Minnesota Hockey Journal

16 M H J ON L I N E . C O M | J A N / F E B 2 0 2 6 affiliate—the 'Mirage,' a collaboration of Proctor, Hermantown and Twig)—it's about as grassroots as a hockey association can get. "There are few people that actually have a Twig address, we've got a gas station and an outdoor hockey rink," said Seguin. "My fond- est memories as a kid are freezing my toes off on the ice with my buddies. Growing up, you'd get dropped off at the rink in the morn- ing, play puck all day and then get picked up at dark. There wasn't much else to do." TAHA serves mainly rural hockey families from Twig and neighboring communities, including the combined school district bound- aries of Pike Lake Elementary and South Ridge Secondary School. Twig players typical- ly play with TAHA through Squirts, then move on to higher level teams in Proctor. "We try to provide a place where kids can play for the pure joy of hockey, building memories, friendships and traditions that last a lifetime," said Seguin. "Without the frills and training facilities of bigger pro- grams, we're proud that families have cho- sen to call Twig hockey home. We've seen four generations of families skating on our rinks. We take pride in our roots, where the focus is on fun, hard work and a shared love of the game." GROWING THE GAME Of course, as in most of the state's smaller hockey communities, there are inherent challenges to overcome. With such a small pool of potential players, TAHA, with support from the community, has put sig- nificant effort into player recruitment and retention efforts. In addition to Learn to Skate, other ways TAHA works to make the playing experi- ence easier and more affordable for families is offering Try Hockey for Free, first year free, financial assistance for families that need help, used gear, and providing things like free snacks and hot chocolate. These initiatives have helped drive awareness for the program. One positive result: 37 kids have signed up for Learn to Skate this year. " We've made a big push to invest in the next generation of skaters in Twig," Seguin said. "Our goal is to try and affil- iate ice with fun. We're playing music, blowing up balloons, bubble machines, toy trucks. You name it, we're going to try it. Later in the year, we will try to incor- porate more fundamentals, but right now it's about playing and trying to move on the ice." To say the Twig community goes the extra mile is an understatement. From Twig Days, an annual tournament that has Photos / Twig Amateur Hockey Association Twig Hockey is Twig Hockey is committed to growing committed to growing the game with Learn to the game with Learn to Skate, first year free, Skate, first year free, financial assistance, financial assistance, used gear and more. used gear and more. There are few people that actually have a Twig address, we've got a gas station and an outdoor hockey rink." —John Seguin, president of the Twig Amateur Hockey Association (TAHA)

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