TOP CHEEZ Swag

10/10/2026

A lot of Chips were won with wood sticks.

10/09/2026

SMALL TALK. BIG GAME.

Fresh cut. Same attitude. Save the small talk for the chair—we’ve got hockey to play.

TOP CHEEZ Sports Initiative is building teams for the OPEN RINK Youth Showcase (ORYS), ages 11–14. Bring your friends. Find your game.

Follow the stories and what’s next in HWB WEEKLY. Sign up free and follow .

PLAY ANYWAY.

10/08/2026

TUNE IN SO YOU’RE NOT TUNED OUT.
Just because you don’t play doesn’t mean you can’t learn.

I played basketball as a kid. That was all I wanted to play. But some of my understanding of sports came from watching and listening: games on television, the commentary, and the analysis that explained why a play worked—or why it didn’t.

Over time, I became a devoted football and hockey fan. I watched, asked questions, and paid attention. The more I listened, the more I understood positioning, timing, teamwork, and the decisions being made during a game. I began to see more than the score. I could follow what teams were trying to accomplish.

That opportunity is available to anyone. You don’t have to have played a sport to become a student of it.

Watch what happens away from the ball or puck. Listen when an analyst explains a defensive adjustment or a missed assignment. Ask why a player moved into a particular space. When something doesn’t make sense, look it up. Reading, watching, listening, and asking questions can turn unfamiliar action into a game you understand and appreciate.

I’ve often said that volunteering to help coach a youth team doesn’t require exceptional physical skills. It does require preparation, a willingness to learn, and an ability to help children learn.

Patience matters. Clear explanations matter. So does knowing how to encourage a child who is frustrated, give them time to improve, and make them feel comfortable asking questions.

If you bring patience, sound judgment, and a love for teaching, you have a strong foundation. Build on it by learning the rules, studying age-appropriate instruction, and working alongside experienced coaches. Understanding how to teach a skill safely matters more than being able to perform it impressively.

That is especially relevant as we introduce more young people to ball hockey. Parents and volunteers may be discovering the game right alongside the kids. There is room to learn together—and room to contribute while you learn.

So watch more sports, and pay attention to the explanations. Let your curiosity take you beyond the highlights.

Tune in so you’re not tuned out.

And if you can’t do it yourself, you can still learn how to help someone else do it. Your playing days—or the fact that you never played—don’t have to determine what you can teach.

E

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

10/07/2026

NO ICE. STILL HOCKEY.

Sneakers on. Game face ready. A little attitude comes with the jersey.

TOP CHEEZ Sports Initiative is building youth ball hockey in Colorado—and teams for the OPEN RINK Youth Showcase (ORYS), ages 11–14.

Follow the build in HWB WEEKLY: the stories, opportunities, and next steps bringing more kids into the game.

Sign up free and follow .

PLAY ANYWAY.

10/07/2026

$300 A YEAR. A REAL CHANCE TO PLAY.

Bringing affordable recreation back to youth sports.

A child wants to play. A parent wants to say yes. Then come the costs: registration, equipment, uniforms, tournaments—and for travel teams, transportation, hotels, and meals.

Families spent an average of $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46% from 2019, according to the Aspen Institute’s Project Play.

TOP CHEEZ Sports Initiative is building a more affordable option: $300 per child, per year, covering:

• Helmet, shin guards, and gloves.
• Sublimated home and away jerseys and uniform shorts.
• OPEN RINK Youth Showcase tournament fee.
• League fee.

HOW WE MAKE IT POSSIBLE

We negotiated favorable pricing with Knapper for protective equipment and Hagan Custom Sports for sublimated uniforms. Their support helps us bring the cost down while giving kids the equipment and team identity they deserve.

Combined with our focus on local teams and local competition, those agreements help families access hockey without the added expense of a travel sports schedule.

BRINGING BACK AFFORDABLE REC

Kids deserve good coaching, organized competition, friendships, and a place to belong. Community recreation can deliver all of that.

At $300 a year—the equivalent of $25 a month—we’re creating a practical path into hockey. We know that is still a meaningful expense for some families, and keeping participation affordable remains central to our mission.

The goal is simple: make it easier for a parent to say yes.

Learn more and follow .

10/07/2026

WHO OWNS THE GAME?

Adults build the programs, set the schedules, coach the teams, and establish the rules—but youth sports should still belong to the young people playing them.

Volume 1, Issue 5 of HWB Weekly examines what happens when winning, adult expectations, and program control begin to overpower creativity, belonging, and the player experience.

Follow for youth ball hockey news, advocacy, and updates as we work to grow the game in Colorado.

BALL HOCKEY. COMMUNITY. OPPORTUNITY.

10/06/2026

BEFORE THE NEXT RINK DISAPPEARS

Watching the news this morning, I was happy to see Broomfield’s former inline rink at Conoco Park become a Traffic Garden where children can learn bicycle safety. But having helped build youth inline hockey in Colorado, I was saddened to see another hockey space change purpose.

It made me wonder: before other underused rinks face the same future, could ball hockey bring children back?

Playing in sneakers removes the need to learn to skate first. Kids can discover passing, teamwork and the excitement of hockey on a surface already built for the game.

The key is giving them a reason to return: affordable beginner programs, equipment to borrow, welcoming coaches and consistent weekly play. That first visit can lead to friendships, practices and teams—and perhaps an interest in skating later.

I’m glad those children have something new. I also believe our remaining rinks deserve a fresh chance.

Sometimes reviving a hockey rink starts with sneakers.