hockey in Africa

‘Hey man, where are the sticks, the sticks, the sticks …?’

When I die, I want my obituary to read as follows: “Thomas Froese is dead. Mr. Froese’s biggest accomplishment was bringing hockey to Africa, where it’s now enjoyed by pretty well everyone.” Today, here’s my progress report. In short, I can’t die any time soon.

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The strange charm of Captain Amon and Hockey Uganda

The charm, the absolute charm, of Captain Amon is that he’ll appear at your doorstep in East Africa at the most inopportune times.You’ll be having a bite to eat, or a nap, or a shower, and there it is, the knock on your guesthouse door. “Mr. Thom? Hello, Mr. Thom? Mr. Thom. Are you there?

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Daniel Alfredsson and me? Twins? Do I have to retire now?

After ensuring the children did indeed still have all their limbs attached, the first order of business back home here in Uganda was to play some hockey, the sort reported earlier this year here in the Hamilton Spectator, that is ball hockey with Ugandans who are getting too good at Canada’s game. Too good, indeed. Joining us for

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Why I’m confused with (remember him?) Tiger Williams

We’re at it again, hockey in Africa, and it’s with sadness and regret that I have to report that the other evening the girls, that is Mom and Liz and Hannah, beat the boys, that is Jon and myself, by a lone goal scored in a sort of overtime only because the girls had a FOURTH player

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A Canadian boy and his game. (And by the way, I’m going to @#$%^& kill you.)

This is about a boy who loved to play hockey. He played in rinks, sure, when he could, even outdoor rinks, but more so just on the road, hour after hour, with or without his buddies, often until dark, calling the play-by-play, shooting, scoring, winning with the crowd going wild, of course, at least until

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Celebrating hockey GOLD in Africa

The thing about winning Gold in an Olympic event over and over and over and (YAWN) over is that you might start to assume that it’s your birthright, which, I suppose, this one, uh, kid, with the red shirt thinks. You forget all the work involved and your belly gets flabby and you won’t want to even walk the dog

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Looking for big Olympic hockey game. Have monkeys, beer. Will travel.

Here’s the deal. Africa isn’t really the biggest place on the hockey map. I know you find this hard to imagine. But I’m working on it all. In fact, I see no reason why Uganda can’t have an Olympic hockey team for the 2018 Games, and if you read the Hamilton Spectator (which, if you

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You’ve heard of Jamaican bobsledders? These are Ugandan hockey players!

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, February 15, 2014)

KAMPALA, UGANDA ✦ Okay, maybe it’s too late for Sochi, but I hope you haven’t forgotten about Olympic hockey in Africa. Yes, dear members of the International Olympic Committee, I’m before you to personally share the good news of a Ugandan ice-hockey team.

Of course, in Canada nobody says “ice” before “hockey” because Canadians realize hockey’s natural state is with ice, even the frozen-pond variety.

Uganda, on the other hand, is a place where some poor soul with a hockey stick in-hand might yell out, “We’re Manchester United!” before informing you that he’s a “striker.” But I’m working on this and I’m happy to report remarkable progress.

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