Cloverdale Minor Hockey Association acknowledges that in the City of Surrey we live and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem, Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen First Nations, and home to the Surrey-Delta Métis Association.

IMG_2882

 

 

 

Indigenous Artwork by Jessica Baloc

Jessica is an 19 year old aspiring artist with interior Salish heritage. She lives in the lower mainland and has been drawing and painting for many years. More recently she has been learning and creating art reflecting her Indigenous roots.

In July of 2021, BC Hockey hosted an Indigenous Cultural Workshop, which we were fortunate to be included in. It was a very excellent learning experience and we were excited to bring that information back to our Executive and our Coaching team.

After attending that workshop, BC Hockey invited us to partner with them to create a Indigenous 'Try Hockey' program. We reached out to our usual First Shift partners (Bauer, Hockey Canada, and the Vancouver Canucks), and they were as excited about this as we were. This allowed us to host a program FREE for Indigenous youth to participate, including head-to-toe equipment, supplied by Bauer.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS YEAR'S PROGRAM IS ALREADY FULL AND WAITLISTED!

If you are interested in volunteering with or otherwise supporting this program, please email our Program Coordinator at learntoplay@cloverdaleminorhockey.com

Welcome Event 

Feb 1st at 1PM at Cloverdale Sports & Ice Complex (location details and time slots for each participant will be confirmed closer to the date)

Weekly Skates 

Feb 8 Sunday 10:15 Cloverdale Arena
Feb 15 Sunday 10:45 Cloverdale Arena
Feb 22 Sunday 10:15 Cloverdale Arena
Mar 1 Sunday 10:15 Cloverdale Arena
Mar 8 Sunday 10:15 Cloverdale Arena
Mar 15 Sunday 10:45 Cloverdale Arena

Home Work - prior to the first skate:

1. JERSEY - please feel free to personalize it! Add a number or your player's name or colour all over it. This is why the jerseys are white.

2. SKATES - need to be sharpened! You can get them sharpened anywhere hockey skates are sold. You also may need purchase skate guards that your player can walk from the parking lot into the arena wearing. They can be purchased where ice skates are sold, also.

How to tie skates:

https://www.sourceforsports.ca/blogs/hockey/how-to-tie-your-childs-hockey-skates

3. STICK - should be cut down to size if needed. Not all kids will need their sticks cut down. If you don't have tools to do this - get it done at the same time as you get the skates sharpened. 

Measuring a stick: Have the player stand without skates. Then, place the toe of the stick on the ground between the player's feet, positioning the stick vertically. The general rule is that the end of a proper length stick should come to about the nose (if the player's skates are on when measuring, the stick should come up to the chin). 

You should also put stick tape on the stick to help with grip, as well as add a BUTT to the end of the stick with either tape or a rubber butt-end stopper. The butt-end should be big enough it cannot get through the hole of the player's cage.

Here's a video of how to tape a stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhktIaf0UFI

4. WATER BOTTLE - please LABEL it with your player's name and/or add coloured tape or stickers to it so that your player can easily find their water bottle during the skates.

5. SOCKS - you may also want to purchase sock tape, although not all kids prefer to use sock tape. Sock tape is also available where ever hockey skates are sold.

6. GEAR - please have your player practice putting on all their gear. When you come to the skates your player will need to wear their full gear, so practicing this all ahead of time will be very helpful to make the first skate a more positive experience. Most kids wear either dry fit clothing or pajamas under their gear. Whatever is comfortable is fine.

Here is a video of how to put on the gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyxRLSJ2Ymw

Hockey store shopping list:

  • bring skates to get sharpened
  • water bottle
  • stick tape
  • bring stick to get cut down (if needed)
  • sock tape (if desired)
  • skate guards (if desired)
  • stick butt-end plug (if desired)