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Just Kidding Around

By Harry Thompson, 01/23/25, 8:30AM EST

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Youth Hockey Teams Aren’t Willing To Let The Adults Have All The Fun At Pond Fest

“Back in my day,” is one of those expressions that usually precedes a flood of dusty memories of a bygone era when things were simpler, and better, at least in the eye of the beholder. 

For many adult hockey players, the “good old days” includes recollections of the unfettered fun they had skating on frozen ponds and lakes, when the light in the sky was the only clock that mattered and success was measured by how much fun you had with friends.

A number of organizations, including USA Hockey and the NHL, have looked to bring the game back to its roots by hosting outdoor events, usually in parts of the country where the weather is still conducive with creating safe and skateable ice.

Binghamton is one of those places where for the past eight years organizers of the annual Pond Hockey Fest have been welcoming adult hockey players to Chenango Valley State Park to return to their youthful roots over the course of two frozen weekends with a pair of 3-on-3 hockey tournaments.

Rather than just letting the adults have all the fun, organizers have also carved out a special weekend where kids can discover the joy of skating in the great outdoors, surrounded by stately pine trees and unfettered by the rules and rigors of organized youth hockey. This is their turn to make memories that will last a lifetime.

“There’s no pressure for the kids. They can just go out there and go play,” says Tytus Haller, the driving force behind Binghamton’s Pond Hockey Fest. “Given how busy life is right now for a lot of families, giving their kids the opportunity to do something that’s free flowing lets them embrace a love or a passion that they have for the sport and go out there and have fun. 

“There’s a real value in that. You see their excitement and their happiness and their smiles every single year. And once we get done with the kids’ weekend, I get hit with emails and texts and other stuff from people that came and just how their kids can’t stop talking about weekend they had and what a great time they had.” 

This year Kids’ Weekend runs Jan. 24 to 26, with games starting on Friday evening and running through Sunday. This year’s roster of teams includes 20 teams in the 8 & Under level, 23 at the 10U/12U level and five at the 14U/16U division. Most come from surrounding towns but there are the occasional teams from as far away as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with even one from Dallas making the trek to the Northwoods.

Each team is guaranteed at least three one-hour games over the course weekend. Organizers recommend keeping rosters to around nine players every kid gets plenty of ice time. Haller and his crew try to schedule games so that every team has an opportunity to skate under the lights. 

There are no goalies allowed since the nets consists of two small pockets at each end of a four-foot bar. Rather than keep goalies on the sidelines, Haller encourages them to skate out with their teammates, a move that has proven quite popular with many netminders.

There are no scoreboards or tournament standings posted around the rinks. The goal is to have fun and enjoy the experience of skating outdoors, two concepts that are foreign these days in the landscape of competitive youth sports.

“Despite a lot of complaints from certain people, this is not a tournament,” Haller says. “We don’t even put out our scoreboards for the Kids’ weekend. We do the best that we can to align the teams to be as relative to each other as we can then at least nobody’s going to be embarrassed for the score being posted or a tournament structure. 

“What I found in talking to a lot of parents and kids, too, is they really enjoy the event because it breaks up the season with something that’s not all about who won the game. The people that have the biggest issue with that tend to be the parents and the coaches. But for the kids, they love it.”

The action stops on Saturday as organizers team up with the South Tier Hockey Association to host a Try Hockey for Free event that has been wildly successful. The NYSAHA’s Central Section brings its equipment trailer to the event to provide youngsters with all the protective gear they’ll need to safely enjoy their first time on the ice.

“The last few years we’ve run out of equipment because we’ve had so many kids show up, which is a great problem to have,” says Haller, who manages to find time in his busy day to help coach his son’s 8U team. 

“I think it’s significantly helping our youth hockey. Our numbers are rebounding significantly locally, which is really good. I think it’s fair to say that this has played a role in it because it’s kind of made it more mainstream and cooler.”

Some families embrace the opportunity, while others would just as soon retreat to the cozy confines of an indoor ice rink with its warm lobby and concession stands.

“Right away some parents say, ‘oh my gosh, this is awesome,’ and nostalgia kicks in for them. And you have other parents that show up and they’re kind of like, ‘Why am I outside in the middle of January?’” Haller says with a laugh. “But their kids are just eyes wide open, losing their minds at the idea of being able to play outside.”

One key to their success is never being satisfied with the status quo and always looking for new ways to make things fun for kids, and adults. In addition to the hockey, there are plenty of games for kids, including laser tag and a bungee swing. For adults, there are plenty of refreshments and warming buses, courtesy of the local transportation department. 

 

The event has continuously grown over the years despite the fact that the group does almost no advertising except for creating a few posts for their social media pages. Still, events are quick to sell out not only with hockey players and teams but with those in the community looking to enjoy a weekend with friends in a picturesque setting.

“We keep looking at how can we create additional components around the hockey to engage the community and create an environment of good vibes where people want to come and hang out,” says Haller, who is proud of how his Binghamton neighbors are willing to withstand the cold.

“Last year we saw the forecast calling for a polar vortex to hit the area during Kids’ Weekend. The high temperature was zero degrees. and I was like, what are we going to do? Everybody’s going to lose their minds. They’re not going to want their kids out there. I’m not kidding, we had 5,000 people in that park that day. I was standing with one of my buddies and thinking, ‘It’s amazing that we can create an event that can survive a zero-degree high in an area and people came out and loved it.”