The temperature was 9 degrees above zero with
a wind chill of -15, but on the outdoor ice at Bohanon Park in
Minneapolis 24 kids from their surrounding North Minneapolis
neighborhood were deep into an hour-plus of quality hockey time.
“They were troopers, they really enjoyed it,” said Janet Marvin, the
director of the Herb Brooks Foundation’s (HBF) Rink Rat hockey program
that was the reason these kids were skating. “Even in this cold winter,
we haven’t missed a day because of the weather.”
 The Rink Rat program is an innovative program to teach hockey and
skating skills to urban youth in Minneapolis. Funded by a grant from the
Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation and administered by Marvin and
Larry Hendrickson of the HBF, the program has enrolled over 160 kids
from five different Minneapolis schools. The kids skate once a week at
one of six different outdoor rinks, all in Minneapolis Parks – Matthews,
Webber, Pearl, Lake Hiawatha, North Commons and Bohanon.
With few exceptions, it’s the first time most of these kids have ever
skated, let alone held a stick or passed a puck.
“We started with 36 kids from Northrop School at Lake Hiawatha, and only
two could skate,” said Marvin.
 “Some days I’m coaching with three kids hanging on my legs because
they’re just learning how to skate,” said Kurt Schoonover, a volunteer
coach with the Minneapolis Police Athletic League, which is providing
the core of the program’s all-volunteer coaching staff. Coach Bruch
Johnson and the Augsburg College hockey team has also stepped forward to
provide volunteer coaching.
Schoonover, a Minneapolis Police Officer by day, believes the Rink Rat
program has benefits that go beyond the skills the kids are learning.
It’s putting kids on the ice to keep the rinks busy and, hopefully,
maintained for years to come.
“Yes, it’s important that kids get up and going, get out of the house
and have some positive activity in the fresh air,” he said. “But our
parks are for kids and families to use. A lot of these kids don’t have
parents who can drive them to a rink. The more outdoor rinks that stay
open, more kids can get involved by walking to the rink.
 Marvin echoed that sentiment.
“Instead of the kids walking the streets or hanging out at the mall,
we’re creating a family activity to fill our parks. Minneapolis has
closed I don’t know how many outdoor rinks in recent years because of
lack of funds, but also because of low use. (Rink Rat hockey) can help
change that.”
Marvin’s hockey roots run deep. Yes, she’s from the famous Warroad
hockey family, Gophers’ star Gigi Marvin is her niece, she plays the
game herself and was even inducted into the Women's Hockey Association
of Minnesota (WHAM) Hall of Fame in 2006. But perhaps Marvin’s greatest
legacy for the sport will be her passion for teaching hockey to urban
kids with seemingly little historical connection to the sport – kids
like Hmong girls, African Americans and Spanish-speaking immigrants.
The HBF’s Rink Rat program has given her perhaps her best platform in a
lifetime of service to introduce hockey to large numbers of urban kids.
 “There are two heroes here,” said Hendrickson. “Janet Marvin and the
PAL. What they have accomplished building this program is unbelievable
and inspiring.”
Here’s the nuts and bolts of the Rink Rat Program: It’s for kids ages 5
to 12 years old. It’s introductory, and there’s always a safe, friendly
environment. After a fall program that had the kids learning lead-up
skills for hockey by playing floor hockey, the kids took the ice for the
first time January 8. Kids participating in the program learn to skate
and work on individual skills of stick-handling, shooting in
unstructured play progressing to two-on-two and later three-on-three
small games.
Marvin said they’ll skate outdoors until the rinks are no longer
maintained. And even after that point, probably in late February,
they’ll play boot hockey on whatever ice remains, until the final
meltdown.
But the program’s not over yet. In March and April, kids will be bused –
compliments of PAL -- to the Herb Brooks Training Center at the Schwan
Super Rink in Blaine for dry-land hockey individual skill development.
 And then there’s one final summer fling. Fifty Rink Rats will head to
Spooner Wisconsin for a one-week live in hockey school. Time will be
spent doing on and off-ice training, small games and non-hockey
activities like cook outs, camp fires and swimming.
The Rink Rats program is a huge step towards, as Herb Brooks said,
"widening the pyramid."
Kurt Schoonover, on the front line, sees the pyramid widening week by
week.
”Each week we get more and more kids walking over and joining,” he said.
“Word of mouth is very effective with grade school kids. If it’s fun,
kids will show up.”
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