Color of Hockey: Coyotes succeeding in outreach to Hispanic youth

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Jonah Rodriguez, manager for Hispanic Hockey Development for the Arizona Coyotes.

Jonah Rodriguez became interested in hockey when the Los Angeles Kings conducted a learn-to-play session at his school when he was 6 years old.
"And I wanted to play hockey after that," Rodriguez said. "My dad put me and my brothers in hockey, both ice hockey and roller hockey."
These days, Rodriguez is the one giving lessons at schools, recreation centers, ice rinks and wherever he can as manager for Hispanic Hockey Development for the Arizona Coyotes.
The 26-year-old Los Angeles area native, who joined the Coyotes organization in 2020, is on a mission is to help grow the sport within Arizona's Hispanic community through on-ice, street and roller hockey programs.
"My job, I took over pretty much all of the street hockey side of it," he said.
In September, Rodriguez helped launch the Coyotes Street Hockey League a 10-week program for children ages 7 to 13 at Burk Elementary School in Gilbert, Arizona. The program offers 45 minutes of skills building followed by an hour of game play.
"We would go to schools, and we would get a lot of kids come up to us and say, 'I love hockey now, it's like my new favorite sport, I want to play' and we had no place to direct them to," he said. "There's really no street hockey leagues in Arizona. The only place we could direct them to is our learn-to-play, which is either on-ice or roller. Going from street to skates-on is a big jump and a commitment. So we kind of created a place for them to go."

The inaugural street hockey league has attracted 28 kids who will play on three teams through December, Rodriguez said. A second 10-week session will begin in early 2023.
"It's going to help develop these kids' skills," Rodriguez said. "It's going to give them a map, a path to hockey."
Another marker on that map is "Raise the Pack," a street hockey curriculum developed by the Coyotes, in partnership with the NHL and NHL Players' Association, available to local school districts.
The Coyotes' Hockey Development team trains physical education teachers on hockey drills and will deliver 50 sticks, balls, pinnies, two nets and gifts for participating students and teachers, Rodriguez said.
The curriculum designed for children kindergarten through eighth grade teaches students how to play street hockey within two weeks, focusing each day on a different skill. The Hockey Development team follows up and assists as much as needed.
"It's like casting our net," Rodriguez said. "If they like it, we can direct them to our league, if they want to play more organized hockey. From there, if they start developing their skill, get better and want more, we can direct them to our 'Little Howlers" program, our on-on ice program, or we can direct them to 'First Stride,' which is our roller learn-to-play program. Or if they don't want to move up, they can just keep signing up for the street hockey league. Street hockey is still a form of good hockey."
Rodriguez said he's especially proud of the Coyotes' "Los Howlitos," a Spanish language learn-to-play program that's among the first in the NHL.

"I don't want anyone to feel left out," he said. "A kid who only speaks Spanish, he or she can still participate. If you need instruction in Spanish and if I have to be there every session so there's someone who speaks Spanish, that's the goal."
Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said the work of Rodriguez and Arizona's hockey development furthers Arizona's goal of expanding the sport within the Hispanic community.
"We're incredibly proud of the work that they are doing to put into effect the vision that we have to really welcome and be inclusive of every part of our community here in the valley," Gutierrez said. "Their programs are at the forefront of doing that."
Gutierrez also speaks as Rodriguez's proud uncle, and said he believed Rodriguez's hockey journey made him a perfect fit for the Coyotes' outreach efforts.
"I often speak about him and his two brothers, Arian and Jovan, as perfect examples when people ask me, 'Can you get Latinos to love hockey?'" Gutierrez said. "I say, 'Well, let me tell you a story of three nephews of mine whose first love was hockey. And why? Because the Kings did an incredible job of reaching out to youth in Los Angeles. And when you reach out to the youth in L.A., just like you do here in Arizona, you're going to have Latinos and Latinas.'
Gutierrez said Rodriguez and his brothers "are perfect examples when you're intentional in your outreach, when you're authentic in terms of doing it constantly and consistently and when you make this a core part of your strategy, your business model.
"When you start by personalizing and sharing how you became a fan of the sport, when you have a young Latino or Latina and they look up and see Jonah Rodriguez as a hockey-loving player, fan, and now a coach, it really resonates."
Rodriguez said he's looking forward to making the Coyotes Hispanic hockey outreach efforts more extensive in the future.
"I'm thankful and blessed that I'm in the position to use the platform that the Coyotes have to reach the Hispanic community, Latino community," he said. "If I can make a few of them hockey players or hockey fans, that would be great. I'm more interested in making an impact in their lives. I kind of know the struggles that these kids go through, so now that I'm in a position to give back and help, that's my hope right now."