When it comes to the bonds that hockey forges in Weymouth, Massachusetts, limitations are far from a deterrent in keeping the sport prominent within the community.
It’s been ingrained in this city for decades now, and through changing climates and cultures, those who hoist hockey on high have adjusted and done everything they can to ensure that the great tradition will continue well into the future.
From the rivalries of the old Weymouth North and South high schools, to the 2007 Super 8 finals appearance at the Garden, to the rapid growth of both a street hockey league and girls teams in town, Weymouth embodies the spirit of what a true hockey town in New England should be.
The home of past NHLers Tim Sweeney and Bobby Sheehan, and current top-tier products Charlie Coyle and Paul Carey, there is a definitive connection with the city and the game at its highest levels.
For Coyle, now in his seventh season with the Minnesota Wild, it was a journey that began with Weymouth Youth Hockey, where lifelong bonds were cemented.
“It was huge,” said Coyle of creating friendships with other players across the town. “All of my buddies pretty much are hockey players or ex-hockey players, guys I played with all the way up. A lot of them are guys from Weymouth, guys I grew up with in the youth program. …What’s better than playing the game you love with your buddies? It’s the best thing going.”
Today, the youth program has 411 players registered (272 boys, 139 girls), including a whopping 115 kids in the Learn to Skate program, which just this year was offered for free to town residents.
Though the numbers continue to grow, those charged with organizing the leagues and teams are not without hardships, having had to make concessions for ice time over the years, despite the presence of the DCR-run Connell Rink in town.
Despite these struggles, a dedicated community surrounds the organization, allowing for continued growth through the ranks, including the addition of girls teams and a 3-on-3 league within the past four years.
“Our kids and our families are committed to making sure that Weymouth Youth Hockey excels,” explained Andrew Donovan, the fundraising director for Weymouth Youth Hockey and head coach of the girls U-10 team, “whether that’s fighting for ice time that’s located here in our town or making the sacrifices to go to other towns where we have to purchase additional ice. That’s an incredibly important piece of the puzzle in making sure that hockey is alive and strong in Weymouth.”
Also within the past four years, a major companion piece to youth ice hockey has emerged in a big way, in the form of the Weymouth Street Hockey League.
An influx of funding to the city’s recreations department led to the petitioning for a new street hockey rink, and soon after, city staffers were rehabbing the old tennis courts at Stella Tirrell Park.
Ensuring that the new digs would be well taken care of, the league swiftly was put into place and through grassroots efforts the numbers swelled to 250 participants by the end of the first season.
“Once we knew we had the street hockey rink, we didn’t want to mess it up,” said Mike Gavin, president of the WSHL. “We want to make sure that we were taking care of it, doing the right thing. We got a league together and it’s taken off ever since.”
Now in its fourth year and boasting close to 600 players across four divisions, the WSHL has proven successful enough that Weymouth has installed a second street hockey rink.
“It’s just a fun league,” said Gavin. “There’s no A team, B team, C team. It’s street hockey like when we grew up doing it, but just with a scoreboard and referees. It’s like the good old days. You don’t have to be the stud. This is something that anybody can do. It levels the playing field.
“The hockey community is a tight-knit thing. This is kind of like a cousin, if you will, of ice hockey. Hopefully, we’re the cool cousin.”
For Coyle, it harkens back to the days when he and his cousin, Trevor King, would have their cul-de-sac rattling with the sounds of the game.
“That’s where you learn your skills. It’s the best,” said Coyle of the benefits of playing street hockey. “When I was young, we had some older kids and younger kids playing street hockey in the cul-de-sac, or in the winter go out to the pond. It was cool to grow up where so many people are interested in hockey, play hockey and just love playing.”
The endless efforts across the community help to keep these aspects of the game flourishing.
Coyle is quick to point to the likes of Pat O’Toole, the strength and conditioning coach at Weymouth High School, as being the perfect example of the type of person within the community who has unselfishly dedicated his time to help develop the athletes in the city.
“He has done so much for athletics there. Not just hockey, all sports,” said Coyle, who credits O’Toole’s “dungeon” as the place where he began to get stronger, quicker and faster. “People like that who take their time and volunteer to do that for athletics and for us hockey players, that’s huge. That’s one of the advantages that Weymouth had.”
As other communities see declines in their ranks, the interest in hockey in Weymouth remains extremely healthy.
And yet should the city be able to secure and manage its own ice facilities, the numbers and interest could continue to grow for this proud hockey town.
“We’re seeing an increase in participation in hockey,” said Donovan. “It’s nice to witness and something I’m happy to be a part of.”
“You think of Weymouth, your think of blue-collar people who work their butts off to provide for their families. That’s what my dad and my mom did and still do every day,” Coyle explained. “You learn that work ethic, and that translates to hockey and everyday life.
“There’s no place like home.”
