Gerald 'Jerry' Alvarez’s love of hockey first started back in 1989 at a New Jersey Devils’ game, his first ever exposure to the sport.
“My cousin’s stepfather got him involved with hockey,” Alvarez recounted. “Then he introduced it to me.
“He invited me to go (to a game), so I went one day. Islanders versus Devils. I don’t remember the score,” Alvarez laughed. “I went and I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t really into hockey at all (before then). It was just so fast paced. I grew up watching baseball … and I just got hooked. I fell in love.”
Up next for Alvarez was buying roller skates and playing street hockey with his friends in Newark, the future home of the Devils. Not long after, when he went to high school, Alvarez started playing ice hockey. His equipment wasn’t from the store down the street, in fact one of his neighbors hooked him up with some legendary equipment.
“The old equipment guy for the Devils, he used to live a couple houses away from me,” Alvarez shared. “When I told him I wanted to play ice hockey he was like, ‘Really? Okay here.’ He gave me equipment that was already rundown and used by the Devils. But he gave me skates from John MacLean, then gave me (another piece of equipment) from someone else, and this and that.”
Alvarez went on to play three years of high school hockey at East Side in Newark before continuing to play pick up hockey at the Rec Center on the weekends. Fast forward to present day, Alvarez is still bringing his hockey equipment to the Rec to play and to coach.
As one of the volunteer coaches for Hockey In New Jersey, Alvarez is helping build the next wave of hockey players in Newark. Hockey in New Jersey is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that provides a hockey program for youth players in various Northern New Jersey cities including Newark. Alvarez’s daughter is a part of the program, and he gets to see first-hand the great work Hockey in New Jersey has done with growing the game and providing opportunities for many.
“It’s amazing,” Alvarez explained. “The way (Hockey in New Jersey) has developed, the diversity, it’s crazy.”
The 2023 Hockey in New Jersey Volunteer Coach of the Year is a role model to the Hispanic kids who come through the program, showing them that hockey is indeed for them, just as Scott Gomez playing on the Devils was critical in his playing days.
“It started off with Scott Gomez (for me),” Alvarez shared. “He kind of brought light into my eyes. When I saw him start, I’m just, yeah (I can do this).
“My friends use to bug me back then, ‘ah, you’re Hispanic, why are you playing hockey,’” Alvarez continued. “And then we’d see him, and it made me feel better about (playing).”
As Alvarez continues to give back and grow the sport he loves, he’s proud of being a role model and making an impact in his hometown.
“They look up to you, even the parents they see you as a role model for (the kids), it’s a great feeling,” Alvarez reflected. “I do it for the love of the game.”
