By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Youth Hockey Association is putting on a free event Saturday in hopes of recruiting future participants.
The 'Try Hockey For Free' event will be held at the St. Joseph Bode Ice Arena on Saturday from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., and is open for boys and girls aged 4-9.
St. Joseph Youth Hockey Association public relations director Darren Doyle says this 'Hockey For Free' event serves as their main recruiting event.
"This is really important for us, because this is our way of getting those families that can be here for 10-11 years possibly," Doyle said, "and really just persuade them to come and join the family."
Doyle says all of the necessary gear and equipment will be provided for those who participate. He says another primary goal of this event is to give young kids a real taste of hockey in a safe and fun environment.
"We put the stuff on them and we take them out and put them through some very, very basic drills," Doyle said. "We see how they like it and if they remember they had fun, they'll come back and sign up for one of our teams."
Founded in 1976 as an activity group associated with Missouri Western, the St. Joseph Youth Hockey Association is partnered with the Kansas City Youth Hockey Association, and fields five teams with kids ages 10-18, or up until their senior year of high school.
Doyle says anywhere from 100-150 kids participate, with the season starting in September and wrapping up in February.
"We play teams from northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City," Doyle said. "Just all over. It became what it is now, which is more of a youth program and less of a college program."
No previous skating or hockey experience is required for the 'Try Hockey for Free' event. Doyle says Bode does offer skating and hockey classes if kids want to try those out first. The main ideas again being fun, low pressure and a chance at trying a new activity.
"The focus is that we get these kids into a fun environment, teach them the great sport of hockey, give them something safe and productive to do and just make friends."
Pre-registration for the event can be found at this link.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.