With the 2020-2021 season winding down, please see the message from the Board and President of Southwest Minor Hockey Association.
The Board of the Southwest Minor Hockey Association and myself would like to thank everyone from the players to the parents and coaches to our sponsors for being a part of the 2020-2021 hockey season. We appreciate everyone's patience and willingness to ‘roll with it’ when we didn’t have all the answers or our playbook was empty. Thank you for knowing that getting your kids active and back into a team sport was the best thing for them right now. It was a season that we couldn’t go to the magic manual and say ‘well we did this last year’ because everyday was new territory. Do we look back on this season and do anything differently? Sure. Are we satisfied that we were able to offer the best program that we could for our players? 1000% YES!!!!!
At the beginning of the season the number one goal I had was to offer physical activity, team interaction and fun hockey to our players. These kids woke up one day and had their whole world shut down, at no fault of their own. I wanted to be able to offer something to them that was familiar, and what better place for that to happen then with hockey. The sport of hockey is strong and when the world is uncertain, hockey will always be there. I was proud to see players come to the arena and smile while having fun with their friends. I hope hockey will always be a place of enjoyment, no matter what type of world we live in.
As we enter our last few days of hockey we wanted to let everyone know when their last ice times are. Our last ice rental in Glencoe is on March 21st and in Bothwell on March 25th. The schedule on the website is updated until those dates. If you were given any pinnies, jerseys or equipment at the beginning of the season, please return them to your coach. Listed below are the teams and the last ice dates:
Mite - March 20
IP1 - March 20
IP2 - March 15
Novice 2 - March 21
Novice 3 - March 21
Atom 1 - March 21
Atom 2 - March 21
PeeWee1 - March 21
PeeWee 2 - March 21
Midget 1 - March 18 or 25
Midget 2 - March 18 or 25
Midget 3 - March 18 or 25
“It is so important to me to have my time away from hockey. Obviously, hockey is my passion; I love it. But definitely for me, time away from the rink and time when my mind isn’t thinking about hockey is important.” – Sidney Crosby
We hope everyone has a fantastic summer, but we can’t wait to see everyone back on the ice this fall. Our hope is that everyone stays active in a sport you have played before or picks up a new sport over the summer. Doing this will make you a better hockey player when that time comes.
If you see one of the amazing board members, say thanks for all the hard work they put into making sure this season could happen. Just like the game, it takes a team. The greater the team the greater the outcome. When the time comes to fill a vacant seat on the board, I encourage everyone to think about joining. It is a great way to give back and support your community.
Here’s to everyone who participated this past season, having fun this summer and being eager to get back on the ice soon.
Sincerely,
Sean VanBilsen
President, Southwest Minor Hockey Association