Hockey is Home
Welcome to our hockey website, Pick Up Sticks Hockey! Our greatest goal is TO GROW THE GAME!! While we will use this site for our own pick up hockey group, we’ve designed this space to help you find or start pickup hockey games in your own neighborhood, too. We’ll also give you resources to keep playing beyond pickup!
Pick Up Sticks Hockey is also the home of the grassroots effort to revitalize and reimagine the dek hockey rink at New Hanover Community Park in Gilbertsville, PA. You may have seen our hockey firecrackers Natalie Van Druff and Lilly Walter on the news as they advocated to keep their beloved rink when it was at risk of being replaced with pickleball (which is already plentiful in our area!).
The really AMAZING news is that the FLYERS CHARITIES caught wind of the girls’ story and loved what they were trying to accomplish AND wanted to be a part of it!!! As it turns out in this incredible hockey rink Cinderella story, the Flyers Charities surprised the girls with a $200,000 check to fully rebuild their rink – including boards, dek tiles, player benches, penalty boxes, a time keeper’s table, and water bottle shelves.
You have to see this video to catch a glimpse of the emotion of all of this!!
We are infinitely thankful to the Flyer Charities, New Hanover Township, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, and to everyone who’s supported, contributed, and believed in this hockey dream.
The girls worked SO hard to fix their beloved rink up for the entire community to enjoy! Back before they knew what the outcome would be, they WROTE and DIRECTED this movie trailer with many of their hockey friends as actors!
For Natalie and Lilly, it may look like this is the perfect and happiest ending! And IT IS!!! And yet, it is also JUST the beginning! The girls have so much positive energy to keep devoting to this space and the cause. They want to continue to GROW THE GAME and bring the joy of hockey to even more people.
If you are interested in sponsoring or helping their cause, please email us at pickupstickshockey@gmail.com! We are saving up for an equipment shed, starter gear, and hockey sticks. We look forward to offering positive instructional play for kids of all ages!
Lilly and Natalie are both students in the Boyertown School District in Pennsylvania. They played for Pottstown PAL and Boyertown Bears Ice Hockey, and Natalie also plays for Pottstown Jesters Travel Ball Hockey and the Jr Flyers U12 all-girls team.
🌐 Find Your Game 🌐
Game On for All Ages and Abilities: No need to warm up the bench – we’d love for you to join pick up games for everyone, coed from kids to seasoned veterans. Age is just a number; playing is what matters. Play at your own level – we often end up playing Adults vs. Kids but we are all about breakout groups by skill and interest, too!
Ladies, Lace Up: Ladies, we’ve got your back. Hockey moms encouraged! Join our dedicated group where you can learn from scratch or showcase your skills in a fun, supportive and stress-free environment. Set the intensity to your desired level and enjoy some playful or competitive ball hockey action.
Create the Pick Up Buzz: Not local to us and can’t find a game nearby? No problem! Be the captain of your own squad. Start a new pickup group, and we’ll give you the playbook to get it going. Reach out with questions!
Grow the Game!
Our greatest goal is to grow the game! Hockey builds such a powerful and beautiful community of people full of heart. The energy is unmatched. And, the benefits of playing hockey stretch far beyond physical – Sure, the exercise is great but you’ll toughen up your mental state, too, while making lifelong friendships.
Burn off some sweets, blow off some steam, and generally have an awesome time with others.
We’re providing some hockey resources to help you connect the dots so you can play pickup regularly in your area. (And maybe try league or tournaments, too. We’ll help connect you where you wanna go!)
Hockey Community & Connections
Join us on our social media pages so you can share your upcoming events, brag on your favorite moves, and discuss strategies for building a successful pick up program.
However you’ve found us, we’re glad you’re here!
For the record, you can also find us at:
Pick Up Sticks Hockey Substack
Pick Up Sticks Hockey Page on Facebook
Scheduling:
Pickup Sticks Hockey – Coed Kids & Adults Pickup Ball Hockey (Montco Berks)
Pick Up Sticks Hockey Meetups on Whatsapp
(But trust us on subscribing! We have a TON of fun hockey ideas and don’t want you to miss a THING!)
One of our future visions involves fun scrimmages *between* different pickup squads! The connections and challenges are limitless. Let’s all get connected and grow our sport!!
Next Level Stuff
Okay so you love hockey and pickup only whets your appetite – we get it!!! We promise to make it super easy to find out where to play next once you’re ready to add in a little more spice like league play and hockey tournaments. Have we mentioned destination hockey?!
⚡ Ready to Roll? Start Playing Hockey! ⚡
So gather your gear, locate a group or a game, and let the ball drop on your next hockey adventure.
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