For his dedication to the enhancement of youth hockey and devotion to teaching young players the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, Neal Henderson, of Washington, D.C., has been named winner of the 2010 Bridgestone Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award.
The award, which includes a $5,000 grant from Bridgestone Americas, was presented to Coach Henderson on June 2 by hockey legend Mark Messier before the start of Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final.
The Bridgestone Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award was created to reward youth hockey players or mentors for their leadership and contributions to youth sports or education. Nominations were received for the award from across the United States and Canada.
“We had so many impressive nominations for the award that it was difficult to choose a winner,” Messier said. “Coach Henderson really embodies the things that youth hockey should be about. He’s really an educator on skates who’s not only teaching young players how to be better players and teammates, he’s teaching them to be leaders both on and off the ice. He’s a very deserving recipient of the award.”
Henderson founded the Fort DuPont Ice Hockey Club in 1978 as a developmental program for local and innercity youth. It is the oldest minority youth hockey program in the country.
