Press release:
The Genesee Amateur Hockey Association will host at The David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street on Saturday, Feb, 25, a USA Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of USA Hockey Week Across America. Starting at 11:40 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., local youth, ages 4 to 9, are welcome at the rink to experience getting on the ice, learning how to “skate”, getting up after falling, basic skills with a hockey stick and shooting punks into a hockey net (all by being guided by the head coach and on-ice helpers).
“We look forward to welcoming families to the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to try our great sport of ice hockey,” said Sharon Gray, Coordinator of the “Try Hockey for Free” event. “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces.”
The head coach for the event is Erik Triftshauser, along with Fred Hamilton – both with more than 30 years on the ice plus starting out as GAHA players, high school players and GAHA coaches over the years. Their on-ice helpers are mostly from this year’s United high school teams, along with the coaches’ sons.
The event is hosted by the USA Try Hockey for Free Coordinators – Sharon and Bob Gray, and the GAHA Beginner Program Player Coordinator – Marcia Barnes. It is the team’s goal to provide the hockey experience to area youngsters free of charge and to encourage them to enroll in October to become a player in the GAHA Beginner Program, which starts the first week of October. The Beginner Program consists of two sessions (October to December and January to March) with a total of 15 on-ice hours per session.
All the participants need is a helmet (hockey or bike) and winter gloves. Skates are available at the rink if needed and will be provided FREE by the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena Management Team.
USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge.
