Acton-Boxboro Youth Hockey Association

Sessions: Each session is 10 weeks long. The Fall 2011 session runs from October 12 through December 21, and the Winter 2012 session runs from January 4 until March 14. During the second session, players will bring hockey sticks on Saturday mornings. All players in the 7am advanced hour will require a stick Saturaday morning. In the 8am beginner hour, only those who's skating skills have advanced the player beyond coach Jerry's group, should bring a stick. The recommended height of the stick is roughly chin height with skates on.

Introduction: Our Learn to Skate program teaches boys and girls ice skating and basic hockey skills. The program provides the opportunity for your son or daughter to get started playing the exciting sport of ice hockey, or to learn how to skate just for fun.
Our program is highly regarded and dates back 36 years, teaching literally thousands of kids how to skate. Alumni of our program have gone on to play hockey at the high school, college, Olympic, and NHL levels and include Bob Brooke, Jeff Norton, and Bob Sweeney, among others. Our featured coach is Jerry Melanson who has been a lead instructor for ABYHA for over twenty years. He is great with kids and was the recipient of the Assistant Coach of the Year award from Mass Hockey.
No child is too young or too old to learn how to skate. Some start as early as age two but ages four to six are more typical. Beginners start by pushing chairs across the ice in order to keep their balance. After mastering the basics of skating, hockey sticks are introduced and basic puck handling skills are taught. At this point, the child is ready to play hockey and can enroll in the intramural Mosquito hockey program. About age five is the ideal time to start playing hockey, but many kids start later.

Required Equipment- In addition to hockey skates, all skaters must wear a hockey helmet fitted with a cage or face shield, and a neck protector. Beginners should have heavy gloves or mittens, knee pads, and elbow pads. Older or advanced skaters should have real hockey equipment that includes hockey pants, shin pads, elbow pads, and hockey gloves.

Divisions - Skaters are divided into two groups, beginners and advanced. Beginners are either in their first year, or are really young children. Advanced skaters normally have a year of Learn to Skate under their belt or are older kids with previous skating experience.

Sessions - Each session is 10 weeks long. The first session runs from mid-October through December and the second session runs from early January until early March.

Schedule - All lessons are held at the Nashoba Valley Olympia (NVO) rink on Route 111 in Boxborough near the Acton town line. There are two one-hour lessons per week, one on Wednesday and the other Saturday.

• Wednesday, 5:45 PM - 6:45 PM, Beginner
• Saturday 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM, Beginner
• Wednesday, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Advanced
• Saturday, 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM, Advanced

Cost To enroll: a session fee of $215 is required. Registration with USA Hockey is also required. Players born in 2004 and younger are free. All others are charged $35 by USA Hockey. A $15 late fee is assessed for registrations received after the registration deadline.

Registration: The ON-LINE registration opens in August for the first session and in December for the second session. Notices in local newspapers and announcements on our web site provide all details about Learn to Skate registration.