The Sylvan Lake Minor Hockey Association teams have bagged several titles throughout the season and eagerly await playoffs scheduled for next month, said Kayne Warwick, association president.
“Sylvan Lake has a strong hockey program and all our teams in all our divisions are doing extremely well this year. I am proud of the group and the team and the program that we put on,” said Warwick. “Total registers are just shy of 400 members,” he added.
Some recent wins include two bronze by the U11 AA team at the Cochrane Tournament held between Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 and by the U11 A at the Wetaskiwin Tournament Jan. 23. The U11 C2 bagged a gold at the New Sarepta Tournament held Jan. 9. The U13 A earned a gold at the Devon Tournament held Jan. 14 to Jan. 16. The U15 A won a gold and the U15 B team bagged a silver at the Sylvan Lake Home Tournament Jan. 9.
“Sylvan Lake Minor is about building that relationship with the teammates, building friendships for a lifetime and joining a sport that they can grow old enjoying and continue to play and grow that passion for the game. We like to think that we offer progress that enables kids to be able to do this in a fun, safe and competitive model,” said Warwick.
Minor hockey is the primary facility user of the NexSource Centre during winter and teams can be found on ice seven days a week. The season typically concludes around the end of March.
Warwick suggests children join the sport at a young age through their Learn to Play program.
“One thing that we are really happy about starting the kids off at a young age is our learn to play program. Like you have the U7, U9, U11, U13, those are all divisions that play some sort of organized team play. Our Learn to Play program is for first-time skaters. It’s for the age group of four years old to eight years old. So, it basically takes in U9 age kids all the way down to U7 age kids. It’s a fun and safe environment where kids can work on their individual skills.
“Once the kids get more comfortable and gain that confidence on the ice from the beginning of the year till Christmas, we allow movement from the learn to play program to our U9 and U7 divisions. So, the learn to play kids can then transfer into the U9 and U7 to be able to play some games and get into more of a skill-based, competitive and fun atmosphere,” said Warwick.
Registration typically opens at the beginning of July and ends at the beginning of September. To register or for further details visit the SLMHA website at www.sylvanlakeminorhockey.ca.
SLMHA is looking forward to the playoffs next month. The organization aims to offer a fun, safe and competitive model for players to thrive.
“Playoffs will start in the middle of February. So, we are all excited about it. I think we will have a few teams that will be able to go fairly deep in the playoffs this year,” said Warwick. “Sylvan Lake Minor Hockey is about building that relationship with the teammates, building friendships for a lifetime and to join a sport that they can grow old enjoying and continue to play and grow that passion for the game,” he concluded.