With the extensive travel time involved in getting to practice and games, it is remarkable that most of the Cook County kids who play hockey have kept up their grades in school.
Most use their travel time to get their homework done, said one of the hockey moms, Leah Carpenter.
Recently four North Shore Storm hockey players from Cook County qualified for S.K.A.T.E. program awards.
S.K.A.T.E. stands for “Skaters Keep Achieving Through Education.”
Earning the academic honors were Katie Carpenter, Ryan Christiansen, Patrick Pierre, and Jacob Carpenter.
“We traveled to Silver Bay and beyond at least three to four days a week,” said Carpenter. “Each team has about five tournaments a year (which are on weekends), and then there are Districts and Regions, should the teams make it that far. Regular games may vary…. about 12 a season.
“The girls’ North Shore Storm does not have a 15U team, which is comparable to Bantams because there aren’t enough players. So, after 12U, they go straight to the junior varsity (JV). At the girls’ 12U level, the parents do all the driving. At the JV and varsity level, they have a team bus. On JV and varsity, they will play more regular season games and maybe one or two tournaments.
“As far as the boys go,” Carpenter said, “The parents are responsible for all travel from the Bantams on down. Grand Marais parents have to get their kids to Silver Bay at the very minimum…for practice and to catch the team bus if they have a team bus. I can only speak for myself, but we have enjoyed our North Shore Hockey experience very much! The Cook County hockey families are a dedicated bunch.”
The families making the hockey journey down the shore are the Proms, the Sporns, Eric and Stephanie Anderson, the Roys, the Bronokowskis, the Pierres (from Grand Portage), the Christiansens, the Carpenters, and the Lindgrens, said Carpenter.
Two Cook County families travel to Canada every week so their children can play hockey, Kyle and Jess Anderson (Cole), and John and Jennifer Swanson (Eli).
“We have had a tremendous amount of support from our kids’ coaches and the other hockey families from Silver Bay and Two Harbors,” Carpenter said. “We have made some good friends and so have our kids!”
S.K.A.T.E. program has become one of the most successful initiatives in youth athletics because it enjoys the universal support of young hockey players, parents and youth hockey organizations. The lifeblood of the S.K.A.T.E. program is the hundreds of volunteers at the local level who help to organize, activate and execute the program for the kids in their respective communities.
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