Young players hone their skills at Saugus rink

SAUGUS – There were more crashes than usual on the rinks of Hockey Town USA, but a lot of courage, too, as budding skaters tested their ice legs for the first time during a free skate day hosted by regional hockey leagues this past weekend.Skaters as young as 3 shakily shifted from one leg to the next, clutching stacked crates in front of them to help balance as the Boston Bruins’ mascot, Blades, swirled around, cheering them on. Off the ice, parents watched from behind the screens of smartphones.Click for a photo galleryThe clinic, hosted by Saugus and Lynnfield hockey leagues, the state hockey league and USA Hockey, was one of many across the nation held this weekend to introduce the sport to a future generation of players.Hockey requires years of practice to reach the elite levels of the sport, so it’s best to introduce kids to it at an early age, said Bob Belyea, the vice president of the recently merged Saugus/Lynnfield Youth Hockey League.”Hockey is not a game you can start playing at age 12 or 13,” he said.But hockey is also an expensive sport, and membership in local leagues declined with the economic downturn, Belyea said. He said he hopes free skate days can boost those numbers, noting that Saugus and Lynnfield decided to unite their hockey leagues this season because there weren’t enough players at every level.”The best kids would be frustrated with newcomers (in their games), and they’d leave the league to go to select hockey,” Belyea said.But for future hockey players, Saturday’s skate day was all about having fun, said former Bruins player Tom Songin, who coached beginning skaters with the help of local high school players.”They’re young, and it’s just time for them to enjoy the experience,” Songin said.Songin started the skaters out with a lesson on how to stand on one edge of their skates. Then he had them walk on the ice, putting one foot in front of the other in an exaggerated version of walking on land. Soon skaters were zooming around the rink on their own, bouncing back from falls on the ice or crashes into fellow skaters like they were made of rubber.Eight-year-old Patrick O’Neil of Wakefield said that by the end of his lesson, he was hooked on hockey and planned to join a league.”I scored a goal and got a big save,” he said of a scrimmage the older players held.His mother, Tricia, said she was glad O’Neil got to try the sport for free before signing up to play.”It’s a nice way to get them acclimated on the ice,” she said.For more information about the Saugus/Lynnfield hockey league, visit www.saugusyouthhockey.org/Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].