Jr. Gladiators Celebrate National Championship with Maximus Lion!
It is a widely reported phenomenon among the hockey families that the most common public response to the wearing of one of our SGAA Sports HOCKEY shirts is something like, “There’s HOCKEY in Snellville?” You bet there is!
Despite the fact that there is no ice on our TWO rinks, fast-paced hockey does take place on local, national and international levels. This past Spring, SGAA Sports Dual Deck Arena even hosted teams from the Cayman Islands (Mostly Canadians…) during the ECHO Tournament. It was some intense competition and a great time was had inside the rink and at the outside tailgates.
Inline hockey is a family sport for certain. Even foreign-exchange students get in on the act. For a second year in a row, the Branch family is hosting a young man from Spain. Jaime and Manuel both came to America to play soccer and maybe dabble in football and lacross…but hockey grabbed their attention…They can’t help it-there are three boys already in the house plus their cousins who all have hockey sticks in hand.
SGAA Sports is for Girls Too!
The game is not for boys only. Very pretty young ladies play the sport and never ask for any special treatment because they are girls. These lovely young ladies are often found in the penalty box on any given weekend…just like the boys…plus, they are both school and community leaders.
Penalty Box…2 Minutes!
Part of the family feeling at SGAA comes from the fact that it began as a small-town organization in 1966. Back then, they didn’t have hockey, but SGAA Sports has been a family-oriented group since its inception. This year, it was determined that something had to be done to offer an affordable action sport to local youth. Tim Gaines, SGAA director says, “We wanted to offer something affordable to get kids active.” The rate for first-time players was lowered to $50 and a “gear locker” was created by the SGAA Hockey Families. “Kids can borrow equipment from the locker,” says Gaines. “It helps keep the cost down.”
SGAA Sports Inline Hockey Players Shift Change
After making the game more affordable, the organization then went so far as to offer a free clinic called “Learn To Skate” which takes place on Wednesday nights. Many kids come in wobbling on street-skates and end up screeching around on hockey inlines just a few lessons later. “It is amazing what happens when you give a kid a hockey stick and let ’em go,” says long-time volunteer coach Jack Britt.
Inline Hockey National Championship Game
So yes, the answer to the question is definitely…YES! There IS hockey in Snellville, GA. Just ask one of the hockey moms or dads. There are plenty of fans in the stands who keep the flow of sports drinks, snacks and cheering going for our players.
Gladiator’s Mascot…Maximus Lion loves inline hockey too!
Even Maximus Lion, mascot of our local ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators team is a HUGE inline fan. Community Relations Director, Jim Hall adds, “We love the youth hockey teams-they are some of our biggest fans.” Even though the SGAA kids play on rolling skates instead of blades, the game is still fast, fun and affordable. Check it out today!
Online registration is now open for the Winter session of Youth Inline Hockey thru Nov 1st at www.sgaasports.com.
FREE LEARN TO PLAY/LEARN TO SKATE program is moving to WEDNESDAYS from 6 to 7 PM. Hopefully, this will allow families more time to get to the rink. If you plan to attend on Oct 17th, please email tgaines@sgaasports.com.
FreelanceBeth 
Great article! I found SGAA two years ago for my kids and pestered Tim and Ronnie so much they finally restarted the Adult Tuesday night league last year. I joined up at age 40 (having never played before) and have had a great time! I’ve lost about 15 lbs doing it and have made some good friends and we have a blast every Tuesday night. If you want to see what the adult league looks like come by any Tuesday night at 8pm or 9pm and see what we’re doing. We’ve got some amazing talent out there (Really! I’m not exagerating!) and some of us that are still just beginning. There is a Sunday night league for adults, also. If you are interested for your kids, bring them almost any Saturday morning and let them have a look at how its done. The sportsmanship among players and spectators alike is better than every soccer team my kids have been on (NO JOKE!). This is the perfect sport for folks w/ short attention spans because it really moves quickly! No boring sitting around. Also, because it is indoors, you can play rain or shine. Come join us and have some fun!
I’m a grandma (otherwise known around the rink as Ditdo). You will find me and many others just like me cheering on my grandson as well as the other children who find this sport great fun. First and most importantly they learn what it is to work together to make a team, a life long lesson to be admired when achieved.