MN's Only Black High School Hockey Head Coach Is Leading By Example
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (WCCO) -- Minnesota has only one Black head high school hockey coach.
His journey with the sport gave him a unique perspective that he's been able to share since taking over his hometown team, Shakopee, in 2018.
"There's not a lot of people that are in these positions, so obviously I take it very serious and know that I represent a lot, but try not to take myself too seriously and have fun with everything that I've got going on, and just basically it comes down to an attitude of gratitude," Calvin Simon said. "I recognize the privilege that comes with it."
"People are open to it and not only open to it, but encouraging of it and supportive of it," he added. "I think that a matter of time before we see more people of color in coaching and leadership roles."
As Minnesota's only Black head high school hockey coach, Simon's journey with hockey mirrored the rest of his life: figuring out where he belonged.
"I really wanted a more diverse locker room," he said. "In hockey there was never a time I walked in a locker room and someone else looked like me."
That led him to Concordia St. Paul.
"In football it was always like that," he said. "Whether it was on my teams in the communities I grew up in or on an all-star team or something of that nature. When I went on my visits, that's immediately what I saw. I saw a bunch of people I feel like I could learn from their experiences and just felt more at home in the locker room."
But football didn't keep him away from his first love. He jumped at the chance to coach his hometown hockey team.
"I've felt nothing but support in this community," Simon said. "I've felt nothing but support when I go and coach against other teams and in other communities. So that to me is really exciting."
And he takes that seriously.
"We have core values, and you have things that are part of just the ethos of our program and we want them to gain as they go from being young boys to contributing men in society," he said.
Leadership is all about being the change you want to see in the world, and Simon wants to pass on all the lessons he's learned to not only his players, but to other kids who look up to him.
"I want to do something that Calvin does, I want to coach, I want to mentor and just be around the game in any way I can," South St. Paul goaltender Ben Bangura said.
The Minnesota Wild Foundation connected Simon and Bangura.
"So we started to build a relationship and it's allowed me to be more of a mentor to him," Simon said.
"It's been advice that I would cherish for my entire life," Bangura said.
And Simon can do for Bangura what his own high school head coach did for him, in stories that mirror each other.
"I remember after one game, a guy saying some not so good things and he looked at me and said, 'You know why they say that, right?'" Simon said.
"Guys on the ice, getting frustrated and using racial slurs is a way to take that out," Bangura said.
"I'm face full of tears at this point, and I'm like, 'No, I don't,' that's probably what was beating me up, I was so confused," Simon said.
"When you play against somebody like me, I mean, it's going to make them uncomfortable," Bangura said.
"He's like, 'It's because they're intimidated. They've never seen anyone like you so confident playing the game and making it tough for them to play,'" Simon said.
"His advice makes me more able to handle that," Bangura said.
"I'll never forget it, it was just this spark for me that allowed me to then, moving forward when someone would say something, whether it was of a racist nature or otherwise, I had this reply of, 'Oh, so you're intimidated. Oh, so you're afraid of me,'" Simon said. "And I almost felt bad for that person moving forward. And so it was just this empowering moment where the right words and the right mentorship was given to me at the right time and I was able to receive it."
That shared experience means Bangura will never leave the sport he loves, either.
"You can play any sport, no matter what skin color you are, or what nationality you are or anything like that," Bangura said.
And Simon strives to impart that maturity in every kid he teaches.
"And hopefully that shows up when they meet challenging moments in their life as they go on to, whether it's studying in college or getting their first job," Simon said. "The real test for us is what do you look like when you decide to become a husband and a father. That's when I'm really curious, as the guys that we've been coaching, when they grow up, do we really make an impact to help them be better young men."
