A Nova Scotia mom had put off enrolling her daughter in hockey for as long as she could due to the costs, but now her daughter is living her dream thanks to the kindness of strangers on TikTok. “She’s been saying she wanted to play hockey since she was probably three or four,” says Jessie Jacquard. “Every year, I’m like, I cannot commit to spending that money at that age and have her get on the ice and say, ‘I don’t think, I’m sure.’” But her eight-year-old daughter Sophia insisted. Now, one year into hockey, she’s enjoyed it the whole way. But as any parent with a child in sports knows, it’s a big commitment. “Getting her to and from the rink three days a week is a lot,” says Jacquard. “It’s pretty much every weekend, every other weekend. So, it’s a big, big commitment. “But she loves it, so that makes it worth doing.” Earlier this month, though, one of Sophia’s coaches asked if she wanted to play goalie. “She lit right up,” Jacquard says. “She came off the ice, put all the gear on, went back, and after that it was like, ‘I one million per cent want to be goalie.’” “It’s just been something I wanted to do for a while,” Sophia says. Thankfully, with help from her team and the gear program at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth, she was able to play those first couple of games. But Jessie knew this was just the beginning. She took to TikTok to share the stress she was under. Warning: Video contains language some may find offensive. “I was so upset because I’m like, ‘Financially, how can I be a goalie mom?’” she says. “Being a hockey mom is hard, but being a goalie mom is a whole new ball game.” So, after piecing together secondhand, mismatched gear, and seeing the joy in her daughter’s eyes, Jacquard did everything she could to make that dream work. “Just for the goalie mask, it’s $300-plus but it’s an absolute necessity,” she says. Monday marked the first day of spring hockey for Sophia, and this year, Easter came early for the young hockey player. In a second video posted to TikTok, Jacquard can be seen handing over a brand-new goalie mask to her daughter. “You don’t have to cry!” Jacquard says to an emotional Sophia, while hugging her. “That meant so much to her, which of course meant the world to me,” Jacquard tells CTV News. But what Jacquard didn’t expect was for the video to take off. Since that time, she’s had individuals, corporations and even the NHL’s Utah Mammoth reach out, offering to help. “So far, we’ve received a new blocker, new mitts coming at some point, a goalie bag,” Jacquard says. Items that cost hundreds of dollars each, being sent by total strangers who even offered extra Easter treats. “I didn’t realize worldwide how big it is and how much people are willing to jump in and help and make like a kid’s dream come true,” Jacquard says. Now, as Sophia gets to watch professional women’s hockey, she already has her sights set on her own career. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
