By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — An inflatable outdoor hockey rink made its first of many stops this summer on Monday as the Rockford IceHogs and Rockford Park District work to bring hockey to more kids who want to learn the sport.
The Rockford IceHogs Community Fund and Chicago Blackhawks Foundation donated $34,000 to the Rockford Park District to fund the purchase of the 70-foot by 35-foot street hockey rink and cover the costs for staffing, equipment and transportation to numerous events throughout the year.
“We’re going to have this rink all over Rockford,” said Lamont Jones, the Park District’s general manager of Clarence Hicks Memorial Sports Park, as well as youth sports and community outreach. “It’s going to be at community events. It’s going to be at City Market. It’s going to be at school events. It’s going to be at Park District events. It’s going to be at IceHogs engagements. You’re going to see it everywhere.”
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The first appearance for the rink was at Keye-Mallquist Park, 1702 11th St. in southwest Rockford, where Junior Streethogs participants chased a street hockey ball around the rink. About 50-60 kids participated.
“They don’t have any equipment. No helmet. No pads. Half of them have never taken an ice-skating lesson in their life,” Jones said. “But what happened? When we opened up the gates and let them in. We put the sticks in their hands and they began to play.”
That, Jones said, is precisely the goal: to provide outreach to kids who otherwise wouldn’t get the opportunity to experience hockey. The goal is to reach 15,000 youth over the next year.
“We want every single child who wants to learn to play the game to be able to do so,” said Sara Guderyahn, executive director of the Chicago Blackhawks Foundations.
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The outdoor rink is part of $127,000 in grants the IceHogs and Blackhawks are awarding to nine Rockford-area organizations and 10 programs in 2023-24.
Other organizations include Easterseals, Rockford Hockey Club, Rock House Kids, Oscar Mike, Rockford Lax Lacrosse Club and Think Big. It also sponsored youth to attend Fred VanVleet’s annual summer camp.
The IceHogs will award an additional $10,000 to support the Park District’s first ever Buddy Hockey program, which helps people with special needs play hockey alongside an able-bodied partner.
“A primary area of focus for the IceHogs Community Fund is aimed at increasing participation in youth sports, with an emphasis on youth hockey, in our region so we were obviously excited to see the aggressive vision the Park District has for the ‘Junior StreetHogs’ program,” said Dave Costello, manager of marketing and community relations for the IceHogs. “We believe this program will have a huge impact and will be a really fun way to introduce kids to the great sport of hockey. We also see this as just the first step in elevating our partnership with the Park District with a long-term goal of seeing substantial growth in youth hockey participation in our community.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas