” CBC’s “The National,” and the video of his speech was aired on Sportsnet Central, TSN and was picked up by the NHL. .
Cal won the opportunity at the Petes Next Gen contest to follow Petes’ head coach for a day. Applicants were asked to submit a video with a short pre-game speech. Cal’s video was posted by the Petes, shown before Sunday’s game, and quickly gained attention on social media.
With Petes’ head coach Rob Wilson at the Capital City Challenge in Ottawa, the Petes let Cal give his speech to the players in person. That video, complete with explosive cheers from the players following their opening line-up presentation, drew more attention.
“I can’t believe I’m already on TV just for a speech. I just don’t know how it happened, ”Cal, a second-grader at Lakefield Public School District, said Wednesday. “These interviews are fun.”
“It’s been a little crazy, I’ll be honest,” said Lara Perks, Cal’s mother along with her partner Krystal.
“Trying to program him around his own hockey and school and he has a twin sister Ella with her own activities. He’s a down-to-earth kid, so if he gets a chance to talk about hockey and his experience, he’s really excited about it. He doesn’t realize what ‘Good Morning America’ is and how big it is. “
Cal drew lines from his favorite hockey songs, books and speeches that he gives to his Otonabee Wolves U8 teammates in the speech. He was delighted to deliver it in person.
“To be able to see JR Avon, Tucker Robertson, Joe Carroll, Mason McTavish, it felt so good to walk into that dressing room and give them the speech. I really think it encouraged them, ”he said.
The Petes beat Ottawa 67 3-2.
Cal said his nerves disappeared as soon as he started giving his speech, which he practiced many times. The way the players responded just capped it off.
“I was so happy. It was like, ‘Come on guys,’ and then they started cheering and it was so amazing and it made me feel like I cheered for them and then they got the W,” he said.
The young man has great ambitions in hockey.
“I’m going to play in the NHL until I’m 45 or 43 and then I’ll be a coach,” he said.
Petes’ associate coach Andrew Verner said hockey operations staff “hugged him with no intention of exploding like this. We just thought it was a good and enjoyable thing to do and we thought the guys would like it. I guess things take off in the new world. “
Verner says some hockey legends spoke to players in the past, but this was unique and well received by the players.
“The fact that he was so good was really appreciated by everyone and also outside of our hockey circles,” he said.
The Petes announced Wednesday that they are selling “Coach Cal” t-shirts in support of the Canadian Cancer Society through the 2022 Pink in the Rink campaign.
The locally made jersey, designed by Pioneer Inc.’s Kyle McDonald, features a custom design of the hockey community’s favorite small-size coach and includes some of his lines from his legendary speech, including, “Legends are made every day. , you could be one of the big “and” we’ll do whatever it takes to get the W. “
Shirts cost $ 24.99 plus HST. T-shirts can be purchased at the Petes Store or online at bit.ly/3ofF7Dy
Reference-www.thestar.com