On Wednesday evening, the Philadelphia Flyers unveiled a newly redesigned ball hockey rink at the Marge Martin Sports Complex in Blackwood, New Jersey as part of the organization’s Learn To Play program. The Flyers’ Learn To Play program focuses on helping children all of walks of life learn that they all can play hockey, and it gives them a chance to experience the game and help them understand and pursue it as well.
The rink’s Flyer-ization includes several branding elements throughout the complex, including the stylings of the team on the rink’s scoreboard, courts, players’ benches, and more.
The unveiling of the redesigned rink was part of the festivities that included a graduation event for all participants of the Learn To Play program. The program usually focuses on helping kids hit the ice at a young age, but they decided to expand the program this summer into ball hockey as well coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program ran six weeks from May 15th to June 30th and was only priced at 35 dollars. Children were able to play the game and get some sweet Flyers gear and equipment on top of it. 400 children participated in the program, which included several from lower-income families that may not be able to afford traditional hockey.
The program was a huge success, and the six-week program and rink redesign were a part of the organization’s efforts to introduce kids from communities in the South Jersey area to the sport of hockey. They also operated their Learn To Play ball hockey program at Bellmawr Hockey Rinks in Bellmawr, New Jersey, Evesham Hockey Complex in Marlton, New Jersey, and Maple Shade Street Hockey Rink in Maple Shade, New Jersey. The Flyers’ investments in the Learn To Play program were also matched by funds from the National Hockey League and Player Association’s Industry Growth Fund.
Flyers Vice President of Community Relations & Goverment Affairs Joe Meade stated:
"“We want to ensure that every boy and girl in the Philadelphia region – regardless of their zip code or their background – has a chance to play hockey and fall in love with the game. Our Learn To Play program usually gets kids right on the ice, but this summer, our ball hockey program has made hockey more accessible, convenient, and affordable for parents and young athletes on outdoor courts throughout the area. It’s been a huge success, and we are excited to continue growing the game for local kids.”"
Bob Keefe, President of the Gloucester Township Hockey Alliance also spoke about the partnership with the Flyers.
"“Partnering with our hometown NHL team is beyond exciting for everyone here at GTHA. Our goal is not just to grow the game of hockey, but for kids to love the game as well, and the presence of the Flyers at our complex will ensure the game will grow to new heights. Our motto is ‘Put a hockey stick in a child’s hand today and make them a hockey fan for life,’ and with the help of the Flyers, we are hopeful to put hockey sticks in the hands of every kid in Gloucester Township.”"
Former Flyers defenseman and current Flyers Director of Alumni/Community Development Brad Marsh and Flyers Youth & Amateur Hockey Manager Rob Baer were on hand for the event and expressed their joy in being involved with the community and helping give back to the area. I had the opportunity to ask them via phone call about the event and helping give back to the community.
ROB BAER
Q: “What does it mean to you to help give back and why?
"“Well it’s huge for us, this is the next generation of the Flyers fanbase. It all started almost two years ago now when these guys from the Gloucester Township league reached out to myself and Brad Marsh and wanted to know how we could help, like their numbers had started to go down a little bit with their registrations, they wanted to try and reverse that trend, and so we had to put our heads together to try and figure out what we could do to try and move their numbers in the right direction again.So we came up with this Learn To Play concept, and it’s not like we reinvented the wheel here, I mean we do a Learn To Play on-ice program in fourteen rinks in the area so we just kind of copied and pasted that concept and reached out to the guys in Gloucester Township. They were totally on board and then they reached out to some of the other South Jersey associations and they were all over it, so we ended up piloting it with four rinks this spring, and all four sold out.A hundred kids each so we had 400 kids come through the program and they’re all running around out here right now with Flyers jerseys on and Flyers sticks in their hands and they all got a Flyers hockey ball. So it’s huge, it’s huge to put sticks in hands and introduce kids to the sport, and ball hockey in particular eliminates some of the financial hurdles that you may have to face in ice hockey. It’s only 35 bucks to sign up for six weeks of this and you get the stick and the ball and the pinnie, so it’s very cost-effective for parents.”"
BRAD MARSH
“You’ve always found ways to give back to the Philadelphia area, going back to your playing days with the team, and you’ve done plenty of great work while with the Flyers Alumni as well. What does it mean to you to help give back to the community that supported you in your playing days and still to this day as an alumni of the team?”
"“I think that’s something that was ingrained in us all the way back when we played in junior hockey, then the NHL and then it was always we were an extension of the fans and the fans were an extension of the players, and it was simpler times back then, and we were always one big happy family, you know what I mean?You know they come to cheer us on and we were grateful that they were there cheering us on, and it was just an extension of us being a professional hockey player, and then when you come to Philadelphia it was very important to Mr. Snider, you know when he started the Flyers that the players be seen in the community and that’s those simple beginnings that just took route, and we’re still at it in 2021.”"
We had a brief and fun conversation afterwards, but I also realized that this coming season will mark 40 years since Marsh was traded to the Flyers by the Atlanta Flames during the 1981-82 season, so I decided to ask him while I had the time what his favorite memory with the Flyers was while I had the opportunity.
Q: While we’re on the topic, I do have one more question that comes to mind. So this coming season will be forty years since you were traded to the Flyers, so I was kind of curious what is your most fond moment is as a member of the organization in any capacity, whether it be (as) a player, with the Alumni, what’s your most fond memory?”
"“Well obviously when you play hockey, obviously the goal is to win the Stanley Cup and as a member of the Flyers we almost did it on two occasions, as you know in ’85 and ’87, and that four year stretch that we had we had a good hockey team, and unfortunately we probably went up against the best team ever assembled, the Edmonton Oilers. So those are my two fondest memories but they’re also all bittersweet because my hand was almost on the Cup in ’87 and unfortunately I didn’t win it, but looking back I love seeing the teammates from that team, from those teams and I love having a beer with them and we always talk about ‘The Game’ and we probably should’ve or could’ve won Game 7, but we didn’t. So that’s a big highlight but I do remember when I first walked into the Philadelphia Flyer dressing room, there was just something different about it. There was an aura about it, you know with Bobby Clarke and the Bill Barbers sitting in the dressing room with the Paul Holmgrens and so on and so on, and just the winning attitude or the winning expectations were there. Not that you don’t have them when you’re with another team, but they were different in Philadelphia, and there was a lot of accountability within the dressing room. The players making sure they held each other accountable to work hard practice after practice, and then the games came easy. Forty years, holy [expletive]!”"
He ended his answer with a laugh and we exchanged our goodbyes. Marsh is a shining example of being active in the community and he, Baer, and the Flyers organization have helped spread the game throughout the area and continue to help breed the next great generation of fans and players. The Flyers helped put on a tremendous event and they will look to be active in the community and grow the sport even more as time goes on.