Local college hockey player making impact on and off ice for the community

By Drew Trafton (WDAY), 

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) - You may not think of July as a month for hockey.




A local college player, who's choosing this summer to make an impact, on and off the ice.

"There you go! Nice jobs, guys."

Sports fans might recognize Max Smith as a defenseman for Concordia's men’s Hockey team.

Or as a golfer, because he is also on the school's golf team.

But today, he was something else: the Founder and Director of inSports, the foundation providing the absolutely free "inHockey" camp to 35 athletes from the F-M and Twin Cities metros.

"I wanted to get more involved in the community and to help more kids be able to play sports if they couldn't afford to do so,” says inSports Founder and Director Max Smith.

inSports is owned by Innovative Office Solutions, a literal parent company: Smith's parent own  it.

But Smith's standing out on his own.

Despite being in operation for less than a year, the idea has already appealed enough to the Fargo Youth Hockey Association to donate ice time for the multi-day camp.

"Getting more kids on the ice and getting everybody the opportunity, especially in the summertime, is a great idea,” says Operations Manager of the Fargo Youth Hockey Association Jeff Lockhart.

Smith is also getting heavy support from his school, teammates and even head coach Chris Howe.

The benefit of the program extends beyond the rink and in to the wallet. The inHockey program here in Fargo has raised $3,000 for Zach Kraft, the Fargo hockey player fighting brain cancer, $6,000 for the Concordia Men's hockey team and an additional $2,000 for its women's program.

And that's just from custom merchandise sales.

inSports, also put on a golf tournament in June, and currently is running a separate fundraiser for an Eagan, Minnesota hockey player with bladder cancer.

Eventually, Smith hopes to extend the program beyond the blue lines.

"inSoccer, inFootball, inGolf,” says Smith.

But for now, school, hockey, golf and inHockey, will be just fine.

At the end of the camp today, two players were given scholarships bearing the name of a Twins Cities hockey player who died in a shooting.

The players could choose between a new pair of skates, or three new sticks.

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