Born in Toronto, Canada, Mr. Harding began his eventful career on the ice as a figure skater with his sister when they were young. Eventually he graduated from figure skating and found a new passion in ice hockey, he became better than most at a very difficult sport. He accredits his phenomenal skating back to the basics he learned from his mother as a figure skater. While being scouted as an amateur hockey player, he would play one season in the NCAA before moving on to the next big step, the NHL. His hockey career took off as Mr. Harding eventually landed with Michigan State University playing under Ron Mason, who at one point had the most wins in collegiate history with 924. Playing in the 1987-1988 season where his team went for a record of 27-16-3, Mr. Harding was responsible for 27 points and had one of the highest penalty minute records in the school’s history with 129 minutes. He showed his importance and value to the team in his first season. After this he would go on to play professionally for the Flyers who had been scouting him for a long time.

Unfortunately, most good things come to an end, after a series of significant injuries and bad luck, Mr. Harding was forced to have a change in careers. Thankfully, he had a clause in his contract with the Flyers which would let him get a paid education, he had the guidance to help him through a post sports change. Mr. Harding now teaches Physical Education here at CB East and uses the intangibles that came from his sports career,

“Hockey for me was about the team and working together for other people. On a team you have different types of people, so you have to find a way to come together and create something special. I really feel like that has translated into life, like working with my department, working with students, and other different personalities. Sports not only form resilience and hard work, but they’re about bringing people together and making the most of what you have”.

Mr. Harding who once played a sport which was centered around immediate impact, now values the time and effort it takes to teach students to have a growth mindset and enjoy coming to school. He takes pride in his work and emphasizes the hard work and discipline he learned from hockey.