LYNN — Brian Boisson fondly remembers when Lynn Youth Hockey was at its height a few decades ago. So when the Lynn native took over as president to the dwindling program four years ago, his mission was to do anything he could to make Lynn the hockey city it once was.
“Back in the 80’s and 90’s more than 400 kids were showing up to ‘Learn to Skate’ no question,” Boisson said. “It was a huge program. And to just see it almost be gone a couple years ago was something I noticed and wanted to fix. We want to try to bring that back.”
And over the past few years, with a focus on ‘Learn to Skate’ and ‘Try Hockey for Free’ programs for younger kids, Lynn Youth Hockey has already seen an increase in participation.
“I couldn’t tell you how long it’s been going on as a program,” Boisson said of the ‘Try Hockey for Free’ program. “It’s something by USA hockey and we jumped into it. It’s one day a week and we are just trying to get kids going down here for free and give them a chance to try the sport. A few years ago we only had about 20 kids and this past February we were at 63 kids on the ice.”
But building up these programs has been no easy task. The first step for Boisson and LYH is the continued challenge of finding equipment for participants.
“We started posting flyers around and putting posts out on all the social medias asking people for help and equipment donations,” Boisson said. “These kids grow so quickly out of things like skates and pads so there is a need for anything. If you go to a second-hand sports store and try to sell old stuff they’re only giving you pennies on the dollar. So why not donate it to kids who can actually use it right now in Lynn every week?”
The community has responded well. Lynn Youth Hockey currently has a storage room at Connery Rink filled with skates, pads, helmets, and all kinds of equipment. Boisson says it wouldn’t be possible for Lynn Youth Hockey to have grown the way it has without donations from the community.
“We have had tremendous support from the community,” Boisson said. “It’s been amazing. I mean four years ago hockey in the city of Lynn was almost extinguished. Recently we received a donation from the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Lynn. They donated 400 dollars to us and we were able to buy brand new hockey helmets for our kids.
“In our program we also host five or six foster children,” Boisson said. “The Wonderfund, which is a private nonprofit that provides assistance to kids, they paid for all of the several foster kids in our program.”
Boisson, an assistant coach for the Lynn Jets high school team, knows hockey can be an expensive sport and Lynn Youth Hockey has done everything they can to cut those costs for its players.
“We have a lot of local sponsors and we hold a lot of fundraisers,” Boisson said. “We have a lot of non-hockey related people that show up to these things. Hockey is an expensive sport. With the diversity of incomes in this city, everyone’s struggling with their own things. We just want to give kids an opportunity to play however we can.”
Lynn Youth Hockey has also benefited from a devoted group of staff and coaches, Boisson said, including longtime ‘Learn to Skate’ coach Kevin Clougherty.
“The foundation of our whole program is Learn to Skate every Saturday,” Boisson said. “Kevin has been with our Learn to Skate program for 16 years. He has two sons who graduated high school playing hockey and a daughter playing prep school hockey now. For a guy that has no kids in the program anymore he puts his heart and soul into it.”
While Boisson is happy to see how much the sport has grown in Lynn since he took the helm, he knows that they have just scratched the surface in introducing hockey to a new generation.
“Our numbers are strong in how many kids we have but in terms of the kids in the city we are not even making a dent,” Boisson said “I remember playing when I was younger and all they friendships and memories you create. That stuff lasts a lifetime and that’s what we’re trying to bring to them.”
