Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get my child started in hockey?
There are a number of places that can help get your son or daughter started in hockey. On of the biggest difference between hockey and a lot of other youth sports is the importance of one fundamental skill.... skating. Here are a number of local programs that can help get your child onto the ice and started on the right skate.
Open Skating Sessions
By far the best place to start a kid out is to take him or her down to the local rink and get them on skates, on their terms. Before classes or sports leagues, you'll be able to find out if they have a taste for things by getting them out on the ice with mom and/or dad.
Here's some information about when sessions are available.
From there, there are a number of local skating programs that can prepare any 4-9 year old for a variety of skating sports, including hockey, figure skating and speed skating.
Learn to Skate Program
The City of Elk River's Learn-to-Skate Program is a wonderful one which beings to pair kids into groups of similar skill to help develop the basics of skating. The Learn to Skate program has four sessions (summer, fall, winter, and spring). For more information click here.
Elk River Mite Hockey Program (Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd Grade)
The Mite program starts late September/Early October. For more information, visit the Mites Team Page...
What about Girls?
Elk River Girls Hockey Program (Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd Grade)
Elk River has a wonderful program for getting girls started into hockey, which also starts late September/Early October. Girls are exposed to the same kind of skill-based development practices and training, but done in an environment specifically designed for girls. For more information, visit the Girls Team Page.
What are some of the costs associated with playing hockey?
Registration Fees
At the beginning of the year, each individual player pays what are known as registration fees. Those fees will vary depending on the age of the player. Team fees payments can be split up over 2 payments at beginning of the season.
Team Fees (aka Ice Fees)
There are also separate fees, known as Team Fees or Ice Fees. These fees are unique to the type of team your child plays for and generally correspond to the amount of practice time teams will be allocated throughout the season. Team fees payments can be split up over 4 months during the season.
Team Manager Fees (aka Team Slush Fund)
This is a fee or set of fees generally paid to the team manager once a team is formed, used to manage expenses independent and unique to every team. Expenses can range from anything such as apparel, treat fund, extra ice-time, special activities, etc.
Fee Schedule
Here is the full fee schedule, see below...
Our family is new to Hockey, what can I expect?
Awesomeness!
First of all, plainly put, Hockey is a sport like no other. Hockey is a fast, fun sport full of obstacles and challenges for kids at every turn. Your son and/or daughter will learn life skills and meet friends they will have for a very long time. Kids learn that nothing comes without effort and how to succeed and sometimes fail both as an individual and as a part of a team.
Strength of Character
There is no lifetime analogy used to build character more than, "when you fall down, you pick yourself up and move forward", and trust me, anyone who takes five minutes to watch a Learn To Skate, Mite or U8 session will see that in plain view. Kids, covered with protective armor all chasing a puck like a school of fish around the ice, everyone with the same goal, score [pause] a [pause] goal!
Sportsmanship
Hockey is a sport built on top of over 100 years of history, both at the professional and youth levels. People used to play outdoors amongst themselves long before there were indoor facilities, schedules, coaches and referees, and, as such, this sport has grown up in a culture of self-policing. Individuals learn how to behave in the face of a challenge, how to win, how and lose and how to treat an opponent.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO THEY NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN LEARN TO SKATE AND MITES?
For both learn to skate and mites we would like the kids to wear full hockey gear. In Learn to Skate it’s getting used to skating with the pads on. So start them young! Full hockey gear is available to rent for free from the association on a first come first serve basis.
Full hockey gear consists of:
•Helmet
•Gloves
•Shoulder pads
•Breezers
•Knee pads
•Elbow pads
•Skates
•Stick
What is required of me as a parent?
Volunteering
Elk River Youth Hockey is run by a board of directors and many other people that are all volunteers. To make the season successful and fun for everyone, we need parents to help. See the Volunteer Page on the website for information regarding the volunteer policy.
Fundraising
We also have a mandatory fundraiser that everyone must either participate in or buy-out of. This fundraiser helps us to keep costs down and all profits received are put into the general ERYHA fund to help pay for ice, referees, coaches, jerseys, equipment etc.
Have a question you need answered? Reach out.
Ryan Eason
President
