HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WNCN) — For 44 years, North Carolina Triangle Youth Hockey has welcomed families and youth of all ages to be part of a growing community.
“We've really built a hockey community here in Hillsboro,” said Dean Pettit, who coached the Hillsboro Hogs (previously the Sharks) for 11 seasons. Pettit said his youngest son and 178 other registered children just finished their in-house hockey season.
“We've invested so much into this program and its families, and it was really upsetting to hear that it was somehow going to be wiped out,” Pettit said.
North Carolina Triangle Youth Hockey (TYHNC) President Tom Deis said the organization was founded in 1980.
For the past decade, they have focused solely on recreational league or “home league” hockey. Mr Dace said that during this period, hockey was made affordable for ages 4 to 18 and the sport's popularity would only grow.
“Youth hockey is growing pretty quickly in this area, largely due to the success of the Carolina Hurricanes, and we are growing our program just as other youth programs are growing.” I want to continue to do that,” Deis said.
The youth hockey club has practiced and played games at the Orange County Sportsplex for the past 12 years, Dace said. In February, Deis said he was told the club would not be able to return for the fall season.
“There's been some type of controversy going on over the last few years, and they've been very vocal about wanting to essentially take over all of Sportsplex's youth hockey operations, which would essentially mean disbanding us.” he said.
He added: “Given the fact that we are a nonprofit organization, we are 100% volunteer-based. There was no business plan, no forecasting, no community involvement, so accepting that as an independent board was a no-brainer. It was very difficult.”
Management of Recreation Factory Partners, Inc., which operates, promotes and manages programs at the Orange County Sportsplex, said in a statement: . At this point, we have determined that it is not in Orange County's best interest to proceed with TYHNC as the provider of recreational youth hockey. ”
Sportsplex General Manager Andrew Stock said interest in ice rink sports is at an all-time high. He said demand exceeds the ice rink's availability.
“We want to keep recreation and hockey pretty much the same thing. The only big difference is that with the Carolina Hurricanes and the popularity of ice sports in this area, there's very little time on the ice.” Stock said.
The Hillsboro Hogs said they have reduced ice time at the Sportsplex by an hour and a half over the past two years to solve this problem. Deis said he also recently shared a proposal to form travel teams to reduce the amount of time spent at the rink.
He further added, “We felt this would grow youth hockey as a whole. It was never our intention to reduce the number of kids we serve youth hockey. It was really our intention to work together. It was about sharing ideas.”
Earlier this month, parents, coaches and youth attended a meeting to share their concerns with county commissioners.
Pettit also attended the rally and said, “One of the silver linings in all of this, and it's bittersweet in a way, is the support for this program and how all the families who participated voiced their strong support for it. That's what he did for me,” he said. Even the kids who spoke up, it was really impressive and meant a lot to us. ”
As Orange County Sportsplex management works to create new schedules and programs, many families have questions about pricing. Deis said the club offers youth hockey to families at a lower price point that not all organizations can offer.
Stock said he intends to maintain that cost. He said, “This is not an economic move or a move for us to make more money. The price will not change. We are purely interested in getting kids into hockey and other ice sports. We don't want people not to be able to participate. That's what's really important.”
Stock said they are still looking for volunteers and support to move forward.
“We were still in the negotiation phase, trying to figure out a way to make this work for everyone. Now that we've become an 'us versus them' situation, it's even harder.” . That's not what we really want. ” Stock said. “We want that spirit to live on, that the group remains fundamentally unchanged. They're not being kicked out. We just have to reinvent the way we do things. ”
When asked about his biggest worry, Dace said: “If that takes kids away from hockey, or even if parents still want their kids to play, they can drive their kids to Wake County or either county. Their program is already at capacity and even over…or they're going to drive them west to Greensboro. This upset many families in the community. ”
As the Hogs waited for a response from county commissioners, Deis said: “We hope that both organizations can work together after we manage to overcome this drama with the county’s mediation.”
