Strathmore and area celebrate minor hockey week
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
Minor Hockey Week is taking place all over Canada this week. The week is a way to recognize the sport for its positive influence and benefits to the community
Strathmore Minor Hockey
Strathmore Minor Hockey (SMH) has been able to remain steady with their enrollment numbers since last year. Concerns about the cost of hockey prohibiting some players from lacing up and hitting the ice are something SMH President Wayne Hansen is keeping an eye on.
“The biggest thing for me is we want the kids involved in hockey because hockey teaches you more than just about the game of hockey. It teaches you a lot of life skills, I have a lot of friends that I still have that I grew up playing hockey with,” said Hansen.
“You make life long friendships because of that, and I think that’s why it’s very important for us to have a very strong minor hockey program in Strathmore and in every community, We’re teaching our kids how to be part of a team.
“It’s not just about being part of a sports team, it’s about being part of a team at work as well. When they go into the work force they need to be part of a team and they need to know what it takes to be part of a team and make that team successful.”
In January SMH kids had a chance to participate in a UFA Bisons clinic and a Stabler Goal Tending Inc. goalie clinic, both of which Hansen said were successful.
One way SMH is trying to raise funds to help supplement the costs of hockey is with a raffle. Pure Country Meats have donated the wrapping and selling of a cow. First prize and second prize is half of a beef cut and wrapped valued at $1,000, and the third prize is a hockey registration for the 2012/2013 season equal to $750. Tickets are $2 each and the draw will be Feb. 22 and anyone interested in tickets can contact Strathmore Minor Hockey at smhockey@telus.net.
Wheatland AA
The Wheatland AA teams have been having a good year with the bantam, midget and peewee teams being in first, second and third respectively in their divisions.
“I think we’re pretty excited about all of our teams this year, I think they are all either first or second in their divisions. We’re all real happy with the level of play, the coaching that we’re getting and the commitment that we’re getting from the parents to make it the best it can be,” said Wheatland AA President Sandy Henry.
“It’s been excellent this year I think we might have lost probably 10 or 12 or 14 games between all three teams and probably they’ve played in the neighbourhood of 60 or 70 games now. That’s been real successful for us.”
The cost of playing hockey is something he thinks they have to struggle with every day, due to increased fuel prices other factors. Another problem for the AA is they rely on casino money, they have a casino account that they are involved with that helps them supplement ice for their teams.
“The casino now instead of one every two years, it’s one every three years. We have to stretch that dollar another third further basically just because we don’t get the frequency of the casinos anymore. That puts pressure on the other side as well,” said Henry.
Despite having to stretch the money further from the casinos, the annual silent auction once again went extremely well. Finding ice time can be another challenge, but Henry said they do use outside ice to supplement their Strathmore use.
Hussar Minor Hockey
While one of the major challenges Hussar Minor Hockey still faces is the draw to the bigger centres, President CoreyAnn Sandum said this year they have been able to fill a novice team.
Last year Hussar and Bassano had split the team, and while there are a few players from Bassano on the team Sandum was happy to see her community is able to completely host the team.
“Our program is just steadily improving, we have great coaches and parents, the kids are enjoying it,” said Sandum.
Ice time may be an issue for teams playing out of Strathmore, but in Hussar and smaller communities they have it in abundance.
Another challenge coming forward is the travel time, and that the Central Alberta Hockey league seems to keep expanding their borders. Sandum agreed there are some challenges with it, but her teams are used to having to travel.
Hockey can teach a lot to the kids who play it, and Sandum is hoping to draw in more kids next season.
“Hope for next year is… have three teams out of Hussar with the possibility of a peewee team coming home,” said Sandum.
Sandum said team spirit is one of the biggest things she sees the kids learn from playing hockey.
“They have to work together to set up the plays and be able to look around for their buddies to pass to and I think it teaches them respect of each other and coaches.”
Rockyford Minor Hockey
Brad Munchrath, Vice President of Rockyford Minor Hockey, wants to see minor hockey continue in his community for years to come.
“I just want to be involved in my community and do what I can to ensure that it sticks around here for my kids,” said Munchrath.
There are currently two novice teams and a midget team playing out of Rockyford. The two novice teams each consist of ten players a team. Munchrath said they were forced to make two really lean teams because a team can only have 17 skaters and two goalies per team.
Like every coach and parent involved with minor hockey, Munchrath also can see the benefit kids get from playing the game.
“The main thing is teamwork, hockey itself is just good physical activity, but it teaches you teamwork, it teaches you to lose and also how to win,” said Munchrath.
Having the opportunity to watch the kids grow and improve their skills every year is another thing Munchrath enjoys about being involved with hockey.
“It’s neat to watch from the grandstands and it’s probably even a better experience for the coaches. Some of the coaches will even follow the kids up from novice right up to midget league, and who knows from there.”
Munchrath said there are a lot of benefits to playing out of Rockyford, such as the amazing ice times, long ice times, the lower fees and the lower arena rentals. Though he knows a lot of players go to Strathmore because of the AA and AAA teams, he said he wanted people to know there are other options even if they don’t make the team in Strathmore.