Nothing would happen without the volunteers.
That‘s the sentiment Micheal Botros, Barrhead Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) president wants to pass on to the readers of the Barrhead Leader.
As a salute to minor hockey, the Leader talked to Botros about the state of minor hockey in the Barrhead area.
“It is thriving,” he said. “For our current 2015/16 season we have over 170 young hockey players registered.”
The players, who range in age from five to 18 years-old, are divided into 11 different teams in six different age categories:
Initiation (five and six years old) has two teams the Wolves and the Oilers. In Novice (seven and eight years old) there are three teams, the Elks, Bruins and Thunder. At the Atom level (nine and 10 years old) there are the Hawks and Eagles. Peewee (11 and 12 years old) has the Flyers. And the two oldest age groups, Bantam (13 and 14 years old) and Midget (15 to 17), there are the Pirates, Renegades and the Steelers.
“The thing I really like about minor hockey is that it teaches so many life lessons. Team work, communication, conflict resolution and dealing with difficult people, taking pride in your consequences, the list is endless,” Botros said. “But perhaps the most important thing is the building of memories.”
However, like most non-profit organizations, he is quick to point out that nothing would happen without the small army of volunteers.
“Even though minor hockey is really all about the kids, like any non-profit organization we really couldn’t do it with out our volunteers,” he said, adding the volunteers in the BMHA are as good as you will find in any organization. “These are people who give of themselves selflessly, for no financial gain and at the end of the day all they care about is the kids.”
Botros said it would be difficult to put a number on how many people volunteer with the BMHA, but he said there are no shortage of jobs for people to do.
“In our whole association there are only two paid positions, the referee assigner and the ice assigner. Everyone else is a volunteer,” he said.
Every BMHA team includes a minimum of two coaches as well as a team manager and treasurer. Other volunteer positions include trainers, tournament organizers, drivers, timekeepers, and scorekeepers.
The job of organizing the volunteers and players falls to the BMHA’s 16-person board.
“The board, like everyone else are volunteers,” he said, adding that the board meets on a monthly basis and are responsible for things like player registration, coach selection, tryouts, determining the number of teams at each level and an assortment of other duties, including player discipline.
Botros said the BHMA is always looking for volunteers from running for the board to helping out at tournaments. Board members serve for a period of two-years and the positions are staggered to ensure there are always experienced people on the board.
One of the best ways to become involved with the BMHA is by attending the organization’s annual general meeting held every spring.
“Or just talk to one of the directors,” he said. “We’ll point you in the right direction.”
