Come play hockey with Hockey North America!

As you sit here on your couch this day after Christmas, probably picking at leftovers and watching World Juniors, maybe you find yourself wondering: could I ever do this thing? Could I ever be as awesome in goal as Jon Gillies, or skate with the fluidity and speed of great American and Massachusetts native Matt Grzelcyk?

The answer is: probably not. But you sure can try!

Hockey North America's beginner program starts up soon. It's a 17-week program, with eight weeks of learning followed by eight weeks of actual games against other novice players (last year's beginners included, and then playoffs). Whether you're new to skating or you just want to work on hockey fundamentals before getting a leg in the door of a local d-league, this program is great. I did it three years ago, and will be doing it again this year.

You can check out their website about the program here, which includes contact information for getting details about this specific session.

Orientation will be January 2nd, at 8PM at RISTUCCIA ARENA in Wilmington. At Orientation, HNA staff will discuss the full details of the program, talk about the history of the program and go into details about program goals. It's likely that sessions will run on Monday nights; in past years they've been held in Wilmington and Arlington, but details will be provided at orientation.

The ultimate goal is to get people comfortable skating in full equipment and learn the basics of team hockey play and individual positional hockey play.

Mike Connors, who runs this program, proves that the results are pretty darn good: "I went through the beginner program in 1985, and I've been managing the program since 1994. I was a really good street hockey player but I couldn't skate."

So, hope to see you out there on January 2!