Youth hockey ‘Learn to Play’ event coming to Rexburg’s The Neutral Zone

REXBURG — If your child is interested in playing hockey but has no experience — or hockey equipment — this call is for you.

The Rexburg Youth Hockey Association (RYHA) will host a “Learn to Play” camp, complete with head-to-toe gear and instruction from qualified coaches, throughout September.

Learn to Play is open to all aspiring hockey players aged 3 to 10 and will include eight training sessions, every Tuesday and Thursday from Sept. 8 through Oct. 1, leading directly into the Rexburg Wildcats’ regular season. As of now, though, there is only room for 30 kids, according to Tony Eckman, a Wildcats coach and RYHA board member.

Registration will be first-come, first-served at an in-person event on July 23, from 5 to 6 p.m., at The Neutral Zone ice rink in Rexburg — which is also where the camp sessions will be held.

According to Eckman, this event required in-person registration because participants will receive a full set of Bauer hockey gear — including pads, skates, gloves, a helmet, a jersey (sweater), etc. And because most of the families participating will be new to the sport, the coaches who will be present at the registration event will show those families how to properly determine sizes.

The coast of the gear is included in the $350 registration fee for the camp — a steep discount, as a full set of gear can cost up to $1,000.

Learn to Play can offer this discount through a partnership with and grants from the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) and Pure Hockey. And, as Eckman said, bringing high-quality but affordable gear into the community will only help spread interest in the sport.

“When these families outgrow this gear, they turn around and sell it … it’s going to keep that gear in this area,” he told EastIdahoSports.com. “And if you turn around and sell the gear for $300, basically, you used that gear for $50 for one or two years. That’s our biggest approach, to make it more affordable, as far as big picture.”

Participants who already own their own gear will pay just $150 — the price for the sweater and ice time.

Eckman likened the Learn to Play approach to a swimming school, where new students learn to stay afloat, then steadily develop swimming skills.

Learn to Play will start with teaching the kids to skate — the “foundation” of hockey, as Eckman put it — then develop the knowledge and skills that come with playing the sport.

And after a month of two training sessions a week, players will have the option to continue to develop their newly learned skills by joining the Wildcats.

The hockey season begins in October, Eckman said, and will pit the Rexburg squad, with teams made up of players ages 3 to 18, entering its second season, against teams from Idaho Falls, Teton, Salmon and Sun Valley.

But, because the focus will still be on increasing interest in the game without sending interested families into debt, there is a one-month trial period.

As Eckman explained, after a month of playing, if families decide that hockey isn’t for them, they can back out of the season and be reimbursed 3/4 of their registration fee.

Along those same line, the Wildcats will be doing two “free days” this season, on Oct. 3 and Feb. 27, when interested hockey players can join the squad for free for a day and put their interest to the test.

Eckman said that his own son discovered his interest in hockey during a similar free day.

“I’ve run a couple of those in the past, and they’ve been quite successful, as far as overall kids’ enjoyment — overcoming the daunting fear of skating.”

For more information about the Rexburg Wildcats or the RYHA Learn to Play camp, visit their Facebook page — here.