Desert Hockey Development

Dedicated to building youth hockey in Arizona

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Coyotes Street Hockey Summer League Results – Week 1

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Coyotes Street Hockey Summer League
Week 1 Results

Sportsmanship Award: Merrick Ebert

On multiple occasions, Merrick demonstrated the good sportsmanship that makes a valuable teammate and a great human being when he helped out both his teammates and kids on opposing teams. It’s NOT all about winning, and Merrick showed he already knows that at his young age.

Congratulations, Merrick! Keep it up, man!

June 6
Game 1
1 Doanasaurs (W) 3 BoedZillas (L) 2
2 OEL Diablos (T) 1 Domi-Nators (T) 1
3 SMurphs (T) 2 Gila River Monsters (T) 2
Game 2
1 OEL Diablos (W) 3 Howlers (L) 0
2 BoedZillas (L) 1 SMurphs (W) 2
3 Domi-Nators (L) 0 Desert Dogs (W) 4
Game 3
1 Doanasaurs (W) 3 SMurphs (L) 1
2 BoedZillas (L) 2 Gila River Monsters (W) 4
3 Desert Dogs (W) 4 Howlers (L) 2
Game 4
1 Gila River Monsters (L) 1 Desert Dogs (W) 2
2 Doanasaurs (L) 3 OEL Diablos (W) 4
3 Howlers (L) 1 Domi-Nators (W) 2
Team Standings W L T
Desert Dogs 3 0 0
OEL Diablos 2 0 1
Doanasaurs 2 1 0
Domi-Nators 1 1 1
Gila River Monsters 1 1 1
SMurphs 1 1 1
BoedZillas 0 3 0
Howlers 0 3 0

 

 

Coyotes Street Hockey Summer League – Teams

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Coyotes Street Hockey Summer League

We’re happy to announce the team names of the eight teams competing in the Coyotes Street Hockey Summer League in 2015.

Preliminary team assignments will be made prior to the first event on Saturday, June 6. We will be running exercises, instructions, and drills before we begin the competition portion of the event. Once those are complete, some kids may be reassigned to other teams to balance the competition.

Team captains will then also be selected.

Good luck kids!

Teams

1  Doanasaurs
2 BoedZillas
3 OEL Diablos
4 Domi-Nators
5 SMurphs
6 Gila River Monsters
7 Desert Dogs
8 Howlers

Kids Hockey Clinics at Gila River Arena

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DHD and Coyotes team up for FREE ball hockey at Gila River Arena

Desert Hockey Development was happy to have FREE events in the arena where the Coyotes play last year and we’re honored to have been invited back this summer to do it again.

Coyotes-Hockey-DevelopmentWe have five events scheduled at Gila River Arena this summer. They are all on Saturdays beginning June 6. Sign up for our mailing list to be notified of changes and upcoming events.

Tykes_instruction

Kids four to fourteen are encouraged to attend. We’ll be playing ball hockey exactly where the Arizona Coyotes play, it’s a real thrill. No equipment or prior experience is necessary.

Kids should wear sneakers and be prepared for physical activity. We’ll make sure they stay hydrated.

Our coaches are the best, they will split the kids up into logical groups based on age, size, and prior experience. Boredom is not something we like, so all the kids will be busy and having fun doing different things. So, if you have somebody in your family that’s a hockey wizard or has never played hockey, bring him or her along.
Gila River Arena seating map

We stress safety and sportsmanship, developing skills and techniques is secondary. We always finish up with a scrimmage where EVERYBODY gets to play.

We have a limit of eighty three (83) kids per clinic. Inclusion in the hockey activities is on a first-come first-served basis, so we recommend pre-registration (using the form below) and arrival at least 1/2 hour before the gates open.

We meet at Gate 3 on the north side of the building (facing Westgate “Fountain Park”). The doors usually remain locked until just before the event begins.

If your children are interested in playing on a team (we will match skill levels) for all five event dates, we have the Coyotes Summer Ball Hockey League on the same days just for you! Check it out!

We hope to see you there!

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Chalk Art Festival at Westgate

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Kids playing ball hockey at a temporary rink at Westgate in Glendale
Kids playing ball hockey at Westgate

DHD was lucky to be involved with the Chalk Art Festival at Westgate on April 18.

The Arizona Coyotes generously loaned us their ball hockey gear to allow us to host a bunch of kids playing ball hockey while also participating in the Chalk Art Festival or simply visiting Westgate.

Chalk Art Hockey

At least 100 kids played hockey throughout the day without a break, the rink wasn’t empty once during the day. We ran out of permission slips by 4:30 pm and had to pack it in.

Most of those kids picked up a hockey stick for the first time and got the feel for playing the game.

Some of the children have since signed up with Desert Hockey Development for more FREE hockey fun at our events.

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Desert Hockey Development is actively seeking opportunities to present events like this in the Phoenix metropolitan area. If you have a group event coming up and there will be plenty of children in the 4-14 age range, we’d be happy to speak with you to see if we can work together.

Typically, DHD looks to participate in free events so we can further our “Always Free, Always Fun” philosophy of presenting the sport of hockey, leadership, and sportsmanship to as many people as possible regardless of their economic or social condition.

Playground – Prep Day 1

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Desert Hockey Development’s (DHD) usual “home” is Bonsall Park North in Glendale. Monday, December 8, the City of Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes Foundation will be building a playground in the park in partnership with KaBOOM! And they will be doing so in in ONE day!

Arizona Coyotes FoundationKaBOOM! is a national non-profit group dedicated to ensuring that all kids get a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive. One of the ways they do that is by designing and building playgrounds in cooperation with local groups.

YOU are invited to participate, and it sounds like it will be fun!

The preparation for the December 8 build day has been completed on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6.

The City of Glendale people really did a great job in Bonsall Park, the pictures don’t do justice to the quality of the work they completed.

On Monday, a couple hundred volunteers from the Arizona Coyotes organization and the City of Glendale, along with a few Desert Hockey Development people, will descend on Bonsall Park to build a great playground.

Here’s some pictures from the first prep day.
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Playground Youth Engagement Day

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3D-PlaygroundPlease join us on Saturday, November 22 from 2-4 PM at the Bonsall Park North rink in Glendale for a fun event for kids 4-14. The City of Glendale and Desert Hockey Development will be opening up the celebrations for the new Bonsall Park playground with a “Youth Engagement Day” for kids and their parents and guardians.

We’ll be playing ball hockey and having a BUNCH of other cool events, and it’s all FREE! Click here for the City of Glendale press release.

There will be water and Gatorade galore, courtesy of Glendale public safety folks. There will be games in the park that are NOT hockey, but will be fun.

We will be having a mini clinic and other hockey games on the hockey “court”, we guarantee you will have fun. No equipment is necessary, we’ll provide everything necessary. Just wear sneakers so you can run around, the only other thing you need to bring is a smile.

Arizona Coyotes FoundationThere are no formal presentations or speeches, but lots of people will be around to explain the playground project and show off the extremely cool plans. You’ll be able to see where the playground is going in and if you feel motivated we’ll even sign you up to help BUILD it on December 8.

We’d appreciate it if you’d show up before 1:45 PM or so, that way we can get you through the brief registration process and take your picture for your “hockey player card”.

Desert Hockey Development’s (DHD) usual “home” is Bonsall Park North in Glendale. On December 8th, the City of Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes Foundation will be building a playground in the park in partnership with KaBOOM!

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KaBOOM! is a national non-profit group dedicated to ensuring that all kids get a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive. One of the ways they do that is by designing and building playgrounds in cooperation with local groups.

Twitter: Arizona Coyotes Foundation – City of Glendale – KaBoom!

City of Glendale City Hall
5850 W. Glendale Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85301

Bonsall Park

Playground Build Project in Glendale

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Desert Hockey Development’s (DHD) usual “home” is Bonsall Park North in Glendale. This December, the City of Glendale and the Arizona Coyotes Foundation will be building a playground in the park in partnership with KaBOOM! And they will be doing so in in ONE day!

Arizona Coyotes FoundationKaBOOM! is a national non-profit group dedicated to ensuring that all kids get a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive. One of the ways they do that is by designing and building playgrounds in cooperation with local groups.

YOU are invited to participate, and it sounds like it will be fun!

There will be a couple meetings at Glendale City Hall on October 6th.

The first meeting (at 4pm) is for kids to design their own dream playground alongside people that KNOW how to do it! There’s no way that could NOT be a blast! Round up your kids and bring them to City hall.

The second meeting (at 5pm) is for interested adults to participate in the planning committee for the playground project.

Bonsall Park is heavily used by people in the neighborhood. We have never been there when somebody hasn’t been playing something. There are handball, basketball, and tennis courts that all see action from the local kids and adults.

The park could use some touching up, and this project is another step in that direction. Glendale works hard with their resources to maintain an excellent park system, and the Coyotes have jumped into community involvement with both feet. Our group has been the beneficiary of tremendous support from both organizations.

The meetings are on October 6, the playground will be built December 8. There is no mention of requesting volunteers to help with the playground construction, but it’s not likely that a helping hand would be turned away.

Click here for the flyer from the City of Glendale. RSVP to confirm your attendance, and we hope to see you there!

Twitter: Arizona Coyotes Foundation – City of Glendale – KaBoom!

City of Glendale City Hall
5850 W. Glendale Ave.
Glendale, AZ   85301

Meetings in the employee lounge, on the basement level right across the driveway from the parking garage.

Thank You, Coyotes!

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HockeyTykesJGlennDemetrius_StickworkWe had our fifth and last “Summer at Jobing.com” FREE Kids Hockey Clinic yesterday, August 16, 2014 with fifty six kids in attendance.

The Coyotes, and the NHL as a whole, are making a strong effort to bolster the growth of hockey through the grass roots. They’re going back to basics and making sure kids have the opportunity to get an introduction to hockey regardless of their background or economic condition.

We’ve benefitted greatly from this initiative and from the commitment of the new Coyotes ownership group. Their generosity and the professionalism of the Community Relations people and the Arizona Coyotes Hockey Development Program have helped us introduce hockey to HUNDREDS of kids aged between 4 and 14 through our ball hockey clinics.

Many of those kids held sticks for the first time and having a chance to play and learn in a REAL NHL HOCKEY ARENA beneath a real scoreboard was a great experience many of us will remember for the rest of our lives.

So, and this won’t be the last time we say this…

THANKS, COYOTES!

Summer At Jobing.com – June 21

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DHD and the Coyotes with FREE Ball Hockey Clinics at Jobing.com Arena - Summer, 2014

Coyotes-Hockey-DevelopmentOur first summer event at Jobing.com Arena in partnership with the Phoenix Coyotes Hockey Development Team was a complete success. We even spotted an NHL general manager checking out the action on the rink from an upper level perch.

We’re not sure if he spotted any budding hockey talent with his excellent scouting radar that he might consider for the Coyotes.

The Coyotes (who will be the ARIZONA Coyotes at our next clinic on June 28) were generous to loan us the use of their world class arena to play some ball (or street if you prefer) hockey with a bunch of kids. Matt Shott and his crew ran the show perfectly as usual.

Hockey Fun For All

We split the rink into two halves so the kids could play “cross court” on the NHL size rink, it was perfect.

While not all of the 107 kids that were registered showed up, we had plenty of people new to hockey on the rink. Those kids all had a blast learning the basics of hockey, all without having to wear skates or even warm clothes.

Many of them will be returning for future clinics.

After the kids learned the basics, they had the chance to play a real street hockey scrimmage on a real NHL rink beneath a real NHL scoreboard.

If you have kids that want to try hockey, these FREE clinics are a painless way for them to have some fun and pick up the basics of the game. We will be around for them as long as they have interest in any level of hockey, we’ll do our best to support them in any way we can help.

That’s what we do.

Future Summer Clinics

We have five more events scheduled with the Coyotes this summer in Jobing.com Arena. This is a very special opportunity for kids to have some indoor fun in a world class arena.

Every event is FREE and is for kids from four to fourteen. Click here for the remaining schedule, if you’re interested there are registration forms at the bottom of every event page.

Check out the pictures below, then come join us this summer.