Howard indoor league needs teams
Howard County is offering a special indoor league for club teams this winter and one of the organizers says this is a chance to convince county officials to offer court time for hockey.
“They allowed us to set up this league as a pilot program to gauge the interest in indoor hockey in the area,” wrote Spitfire coach Jim Brown in an email to his fellow club coaches. “Many of you have expressed interest in this concept in general and in this league specifically but no clubs have yet registered. If we do not fill this league, the Howard County officials will not continue to support indoor hockey and will relegate the courts to other sports. We need you to help us make a statement to the county that hockey deserves resources that many other sports already receive.”
The league will be Sunday afternoons or evenings in January and February at the new Meadowbrook recreation center near Ellicott City.
The league has been scheduled to avoid other leagues that run around the region as well as Super Bowl Sunday and the Maryland Club Championships.
The league is designed to better accommodate teams that aren’t as close to Ellicott City, playing fewer dates than a traditional league but more games on game days. The hope is that this will draw club teams from a broader geographic area.
Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Some of the details (download a flier for more, including contact and registration information):
- U14: Team cost is $500, games on Sundays, 4 pm to 6 pm. Dates are Jan. 31, Feb. 14, 21, 28.
- U16: $700, Sundays, 6 pm to 9 pm, Jan. 3, 24, Feb. 21, Feb 28
- U19: $700, Sundays, 6 pm to 9 pm, Jan. 10, 17, 31, Feb. 14
Each date involves multiple games for each team, with a round robin format in pool play. U14: 2 games (3 team-pools); U16/U19: 3 games (4 team-pools)