The Outdoor Hockey League (OHL) is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year. From its humble beginnings in a Regina classroom to a league which is now spread across Saskatchewan, the OHL allows all youth the opportunity to play hockey by removing the financial barriers. Over the next several weeks we will be highlighting stories from volunteers, former players, and the media over the past 20 years. Please tune in weekly for a little piece of hockey history.

It all started with her middle son. Brett Lytle went down to the rink in the Cathedral neighborhood to learn to skate. He got the bug and began skating five to seven days a week.

He came home one day with the news that hockey was coming to the Cathedral rink.

Susan Lytle didn’t have a hockey background but they needed volunteers to help with the expansion from Grassick Park Rink and he son was anxious to play.

“I used to think that somebody ought to do something, and then I started thinking about it and thought ‘I’m somebody’. So I did.”

And she continues to volunteer 19 years later.

Susan started volunteering under Coach Ken Jones who had been involved with the OHL for several years. She helped her kids get dressed in the shack and then moved to helping other kids get dressed. Then she started bringing snacks for the kids.

“One night there was this little girl and I could hear her stomach growling and it just broke my heart,” explained Susan.

She continued to make the snacks for several years and was going to stop, figuring the kids didn’t seem to care one-way or the other about the food. She made one last snack from left-overs she had in her house - peanut butter sandwiches, dried banana chips, and heated cinnamon buns she had in a corner of her freezer for some time.

Susan explained why with a story, “These two little guys, maybe about nine were sitting in a corner; the one kid said ‘I wish it was OHL every night.’ And the other kid said, ‘Yeah I know what you mean, wouldn’t it be great to eat like this all the time’.”

“After that I brought a hot plate and we always made sure there was a carbohydrate, a protein, and a fruit or a vegetable.”

Over the winters at the rink Susan has many memories of wonderful volunteers and players. Below are just a few of them:

Volunteers

• Barbara – she never had a child involved in the outdoor hockey league but she lived in the neighborhood and heard that we were feeding the kids at the rink and would make two loaves of sandwiches and would bring them and drop them off for the players.


• Mike – had never skated in his life but volunteered and even played in a volunteer game, skating for the first time in his life.


• Rob Vanstone – has covered Dress a Champion and the OHL for the Leader-Post from the start and has been amazing and generous with his coverage.


• Lorelee – her youngest son and daughter were involved in the OHL for many years and she helped in many ways. The kids would love it when she brought in fried bannock.


• Susan’s husband Bruce – he was ill for a number of years but he did as much as he could for as long as he could. He played semi-professional hockey with the Toronto Marlies and passed a love of hockey down to the kids.


• Sean – super patient volunteer who would come out to help the kids even when faced with his own health challenges.


• Wes – coach for many years and helped build up the hockey skills in kids who came with no hockey knowledge.

Players over the years

• Sheldon – played OHL for many years and then came back and coached at Cathedral. He was amazing, he thought hockey had given to him and he was going to give back.


• Luther students – These kids were all foreign exchange students, most from warm climates and had never seen snow. They were teenagers but had the enthusiasm and the pure glee of five-year-olds. They started the season hanging on to the boards but soon they were skating and eventually playing hockey.


• A young player - he moved out of the area and he got a flyer route so he could pay for bus fare to continue playing OHL at the Cathedral rink. He would load all his gear on the bus to and from the rink every week.


• Brothers - who would walk to the rink every week with all their equipment from the Rosemont area just to play hockey. They would come out and skate for three to four solid hours and then pack up their equipment and head home.


• A goalie - he would run home after school and hide the flyers he was supposed to deliver before playing sports and come and play goal for both the younger and older kid hockey groups. He would go home as if nothing was wrong and get up the next day at 3 or 4 a.m. to make his deliveries before school. All this just so he could play hockey.


• Eight year old player – he had to bring his four-year-old brother with him when he came to the rink. This kid rarely missed hockey and he was so good with his brother. He would make sure he had a nice place to sit and if there was food being served he would make sure his little brother got something to eat.


• Nathan – a player who played for a number of years was always upbeat and positive even when his home life was less than ideal.


• Cold doesn’t faze them – one night it was -58 degrees with the wind chill and I had to go and physically pick up one little girl and carry her off the ice. She didn’t want to waste her hockey night sitting in the shack.


• Second generation players - Kids who played in the OHL years ago are now bringing their own kids to play.

“There have been so many heart warming stories over the years, and these are just a few of them that come to mind. The kids are always so excited to play and the volunteers have just been amazing.”

We are now accepting registrations for the 2012-2013 season . Click here

2012-13 Regina OHL locations, dates, and times: Click here