The annual rite of passage marking the beginning of the Westlock hockey season took place over the weekend.
On Oct. 5, I Love Hockey took to the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre rink, giving more than 30 kids aged four through six their first real introduction to the sport.
“It went really well,” said Dan Basisty, who ran the on-ice activities. “There was lots of enthusiasm and great parent support.”
The event ran over the noon hour, and had the kids broken up into smaller groups that rotated through three different, fun drills.
At the west end of the rink, the kids had to work their way around several pylons before picking up a puck and trying to shoot it into a net.
In the neutral zone, kids had to skate over, between and under several sticks on the ice or raised on top of pylons.
The east end of the rink is where they played tennis-ball soccer.
All three drills were ways to teach hockey skills while emphasizing fun above all, Basisty said.
“We’re showing them the fun aspect of the sport,” he said. “We use the little games and obstacle courses to work on their skills without using real drills.”
Basisty said he finds the kids respond well if they’re having fun, and he hopes I Love Hockey will encourage them to remain engaged with hockey.
“It truly is the intro level,” he said. “We hope they carry on being positive. The excitement is there.”
Many skaters were not the fleetest of foot, nor were they exactly stable on their skates. However, for their age, Basisty said it was more important they were on the ice and getting a feel for skating while decked out in full hockey paraphernalia.
“The bottom line is they’re skating with a stick in hand,” he said. “They have their equipment on and getting a feel for being on the ice.”
