The Shawano Hockey League is doing something right.
The program is experiencing success both on and off the ice. Around 100 kids are in the program, which draws from Shawano and the surrounding communities.
On the ice, three levels — bantam (13 to 14 years old), peewee (11 to 12 years old) and squirt (9 to 10 years old) — will compete in Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association state tournaments this month.
The bantam state tourney is Saturday and Sunday in Sparta. Shawano earned its second consecutive state bid with a 4-1 win over Marinette on Feb. 1.
“The kids just revel in it,” said Gregg Wittman, the Shawano Hockey League president and bantam coach. “It’s such an awe-inspiring experience for them. There’s a lot more fans, a lot more people around. The games, obviously, everything steps up one level.”
The peewee team, which qualified for state with a 3-2, double-overtime win over Marinette on Feb. 2, will play on March 15-16 in Manitowoc.
The squirt team also earned a state bid as host of the Division 4A tournament Saturday and Sunday at the Crawford Center in Shawano. Eight games will be played Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m., and another four on Sunday, including the championship game scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
“It’s good for the organization that they see these successes and that the hockey is getting better,” Shawano Hockey League marketing director Greg Rusch said. “The game of hockey in Shawano is getting a lot better. We have got some really good coaches, and the kids are working hard. This is kind of the fruit for all the hard work they’ve put in.”
According to Rusch, SHL’s recruitment efforts are paying off.
“The numbers are looking pretty good,” he said. “We’ve been hitting the schools a little harder. We go to a lot of parades, the Fourth of July, the homecoming parade here in town, Pulaski Polka Days. We go out there and hand out fliers. We hit all of the local schools in September, letting them know when registration is and so forth.”
Hockey is often said to be an expensive sport, but Rusch disagreed.
“It’s not nearly as bad as people think it is,” he said. “To get into it at a young age, you’re talking $50 for basically almost five months of practice and games. That’s not horrible.
“If you don’t have your own equipment, the league will loan you equipment to see if your kid likes it. As they get older, they start buying their own stuff. To get started, to see if you like it, it’s pretty reasonable.”
Most of the players trying the sport for the first time are mites — kids younger than 9 years old.
“We have about 40-plus mites,” Wittman said. “That’s obviously where the growth has to come from, because those are the families that will replace us as board members and coaches.”
Wittman said SHL follows USA Hockey’s American Development Model, an initiative that provides age-appropriate guidelines and education programs.
“The program is really impressive,” Wittman said. “I’d say over the last two or three years, more and more people are buying into the program. I think that’s the future of the hockey program as a whole.”
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