Special to the Star-Herald
Last season, thanks to a gift from the Turner Foundation, the Presque Isle Youth Hockey Association made an investment in its future.
Through USA Hockey, the association purchased 20 starter equipment packs for young children. The packs included all gear with the exception of skates and sticks.
Then the association made the announcement to the public that they would loan these starter packs out to anyone who wanted to play.
“It was very successful,” said Doug Carlisle, coach of the Initiation Program.
“This season, we had over 30 children from 4-7 years of age on the ice in our beginners program, and 20 of them were dressed with this equipment. If we want to grow our hockey program, we need to start with this age group, and the free equipment was a huge incentive.”
“USA Hockey came out with an incentive program for its members, offering the starter equipment packs for $60 per unit,” explained Erin Benson, president of the youth hockey association.
“For anyone who has ever purchased hockey equipment, this was a real deal. Often times, parents don’t want to spend a lot of money on a sport that their children may not continue with. Offering them a starter pack, lets their children get into the game with little personal investment. We were hoping that this would get more kids on the ice to experience hockey—and it worked! We will be forever grateful to the Turner Foundation for supporting our children in this manner.”
The equipment is loaned to members. Once a family has finished with it, they return it to the association who then loans it to other interested children.
“We’ve always had some equipment on hand for our members,” said Carlisle. “We have a storage space at the Forum that has helmets, skates, and pants—things that our members have donated over the years. We also received a donation from the Turner Foundation a few years back that helped us purchase equipment.”
While USA Hockey has not yet come out with another incentive program like that this year, the association is hopeful.
If they can raise enough money, they would like to purchase more loaner equipment so more children can get involved.
“Hockey is an exciting and fun sport that promotes wellness, team play, and good sportsmanship,” said Benson.
“We want to make sure that everyone who wants to play can. So investing in equipment helps more people become involved with the sport.”
Contributed photo/Erin Benson
COACHED BY Doug Carlisle, members of the IP hockey team include Paul Bonner, Kaylee Boyce, Colby Carlisle, Cullin Caverhill, Francis Couture, Connor Demerchant, Quinn Demerchant, Reagan Grivois, Riley Grivois, Joshua Hopkins, Carter Jackson, Madelaine Jackson, Aidan Johnson, Kooper Kinney, Gage Letousneau, Cameron Levasseur, Breygan Mahan, Keenen McDougall, Brandon McKnight, Neal McQuarrie, Owen McQuarrie, Ian Michaud, Abigail Morrison, Brandon Poitras, Jonah Roy, Noah Roy and Izack Sprowis.
