Road Warriors

In Southern Minnesota,
geography demands
dedication

By Greg Mergens

When you think of hockey powers in Minnesota, many different areas of the state come to mind. Some people would reference Twin City areas such as Edina, Bloomington or South Saint Paul. Others might give a reflective eye to the north and think of places like Eveleth, Roseau or Duluth. Very few would give a reassuring look to the southwestern part of the state, the area known as District 4, which spans from Redwood Falls in the north to Worthington in the south and as far west and east as Luverne and Owatonna.

Despite the notoriety of more successful programs in the state, District 4 has been earning their recognition in hockey circles. But this recognition comes as no easy task due to the obstacles and challenges the associations in District 4 must face every season. Overcoming these issues gives even more credibility to the district’s growing hockey presence.

New Kids on the Block
In the late 1960s and early 1970s while some hockey associations in Minnesota were celebrating many decades of existence, the areas in District 4 were getting their first taste of organized ice hockey. “There are several associations around the state that have more high school state tournament appearances than the total number of years our associations have been around,” says Kevin Dickie, the director for District 4, who notes that the availability of ice has been one of the largest barricades for District 4. “Up until a decade or so ago, most areas had to wait until the rivers or lakes froze over to begin to skate.”

The absence of indoor ice arena’s didn’t help grow the enrollment in the sport either. Windom was the first area in the southwest to add an indoor rink, in November 1975, and most other areas didn’t follow suit until 10-20 years later.

Another challenge for hockey in southwest Minnesota was the intrusion on other already estab-lished winter sports. “Hockey hasn’t been the traditional sport for people in District 4,” stated Mark Jorgensen, the executive admin-istrator of Minnesota Hockey, who grew up in the southwestern town of Marshall. “Basketball and wrestling have always been the winter sports of choice in the southern part of the state, and their traditions run pretty deep. Let’s just say that the coaches of those other sports were less than encouraging about losing kids to another sport.”

Even though other sports required fewer expenses and were more easily accessible, something about hockey caught Jorgensen’s attention, as well as that of hundreds of others just like him in the southern part of the state. Although originally few in number, these individuals picked up a passion for the game and continued to skate outside, simply dealing with the issues that came along with outdoor ice, such as warm weather and early springs. By the early 1970s, dedicated parents began forming hockey associations and traveling to other towns.

“It was really a grassroots effort by several individuals in each community that got hockey going,” stated Dickie. “It has been really amazing to see how far everybody has come in such a short time.”

Growing Pains
Like any new endeavor, money was needed to keep the programs growing and this proved to be an issue for the communities. “There is less income per capita in southern Minnesota,” acknowledged Dean Roberts, the director of the Austin Youth Hockey Association. “Ice rinks aren’t a big revenue-generator for the city so unless the community supports the youth hockey programs, the costs will be passed directly onto the families of the kids that play hockey. You can’t say that happens with public entities like swimming pools or community centers: everyone shares the cost even if you don’t use the facilities.”

Financial considerations aside, hockey persevered and continued to grow. By 1990, several other areas added indoor arenas and teams weren’t forced to drive to Windom or Mankato to practice or play indoor games. “The arenas aren’t year-round facilities, so our kids still aren’t getting the ice time and development that some kids in the Twin Cities get,” admitted Roberts.

But even with the new indoor rinks, there are other issues that need to be addressed, like finding experienced coaches to run the programs. “Most of the parents of the kids in District 4 didn’t grow up playing hockey,” explained Dickie. “No one moves to a community like Luverne or Waseca to play hockey so we have to work with what the community has to offer.” In most cases, dedicated parents picked
up the torch and coached the association teams.

Another issue that arises is the parity of the level of play. The District 4 youth teams usually have one team at each level, with 10-13 kids per team with experience ranging from A-level to C. “When we play another A-level team, we can’t compete because we don’t have enough A level kids on the team,” explained Dickie. “When we play a B or C team, the coaches of the other team complain about our kids who are A level. It’s tough on the kids but they continue to play.”

Because of the low numbers in the hockey programs, the lack of players at one level can have an effect on the other levels. “Fairmont won’t have a Bantam team this year,” explained Matt Hathaway, the referee coordinator for the Fairmont Youth Hockey Association. “Because of a shortage of players in the high school program, they need to take kids from Bantams to play on the junior and varsity teams
to compete.”

Road Woes
The travel could be the toughest obstacle for the teams in District 4. “It’s 195 miles from New Prague to Luverne,” stated Dickie. “Due to the distance between associations, we try to schedule the youth games on the weekends and group the games in one area.” It’s not unusual for a team from Faribault to play in Worthington, Fairmont and Luverne on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In these cases, families will need to get hotel rooms rather than driving back and forth all weekend. “The additional expenses like gas and hotel rooms just to play other teams in our district can really add up,” explained Dickie. The average drive for a district game for most teams is over an hour one way.
Although youth games are scheduled on the weekend, that isn’t the case for the high school teams. “We often have two-hour drives before the game,” explained Mark Jacobs, the director of the Marshall Youth Hockey Association. “In these cases, the kids don’t finish their games until almost nine or ten at night and they still haven’t had dinner and still have a two-hour ride home.” In these cases, a parent or team manager usually makes arrangements for a team dinner like pizza or subs after a game so the kids can get something to eat before they get home. “This is just one of the sacrifices these dedicated kids make to be able to play hockey,” explained Jacobs. “But it couldn’t be done if it wasn’t for the support of the families of the players. We really support each other and it’s just like one big family and this comes with a lot of rewards.”

Increasing Participation
Despite the barriers, the hockey associations in District 4 have seen increased participation in their programs, and one big area has been the addition of girls’ and boys’ high school teams. Prior to this, most associations had junior gold teams, which is opposite from the rest of the state. “Most programs start with a high school team and add a junior gold team to help players who can’t make the high school team,” explained Jacobs. “As the programs grew and the quality of play increased, all of the communities in District 4 dropped their junior gold teams in favor of a high school program.” Redwood Falls is the last association to support a junior gold team and is moving to a high school program next year.

To have success with high school programs areas need to develop the youth programs that will later populate the high school programs.

“When you look at the smaller communities, it’s usually one or two people that keep the youth hockey programs afloat, and District 4 is no different,” insisted Jorgensen. “The commitment and passion for the game is what drives their efforts, and what’s amazing about District 4 is that most of these people never played hockey but want to see it survive.”