“It’s that continued exposure to the sport that we’re excited about,” said Capitals Youth Hockey Development Manager Andrew Nash. “The unique thing about after school programs is kids have the platform to continue their interest in the sport beyond the classroom.”
Once the school closes around 3 or 4 p.m., kids can march their way to the Kids Club and explore their love of hockey once more.
The new program, “Hockey with the Caps,” has created a buzz throughout Montgomery County’s schools, and the kids can’t wait to get started.
“They’re having a great time already,” said Bar-T’s CEO Joe Richardson. “As I was bringing in some of the new equipment, the kids were asking me, ‘What is that, what do we got here,’ and when I opened up the sticks, they were speechless.”
“We’re always looking for ways to push ahead and we consider ourselves to be the best childcare provider in the area,” he added. “For us to make a partnership like this, it lets us take things to the next level and give kids at Bar-T something no one else gets.”
Bar-T is affiliated with 36 schools in Montgomery County and the Capitals will partner with 21 of them to start the month of February and eventually expand to all by the end of the year.
“Kids love to learn, and they love to learn new things,” said Richardson. “The way that we teach them, they really latch onto it. We do a ton of different clubs from computer programming to makeover club, soccer and football. We have kids who already played hockey and now with this program they can be like, ‘This is my moment to show everyone what I can do.’”
The Caps Hockey School program had been partnered with Montgomery County Public Schools since 2019 so these schools already possess equipment donated by the Capitals. Now with Bar-T, the Caps donated additional equipment for Bar-T to have for its programs separate from the school itself.
Bar-T was pleasantly surprised with the type of sticks they received from the Caps. They got an assortment of wooden sticks with a plastic blade wrapped with a red Capitals logo.
“The kids couldn’t believe how nice the sticks were,” said Richardson.
The Caps are dedicated to not only teaching the kids, but also their staff and directors. On Dec. 29 the Capitals held a training session with around 60 to 70 staff on how a successful hockey club should be taught.
Nash and the Caps Youth Hockey Development team brought the equipment for the staff to use first-hand and showed them how to use it properly so they could be prepared to teach their own students.
The Caps Hockey School program during school hours primarily focuses on teaching and guiding students through drills and skills. The Bar-T Kids Club after school will have kids use those skills and apply them to scrimmages and more competitive environments.
“The club is a little less teaching and more supplemental opportunity for students to continue playing hockey and interacting with the sport after school hours,” said Nash. “It’s a nice pipeline that they’re introduced to the sport during P.E. class, and might already be staying after school, so they have the opportunity to continue interacting with the sport now.”
Bar-T has their own inline hockey rink at their campus that is currently getting re-done which allows for an additional rink to be used for kids in the future. With the Caps Youth Hockey Development program partnership, that rink will be filled up with additional kids in no time.
For Bar-T, hockey as part of the Kids Club is just the beginning. The partnership with the Caps allows for additional opportunities they wouldn’t have had before with the game.
In April or May, Richardson hopes to host a “Hockey Day” out at the Bar-T Ranch that’s used in the summertime. This event could bring together all the Capitals Youth Hockey Development staff and create a day with hockey outdoors filled with games and fun while celebrating the partnership.
What made this partnership seem so effortless is that both the Capitals and Bar-T share the same values. They both want to build great people through their programs while allowing opportunities for kids to find their passions and interests through activities.
“One of the core things at Bar-T that we believe in is giving the kids choices,” said Richardson. “Like we tell them, ‘You’ve been told where to go, what do you want to do now? What do you want to do outside or what clubs do you want to join?’ This helps them build a sense of self and own identity.”
Their identity is being shaped through their actions, and their involvement with the Capitals and Bar-T is a good place to start.
