The following article details another positive way that a local organization is impacting the growth of the sport of hockey. Through their efforts, club participation increased and new players were exposed to the game.
In St. Albans, Vermont., the St. Albans Skating Association (SASA) purchased 40 sets of OneGoal equipment for their Young Blades initiation program. To help boost participation, the cost for a first year Young Blade player was set at $65, and the season would consist of approximately 23 ice times from October through February. The SASA board offered free use of the OneGoal equipment to the families.
“Our numbers for the Young Blade program were down quite a bit last year,” explained SASA President John Cioffi. “We only had 20 new kids sign up so We knew something had to be done.”
“We promoted the program any way we could,” continued Cioffi. “We solicited the youth recreation programs, day cares, preschools and public schools with literature. In early October we did an hour long show on our local public access channel. We discussed local hockey and had a focus on the Young Blade program. We had guest appearances by some our high school players where they discussed growing-up playing hockey and making life-long friendships.”
“People registered on our website and then we held an equipment night,” said Cioffi. “The response was overwhelming. We had people lined-up to get equipment and we had five adults fitting 4-8 year olds. We blew through 35 sets of equipment in about 1.5 hours. We eventually used up all of the equipment we had purchased and started a used equipment drive for other players. It was just an exciting start for the new season.”
The Results?
“With the aggressive promotion and the addition of the free OneGoal equipment, our numbers jumped from 20 to 63 players,” exclaimed Cioffi. “I am sure we will continue to offer this program in the future.”
Editor’s Note: Thank you to USA Hockey for this article.
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