By Heather Rule, 10/16/25, 3:30PM MDT
A city in Alabama hosting a Try Hockey For Free event is a big deal.
It’s one of many athletic events the city of Pelham puts together for kids, whether it be pickleball or street hockey. Facilities in Pelham host events to offer opportunities for kids to get involved or try out various sports.
“It definitely opened up doors for the local kids to broaden their athletic abilities,” said Josh Harris, hockey director at the Pelham Civic Complex.
Pelham Youth Hockey hosted the Try Hockey For Free event on the afternoon of Oct. 11 at Pelham Civic Complex following the University of Alabama women’s hockey game, a 6-3 victory over Georgia. Fifteen girls ages 4 to 9 participated in the event, learning how to play hockey and having fun on the ice, ahead of this year’s IIHF World Girls’ Hockey Weekend (Oct. 17-19).
The Alabama women’s hockey players were involved with the event as on-ice coaches.
Parents and kids who’ve participated in these Try Hockey For Free events in Pelham would love to see them happen more often, Harris said. He added that with youth hockey in general, he’d love to see more retention.
As hockey expenses increase and other sports are bigger draws, especially in the South, kids don’t always stick with hockey. Football, baseball and lacrosse “are big sports,” and a lot of the travel hockey or house-league hockey numbers taper off as kids shift to playing other sports, Harris said.
“That’s the ongoing battle,” Harris said. “Just keep them in the sport of hockey.”
Harris tries to encourage families to stick with hockey by letting them know there are opportunities in the summer with hockey tournaments and camps. It’s also a good chance for kids to bring friends who aren’t yet too involved in the sport.
“As far as hockey, it’s such a large community,” Harris said. “You’ll meet people, friends and family forever.”
Families come to Pelham for hockey in a variety of ways, some after their kids watched the sport and expressed an interest in playing the game. In other instances, it’s logistics that families need to make work for them the best way they can. Time commitment and the financial pieces are two of the biggest hurdles stopping kids from participating in hockey in the area, according to Harris.
If a family can’t make it to a weekly Learn to Play event, Pelham offers a different route with private lessons with coaches or a skate school. It’s a way to provide kids with opportunities to get them on the ice, Harris said.
Pelham has embraced hockey in many ways, including a newly launched junior NA3HL team called the Pelham Prowlers. There’s also the Alabama Thunder travel program as part of the North Alabama Hockey Association incorporating youth from Huntsville and Pelham. Its 16U team won the USA Hockey Youth Tier II National Championship in 2023. That helped put Alabama on the map for youth hockey.
Besides playing hockey, kids in Alabama have options to watch it, too. They can take in Birmingham Bulls games, a team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. Or there’s nearby college hockey teams. Some of the college athletes help with Pelham’s Learn to Skate and Learn to Play hockey programs as a way to give back, just like the Alabama women’s players did with the recent Try Hockey For Free event.
“They’re trying to grow it, and they’re helping out tremendously,” Harris said. “I appreciate all their help.”
Harris has been in Pelham for seven years and seen the ebbs and flows of youth hockey pre- and post-COVID. Hockey slowed down once the pandemic hit more than five years ago and has picked up slowly since then. Steady participation numbers in youth hockey have now started to see an increase in people returning or new faces at the rink.
“It’s a slow, steady climb,” Harris said. “Just to get the kids an opportunity — don’t close doors on them.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
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