The last two weeks have been uncharted territory.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, organizations in all walks of life have been forced to maneuver circumstances they have never dealt with before. Each day new developments arise and new restrictions are put into place, as the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 intensify.
For youth hockey programs across all of New England, it’s been much of the same.
As states go into lockdown, seasons get cut short, rinks close their doors and tryouts for next season get postponed, clubs are taking it day-by-day as the situation unfolds.
During what is normally their tryout period, a few programs are facing uncertainty – both on and off the ice – as they await the go-ahead to set out on a fresh campaign.
Although some leagues managed to wrap up their playoffs before any major preventative measures went into effect, like the Elite 9 Hockey League, others had seasons abruptly end.
For clubs in the Eastern Hockey Federation, that’s what happened on March 12 when the league announced it was cancelling its championship weekend, bringing the season to a screeching halt.
Three days later, the EHF announced it was also pushing tryouts for the 2020-21 season back to a later date. Again, while a few clubs got in a couple of their skates, most weren’t so fortunate.
In the midst of the pandemic, it remains uncertain when those tryouts will take place. With the situation seemingly worsening by the day, it could be a while before they commence.
“You know, I wish I knew,” said Bubba McNeice, the director of operations for the Boston Junior Huskies. “It’s the first time any of us have been in this situation.”
Although it’s an obvious disruption, one that has plagued all levels of sports in the past couple of weeks, clubs are trying not to overreact to the postponement. Like most, their thoughts are focused on more pressing matters, as families hunker down and practice social distancing.
“At the end of the day, we’re all a little concerned,” McNeice added, “but this isn’t just a hockey issue anymore, this is a worldwide pandemic, so my priority is obviously the care of my players, my coaches, just everybody within our organization. We’re certainly not going to go back until we’ve deemed it OK and a safe environment. Then, at that time hopefully it’ll be back to normal.”
Once the EHF gives its clubs the green light, all of the tryouts will be held in the same week. In the meantime, the league and the programs are communicating through weekly conference calls.
“I think everybody’s concerned,” Crimson Hockey owner Steve Anastos said, “but at the end of the day the most important thing is we come out on the other side with everybody intact. We’re worried like everybody about the health and well-being of our families, so that’s our priority.”
Anastos said Crimson usually hosts tryouts and private lessons in March and April, plus a mite and mitey-mite league that plays on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as playoffs for the Metro Conference. All have been canceled.
Aside from the issues with tryouts, there are also some concerns on the business side of things, as tournaments that usually bring in large chunks of revenue have been called off.
“We’re on both sides of it,” said Nik Tasiopoulos, who owns both the East Coast Militia and Viking Hockey Club, as well as the Thayer Sports Center, regarding the overall uncertainty.
“We have a huge rent to meet every month on the ice-sales side and we have our program side, and everything’s out of an abundance of caution at this point, but it’s just changing day by day.”
Tasiopoulos said he'd like to open in April, but is forecasting for later.
"We have a tournament that very first weekend of May, and we’re looking at just pushing it back three of four weeks and rolling from there," he said. "We put out an email to all of our youth players about a 3-on-3 league and skills league that we have pretty much for all of our spring ice, just in case we do open up, and ... literally everything filled up in like three days. It was crazy."
One thing is certain: As long as restrictions remain in place, there’s not much that can be done.
“We don’t anticipate shutting down permanently,” Anastos said. “We expect to reopen in the next couple of months, hopefully. We’re certainly down until May now with the governor’s edict (to extend the school shutdown). But we’re just going to ride it out and we’ll see what happens.”
Anastos doesn't anticipate laying people off.
"Sending people to the unemployment office seems kind of ridiculous to me if you can afford to keep them and they do a good job for you, and they go the extra mile when it’s busy and crazy, (so you've) got to take care of them when it’s not," he said. "From my perspective, it’s the right thing to do even though we’re closed, is to keep people employed."
The goal for Lovell Hockey is to resume normal operations in the summer.
“We’ll do what we can depending on when the rinks open up, but nobody knows,” added Anne Lovell, the administrative assistant for Lovell Hockey. “So, I guess the hardest part for us is the unknown. We’ve kind of just accepted the fact that we won’t have any spring hockey, but we’re hoping to start summer camps on schedule. We’re hopeful, but we obviously still don’t know.”
For now, clubs are staying in contact with players via social media, encouraging safe and healthy habits, working out and spending time with family during the unprecedented situation.
“Just trying to keep it up-beat,” Tasiopoulos said. “Because everything – no matter where you look – is pretty negative right now.”
Amid the obvious negativity surrounding the pandemic, clubs are trying to stay optimistic.
“I think it helps families step back and reassess what matters in life, and that’s always a good thing,” Anastos said. “And you get to spend a lot of time with your family, whether you were planning on it or not. We’re just fortunate we have a lot of great coaches and great families.”
“I think once the virus is under control and things start opening up, and kids go back to school, kids are going to be raring to go,” Lovell added. “I think kids are going to appreciate just being part of sports, teams, being with their friends, where I think before you just took it for granted.”
But while the competition between the clubs is at an all-time high during the season, even in the offseason, they’re all working together now – eager to get back to the rink to do what they love.
“It’s ironic because every year we’re all fighting for the same players,” McNeice said. “I may lose a player to the [Boston Junior] Terriers or the [South Shore] Kings or vice versa, but it’s been pretty cool to see the directors of the surrounding programs rallying around one another.
“Hockey, again, is just a sport. I think if everybody just kind of realizes that and takes the advice of the CDC and the governor of Massachusetts, I think we’ll be back to the rink soon enough.”
Liam Flaherty can be reached at lflaherty24@gmail.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
