Ice kids: Hockey is more time, more money, more fun

By Megg Crook/ Staff Writer

They get up before sunrise for 6 a.m. practice. They trek to a game at 2:30 p.m. in Chelmsford, only to rush back to Woburn for a 4:30 game. They sit in the bleachers, bundled up against air colder than the November evening outside. It takes a certain amount of inner enthusiasm to be a hockey parent.

"Hockey is two things," said Rick Delaney, a Woburn Youth Hockey parent. "Time-consuming and expensive."

Despite all their protective pads, a helmet and gloves, the Woburn Rampage hockey players look small on the ice as they skate between and around one another in their attempts to score a goal. The team of 14 players, ages 9 and 10, is just one of 21 hockey teams for various ages offered by Woburn Youth Hockey.


Many of the young children skating effortlessly around the ice have been working hard since they were 5 or 6, learning to skate and playing hockey; developing skills in a sport they may play straight through high school, college, or beyond.

"My son wanted to learn to skate so bad," said Maryann Duran. "It didn’t take him long, because he was dying to do it. That’s when you know if the kids are going to do it or not."
Duran’s son, Jack, watched his two older sisters play hockey in high school, developing a love and an appreciation for the sport.

"We’re a hockey family," Duran said. "He was just born into it."

Jane Ventresca’s son Sam has played with Jack since they were 5, solidifying a friendship and camaraderie that is present throughout the team, she said.

Though not many of Ryan Delaney’s school friends play hockey, when he moved to Woburn two years ago, it was his involvement in hockey that gave Ryan the chance to make friends.
"He got to meet kids from different parts of Woburn," Delaney said.

But parents acknowledge that participating in hockey takes more time and money than baseball or soccer. Though the children don’t often have problems getting up for 6 a.m. practices, odd-hours ice time can put a strain on parents’ driving schedules. Games are scheduled where and when a rink is available.

The Rampage will practice up to three nights a week, with two or three games on the weekends. Many parents stay to watch the practices. Hockey is not just a game for children. The parents see it as a responsibility for them.

"In the Woburn program, a lot of parents show up for their kids," Delaney observed.

"Parents are really committed for hockey," said Ventresca, whose son also plays baseball.

Though hockey games go quicker than baseball, hockey can eat up a whole Saturday afternoon with just one hourlong practice, games and driving between them.

Many parents don’t mind the sacrifice, and some keep volunteering with the teams long after their children have outgrown the program, Delaney said.

"You have to have a love for the sport, and the parents just go with it," Duran added. "But more importantly, the children love it. To them, hockey is their life."

Aside from time, parents have a large monetary commitment when a child starts playing hockey. Parents spend about $2,000 a year paying for equipment and pads, ice time, tournaments and league fees. Louise O’Connell, whose 15-year-old son Ryan is a goalie, said her son’s equipment is more extensive, and therefore also more expensive