North Metro Youth Hockey

The 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.

As competitors, young players set goals for themselves on the ice and in the classroom. Like the cheers they hear for goals, assists and good hustle, they respond positively to recognition and reward for their performances in the classroom. The fact is, 99% of youth hockey players will never play professional hockey, so the idea of placing greater emphasis on education makes sense.

Eleven years ago, the Armstrong Youth Hockey Association created a program to encourage youth hockey players to focus on succeeding in the classroom during the hockey season.

The program was launched statewide during the 2001-02 season with 36 associations participating and 4,000 players joining the ranks. This past season, 110 associations participated, which is nearly 70% of the associations in Minnesota, and 15,000 players qualified.

District coordinators for S.K.A.T.E. would like to see the program reach all 160 Minnesota hockey associations. There is also talk of trying to implement the program at a national level.

Skaters Keep Achieving Through Education is an academic achievement program that provides recognition and rewards to student athletes who achieve a required minimum Grade Point Average during the hockey season.

All participants(Squirt and above) must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA, or equivalent, during the grading period that covers the hockey season. Participants must be members of a registered association for the current season.

All associations must first register for the current season. S.K.A.T.E. provides promotional collateral and instructions on how to operate the program. A parent volunteer generally serves as the S.K.A.T.E. coordinator who works through team managers to collect grading information and to distribute qualification criteria.

Like other youth sports, hockey is a vehicle for teaching life skills such as work ethic, teamwork, time management, and goal setting. These same skills are vital for maximizing academic performance. The S.K.A.T.E. program emphasizes the importance of achievement in the classroom while putting school work into context with their passion for hockey.

Each qualifier will be provided an Award Certificate and a gift(Bag Tag). In addition, the names of all S.K.A.T.E. qualifiers are entered into a statewide drawing for dozens of great prizes. Our association additionally has a date set aside to get together and celebrate with a night of gifts, food, and prizes.

Statewide website at www.skatetoachieve.com

A special thanks to those below who have donated this year

NMYHA, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx, Snipers Edge, MOA, Slipstreamer Inc., Panera Bread, Chipotle, Taho sportswear, Brunswick Zone, U.S.A Inflatables, U10, U12, Squirt A, Squirt B1, Squirt B2, Peewee A, Peewee B2, Bantam A, Bantam B1, Bantam B2, Bantam C, Laura Schmell, Femrite Family, Timm Family

Registration for this year is now closed, congratulations to all who qualified!