The organizer of the Dryden Minor Hockey Breakfast Program is hoping for community support in order to grow.
Randy Allen says the program has been around for ten years and now there is a need for new on-ice equipment and a new waffle maker for the breakfast component.
Kids gather on a consistent basis throughout the winter for fun and skills development on the ice, followed by a team meal.
Randy Allen addressed members of Dryden Rotary at a virtual meeting Wednesday to talk about the importance of the program.
“How it benefits the kids with the extra ice time, the extra skill development and also life skills on top of that. And there’s another element to it that I don’t think people realize. It’s some of the coaching mentorship opportunities there for coaches to come in and learn new drills.”
Allen says the program has been a success.
“Fluctuates as the weather fluctuates. Sometimes we’ve got 20 kids on the ice. Other times it might just be four. We will run with whatever we get. If there’s less it’s a benefit to them because now their getting one-one-one coaching.”
The Breakfast Program won’t be able to run this calendar year due to COVID-19 restrictions at the Memorial Arena.
The passionate coach admits it’s a difficult decision.
“It’s not fun for the kids. The ultimate goal is to have breakfast after their done with the ice. If we can’t serve it, we would rather do it right and we will wait until the time is right.”
Allen adds “Hope everybody is patient right now and hopefully the kids are on the ice learning some things. Hopefully we can get this going by January sometime.”
