Youth Hockey Heats Up The Ice And The TV Time Slots

By Kendra Bobowick

New England winters bring out the bundled up crew of neighborhood children with snow shovels in hand and ice skates tossed over their shoulders. Someone pulls a toboggan filled with hockey sticks. By midmorning on a snow day away from school, the group has cleared the smoothest stretch of ice across the pond for a serious hockey game.

The cold-weather sport has come indoors, however, where the players can leave their shovels in the garage and concentrate on skating.

Reviving an organization that was started in the 1970s, the last five years have seen a new interest in the Western Connecticut Youth Hockey Association (WCYHA). Locally Newtown players make up 36 of the 128 athletes in the WCYHA, also known as the Jr Colonials, who are currently fine-tuning their skills. Young athletes who favor a fast game on the ice make up 28 percent of the WCYHA.

Their playing field is frigid and the equipment is sharp-edged, but the practice for the boys, and a few girls, as young as 7 and up to 14 years old benefits the players and the high school teams they move on to join.

“Once you get to the youth hockey level it becomes more competitive and skilled — those kids tend to be more successful at the high school level,” said WCYHA scheduler Max Deselin. “We find their abilities progress and they are ready for high school hockey at 14 [years old]. Once at high school, they have played together and know each other.”

Making a point that holds a lot of meaning for the Newtown hockey players, Mr Deselin said, “The kids form a bond.” Newtown High School Nighthawks Coach Paul Esposito sees the benefits. Especially true of hockey, he said, “You learn their strengths and weaknesses and habits with someone you have played with for years.”

Mr Deselin continued, “If they choose to play in high school it’s a bond. It’s teamwork, camaraderie.” Why is this so important in hockey?

“You’re going pretty fast,” Mr Esposito said. “There is less reaction time.” Anticipation is critical. Familiarity with other players helps during a play. “You know where [others] are on the ice. Things can happen in a split second and with someone new you can’t anticipate.” He speaks from experience. “Working with kids in certain situations, one might go wide, one comes at a different angle; I know who is a better shooter and who is a good puck carrier,” he said.

“They have confidence in their teammates that they can play their positions,” Mr Deselin said. Sandy Hook resident Jackie Lasher has sons on the high school and WCYHA teams. Ryan, 16, is a sophomore in high school, and Robbie, 11, plays Peewee travel with the WCYHA.

As a student coach for the youth hockey organization and a Nighthawk, Ryan sees for himself how familiarity strengthens a team. “You’re playing with the kids you have practiced with. You know what they’ll do.” He skates alongside players who have been on the ice together for several years. “They read each other because they have been together so long.”

Coaching also offers him a helpful perspective. “I see what [my coach] sees,” he said. Also, from the sideline he is able to view the whole rink. “I see different things in the game that if I am in the game playing I don’t know they are going on.”

Aside from honing their abilities as team members, the WCYHA players thrive individually. Mr Deselin noted that responsibility and structure are lessons learned along with offense and defense. Thinking of her sons, Ms Lasher said, “The self-esteem is unbelievable. My younger son, it has done so much for him. It’s well worth it.” At first her son was worried, she said, but now he has confidence. Like Mr Deselin and Mr Esposito, she also notes the benefits of being part of the team.

Ms Lasher said, “There is team effort and the kids learn to get along with one another and bond…both my boys, they truly love the sport.”

Prior to high school, Newtown hockey players enjoy both game and tournament time driving a puck across the rink while shielded with padding during the association’s season. Players from the Mites ages 7 and 8, Squirts between 9 and 10, Peewees at 11 and 12, and Bantams at 13 and 14 are teammates before joining the Nighthawks. “Developmentally it’s a step in the right direction, it’s a feeder to high school,” Mr Esposito said.

The WCYHA

“In the last five years it has gone from nothing to [roughly] 125 kids,” Association President Tom Harrison said, and nearly 40 of the participants come from Newtown. He hopes the interest keeps growing. “It’s hard to get the word out,” he said. From his vantage point in early January he looked ahead at the year. “Our goal in 2008 is to bring in the 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds.” Mr Harrison would like to see hockey’s popularity continue to grow. “I hope it becomes more popular and we can help keep kids busy in the winter. Also, many players from recent years will be entering high school soon, which should feed the Nighthawk’s program.

“We have got a lot of eighth graders looking to play for the high school,” Mr Harrison said, “The program should improve. A lot of kids in the last five years have grown up.”

Making an observation, he said, “You don’t get new players really at 12 and 13.”

Mr Harrison feels that among other area leagues, Western Connecticut Youth Hockey Association is a strong group of players. “Newtown kids play for other leagues because they don’t know about us or don’t realize it’s competitive,” he said. For example, Peewee A team is undefeated in the state’s hockey conference standings, he said.

Clearing up one misunderstanding that may prompt families to take a second look at hockey, Mr Harrison said, “There is still a perception that we practice before school.” In fact, the association’s practice hours are Tuesday and Thursday evenings between the hours of 5:30 and 8 pm for the different ages. Ms Lasher said, “Hockey is a really big commitment, but the benefits far outweigh the commitment I put in.” The parents also work together, she explained. Talking about carpooling, Ms Lasher said, “There is always someone to help out.”

Games are played Saturdays and Sundays, and those games are televised on Charter Community Vision Channel 21 on Wednesdays at 7 pm and Fridays at 3 pm. Each program runs for one hour. Visit communityvision21.com for updated programming schedules. Games are also on Comcast Cable Channel 23 every Friday at 6 pm.

 

Hockey On TV

Mr Deselin likes to turn on his television and see a WCYHA game. “It’s a great boost for the players,” he said. His own children can see themselves play. “My sons really like it and hear their names mentioned.”

Immaculate High School Ice Hockey Head Coach Mike Bonelli would like a televised time slot for his team. “For the whole sport and for the youth league it’s great. It’s a teaching tool,” he said. “You see what’s working right and what is wrong.” At the high school level the airtime is a morale booster, he said. Outside the teams and players, families also benefit from games on TV. “Parents or grandparents who couldn’t get to the games can see it.”

Mr Bonelli also makes another important observation that residents can clearly see from the TV. “Youth hockey and high school hockey is not fighting and dirty play,” he said. “There is that perception outside the sport.” Residents can see otherwise on TV, he explained.

“It gives them a different point of view,” Mr Deselin said.