It’s a game with a puck, a stick, and ice, and although hockey may seem like the domain of Canada and other countries with colder climates, it is now possible to bring the game of hockey to your own backyard.
Although the number of hockey players overall in the United States is growing, a difficulty in growing the sport has been due to the lack of an ice surface. Fortunately, over the past decade, that process has been made slightly easier with the advent of the backyard ice skating rink.
In the past, it was up to private companies or municipal governments to create a surface on which a child could play hockey. Now, a mom or dad who wants to give their child the opportunity to play hockey can control the process. A backyard ice skating rink or home ice rink uses particular types of equipment, such as ice rink brackets, ice rink liners, and ice rink tarps to enable a legitimate rink with boards.
Although hockey can be associated with various physical injuries, the benefits of playing hockey can include numerous aspects of physical, mental, and emotional health. Three parts worth touching on are teamwork, friends, and improved cardiovascular health.
Teamwork is an essential part of hockey and has applications both in school and later on while working in today’s economy. The ability to communicate with different members of the team, come up with plans together to reach a goal, and work together on the ice to achieve that goal are useful attributes that apply to a wide range of other parts of life.
65% of youth participants in sports said they participate in sports to be with friends. Youth sports occupy a central and important part of a young person’s life, a part that involves meeting kids their own age and forming connections. Increased socialization is shown factor into a number of aspects of a child’s health, including emotional well-being.
The final aspect to touch on is the exercise necessary in hockey. The skating, the stopping, the turning, the upper body work is all useful for cardiovascular health. Increased cardiovascular health reduces the risk of heart disease, which is the number one killer in America. It claimed nearly 800,000 lives in 2011 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hockey involves many aspects that can benefit a growing kid: increased coordination, physical endurance, socialization, teamwork and communication skills, and a love for what many call a beautiful game. Ice rinks, whether in the form of a backyard ice skating rink or another, are necessary to play and can prove a solid investment for any family wanting to play hockey.