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Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks After only one season in existence
the Adult Hockey Association (AHA) is receiving numerous compliments from
its teams on a job well done; something rarely heard from adults who play
hockey. The popularity of the AHA league has grown beyond the initial
team base due to its unique approach to the game. The league began as the vision of
a couple of twin cities men who had played in another league in years
past. “We felt that we could provide a better option than what the
competing league had to offer,” stated Steve Swanson who, along with
his three partners Brad Bredehoft, Dave Swenson and Brian Hollenbeck,
runs the AHA league as a not-for-profit organization. “We wanted to provide a place
for the 31 existing teams to play fair, competitive, no-check hockey.
But we also wanted to build a beginner program for new hockey players.” Swanson felt that people’s attention
to hockey had broadened with the addition of the Minnesota Wild and the
growth of youth hockey and he wanted to get more adults who may not have
had an opportunity as a child involved in playing the sport. While some people may be elitists
and not want to share the secret about how great the game of hockey is
to play, this isn’t AHA’s philosophy. Swanson and his AHA buddies re-tooled
a beginner league and created a hockey program that gives adults on-ice
training, scrimmages as well as classroom training that provides the full
aspect of the game. Mark Ruhlman, 37, is one of those
graduates of AHA’s beginner program and is now a hockey advocate.
“I grew up playing football,
baseball and wrestling but hockey wasn’t one of the options available
to me,” explained Ruhlman who has a new found passion in life. It
wasn’t until his four-year-old son picked up a street hockey stick
in a store two years ago that he even thought about playing hockey. “My son was starting to take
an interest in the sport so I thought playing hockey might help me understand
the game better. I saw an ad in the newspaper for AHA’s beginner
program and my neighbor Derek Cherne and I joined the beginners program
together.” Ruhlman and Cherne had so much fun
that they practically have become full time recruiters for the beginners’
league and have enlisted eight or nine other adults from their Medina
neighborhood to join next year’s beginners program. “We couldn’t believe how
fun it was and thought, we need to get other people involved in this,”
stated Ruhlman who then began a neighborhood campaign. “It’s not hard to get guys
to sign up because when you ask someone and they say they don’t play
hockey you can tell them that you don’t need to know how, they teach
you. That makes it a very easy sell.” Much like Ruhlman, Brian Wilson,
41, didn’t have a chance to play hockey growing up but his son had
recently started playing hockey. “I didn’t know much about
the game and couldn’t follow it so I thought I could join AHA’s
beginner program to be able understand the game better,” stated Wilson,
who now has a better grasp of the game which has helped form a unique
bond with his son. “Now he comes to some my games
and I go to his,” explained Wilson. “It definitely enhances
our relationship because we have something else to talk about.” Wilson found AHA’s unique approach
of teaching participants in their beginner leagues everything you need
to know about hockey from the rules, to the skating and stick handling,
an attractive option that no other sport offers beginning adults. “But what makes the biggest
difference is their ability to regulate the skill level of the teams,”
explained Wilson. “The league is very organized and they do an excellent
job at keeping the teams at the proper tier so the teams you play against
are your same skill level.” Wilson’s new love for the game
has brought another benefit to his life. “I’ve lost 25 pounds
since I started playing hockey last year and I feel great,” boasted
Wilson. “I’ve always dreading going to the gym to work out,
but playing hockey is fun and it doesn’t even seem like work.” While the AHA league is mostly comprised
of men, there are some women who have honed their hockey skills through
the beginner program as well. Barbara Garn is a self -proclaimed new hockey
addict and another recent graduate of the AHA’s beginner program.
“I’m totally hooked on
hockey and now play five times a week,” admitted Garn who got involved
in the AHA as part of a thesis paper. She enjoyed the program so much that
her husband will be going through the beginners program next winter. “I’ve become a total hockey
advocate and I try to get as many new people involved in the sport as
possible,” stated Garn who admits the idea of playing a new sport
was a little scary. “I was terrible at the beginning
and very sensitive. People were falling down and doing face plants all
around me and the instructors were very encouraging and helpful to all
of us.” Like Brian Wilson, she too has seen the benefits of hockey
by losing 30 pounds over the season. “I used to lap swim once a week
and use a rowing machine but I never lost weight like this before.” It’s people like Ruhlman, Wilson
and Garn that make the AHA staff glad that they maintain their grassroots
efforts of adding beginner players to the sport while catering to the
other tiers as well. Think about people you know who don’t play hockey. Maybe it’s your mother, father or even a spouse. Do they look a little bored and want to add some excitement into their life? Remember the days as a kid when you were watching others playing a game and you wished you could join in but didn’t know how to play? The same used to be said about adults who wanted to start playing hockey for the first time. But now there are no more excuses because the Adult Hockey Association is proving that it isn’t too late to teach an old dog new tricks.
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