Many are the stories within the circles of youth sport of parents who lack the decorum to comfortably enjoy the athletic pursuits of their sons and daughters without disparaging game officials, opponents and the like.

Such is the level of concern over the issue that very cursory discussions have taken place regarding venues where the voices of parents would be muffled by glass enclosures, the game participants safe from the unnecessary screaming from the other side.

Sadly, the truth is the conversation involves only a very small fraction of parents. A small, highly vocal fraction – but a fraction, nonetheless.

The overwhelming majority of parents get it – thankfully – and few understood that role better than Kevin Grace.

A very familiar face at local sporting venues dating back to his playing days in the seventies and eighties and far more recently in following the adventures of his children (Hannah and Brandon), Kevin was equipped with a wonderfully grounded perspective that would lead to a good number of highly engaging conversations with this intrepid reporter.

Conversations that, sadly, will occur no more.

On July 8th, at the still quite young age of 62, Kevin passed away.

A mainstay at the home games of the Sudbury Wolves as Brandon continues to make a name for himself as one of the best equipment managers in the business, Kevin had safely navigated his role as a sensible parent and coach, with his own offspring, more than ready to tackle the role again with his grandson, Sawyer.

Those dreams will now give way to the memories, reflections of shared moments that instantly bring a smile to the face of family and friends of Kevin Grace. “I think that one of the things that I have been talking about with my friends is that I cannot name one person who did not like Kevin,” said his wife, Judie, the two having met as high-school sweethearts at the age of seventeen.

“He was liked by so many people just because of how he was,” she continued. “He was just the kindest person.”

It was an absolute certainty that upon my return from any of the interesting hockey scorekeeping adventures I have been blessed with in my life, Kevin would be waiting, wanting to chat about the details.

“One of the things that made dad so extraordinary was the way he made the people in his life feel important,” noted Hannah and Brandon in a wonderfully-worded tribute to their father.

“Whatever mattered to you, mattered to him. He didn’t just support the people he loved – he shared their passions, learned alongside them and celebrated their successes as if they were his own.”

A far better than average athlete, Kevin could more than hold his own on most fields of play. Volleyball, however, was not at the top of this list – though it would be the pathway that Hannah would follow with a very successful career with both the Northern Chill Volleyball Club and the St Charles College Cardinals.

“He was at every practice, every tournament that he could attend,” said Hannah. “He would go downstairs and look up plays so that he could help at practices. He researched the game, learned the rules, studied strategies. He wanted to understand my world. If something was important to me, it was important to him.”

Many a well-intentioned parent has struggled with the notion of finding that balance between simply supporting their young athletes in their pursuits versus trying to ensure that the kids reach adulthood with no regrets, that they give themselves every reasonable opportunity to reach their full potential.

In Canada, that challenge is often most visible in hockey rinks from coast to coast. The biggest compliment on how we walked this line would came from Kevin’s son. “Some kids are scared of the car ride home after a bad game,” said Brandon. “He had that soft way of doing the post-game Coaches Corner with you, always there to help with little tips and pointers, never raising his voice.”

In so many ways, the support of the sporting pursuits of their children became one more layer of the unbelievable bond that Kevin and Judie shared, beyond the love of music (1980’s rock, in particular) and other hobbies. “Anything the kids did, he was 1000% invested,” said Judie. “He was in his element, so proud of them.”

“Just be there, in the moment, and enjoy it - he would say,” said Judie.

Words to live by, for any minor sport parent, in any minor sport venue.