Blue Jackets, City of Whitehall come together to celebrate new rink

As more than 100 kids were introduced to the sport of hockey Saturday afternoon, Jared Boll couldn't help but look around and think back to his days growing up in suburban Chicago.
It was moments after a ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened the new street hockey rink in Whitehall's John Bishop Park, part of a $250,000 partnership between the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation and the suburb located just east of Columbus, and Boll was impressed by what he was seeing as kids grabbed hockey sticks for the first time and picked up the game he loves.

"I was talking to a few people, saying I never had a rink like this," said Boll, a former CBJ player and current development coach in the organization. "I remember my summer days as a kid were street hockey all day. For them, whether they're wearing roller blades or just running around on their feet playing ball hockey, it's pretty cool. It gives kids something to do and a chance to run around, get exercise, be outside, hang around with your friends and get to learn the game of hockey too."

While Saturday was an important day for the Whitehall community, punctuated by the opening ceremony as well as two versions of the Blue Jackets' Get Out And Learn! clinic that introduces kids aged 4 to 12 to the sport, the opening of the rink is as much about what's to come as what's already happened.
The enthusiasm for the rink has been palpable, said Whitehall Mayor Kim Maggard, who added that she cried tears of joy when she first heard about the partnership between the city and the Blue Jackets. Construction on the rink began last summer and was completed in December, and as the weather has slowly but surely begun to warm up, residents have started to pack the rink on a daily basis.
In a community that doesn't have quite the resources of some others in Central Ohio, the rink project is a feather in the cap that will provide opportunities for residents for years down the road.
"I never knew what a street hockey rink was," said Maggard, who also issued a proclamation that April 29 is now Blue Jackets Day in the city. "I just live right up the street, so I went by this all the time and I'd say, 'Oh my gosh, look at what's happening today.' Kids kept on saying, 'When can we open this? When can I go?' Now here we are. It's just so exciting."
There is much more to the relationship between the city and the Blue Jackets than just the construction of the rink. From here, the Blue Jackets will provide Whitehall with resources to establish hockey programming in the community through free clinics, staff training, curriculum and equipment.
Since the announcement of the project in May of last year, the Blue Jackets have been working with Whitehall City Schools District to bring hockey to the classroom through no-cost education resources that address literacy, STEM learning, academic achievement and a hockey-themed wellness curriculum.
More than 80,000 minutes were read by students participating in the team's Book Jackets reading incentive program to encourage healthy reading habits outside of the classroom in partnership with library aides in the district.
This past academic year, the Blue Jackets worked with physical education teachers at Beechwood and Etna Road elementary schools to host the Power Play Challenge, reaching over 1,000 students who completed fitness-related challenges, received an introduction to street hockey and attended a STEM-focused field trip to Chiller Ice Rinks.
In addition, kids participating in the Get Out And Learn! try hockey for free clinics yesterday will join the Street Jackets Skills & Drills program, facilitated by Whitehall Parks & Recreation, to continue organized street hockey play and leagues in the neighborhood year-round.

"When the team came here over 20 years ago, it was all about teaching individuals about hockey and what the game is about," said Andee Cochren, executive director of the Blue Jackets Foundation. "Now, we're in the place where we're building partnerships and we're connecting our sport to some of the needs of the community.
"We're working with the school district to be able to do hockey-themed educational resources. We're also now working with recreation to be able to do curriculum, staff training and equipment donations so self-sustaining programs like this one can happen anywhere in our neighborhoods across Columbus."
So far, the reaction to the rink has been strong, with kids and families filling it each night after school and a Sunday adult drop-in league already forming. It's a great start for a project that will continue to provide opportunities for the Whitehall community for years to come.
"I can't believe after six years of being with the city of Whitehall that this is something we get to bring to our community," said Shannon Sorrell, director of parks and recreation for the city of Whitehall. "We never thought it would be possible to offer opportunities like this to our residents, so be able to be ribbon-cutting the Blue Jackets street hockey rink in Whitehall is phenomenal."