Last month, the Black Biscuit 10U roller hockey team from FishHawk won its second TORHS National Championship in the last three years. The club also claimed the 2019 Beach Bash (Lightning Made Hockey Championship) Championship hosted by the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 2019 regional championship.
The co-ed travel team moved from A to AA last year due to its recent success. Black Biscuit, a hockey equipment and apparel company from Minnesota, is their major sponsor.
The travel program’s spring season got cut short due to COVID-19, but they were able to take their 10U and 14U teams to the nationals on short notice with only two weeks of practice time, thanks to a donation from their newest sponsor, Youth Sports Review.
The program as a whole only competed in three tournaments all year, and they were only able to take two of their usual four teams to nationals because they didn’t have enough notice to raise funds. They are now waiting to hear if the FishHawk rink will open for the upcoming fall season.
The travel program is associated with the recreational FishHawk Roller Hockey League. The co-ed league is now allowing kids from outside of the FishHawk area to join. The recreational league is based on skill level and also introduces the sport of hockey to kids, preparing them for ice hockey and travel hockey if they are interested.
The travel teams are formed through a tryout process. Director of Hockey Operations for South Bay Hockey/FishHawk Hockey Wes Reid is optimistic that the seasons for both the recreational league and travel program will start on time in September.
On top of running the recreational league and travel program, Reid has also started a 501(c) charity about a year ago that outfits kids all over the country with hockey equipment and keeps them involved in the sport by helping pay their tuition. Reid’s goal is to get as much participation in hockey in the Tampa area as possible.
The sport can be very expensive with equipment costs and fees. Reid feels that he is doing his part to help spread the sport throughout Tampa by running this charity, amongst other things. He is starting to see a rise in hockey popularity in the area.
“Once you get that bug, it takes over you,” said Reid. “The community and culture behind hockey is just getting real big down here, and so that’s what I’m trying to do—I’m trying to build that culture that they have up north. I’m trying to bring that down here for the kids that are really involved in hockey; giving them opportunities is what all this stuff is about.”
Reid has aspirations of starting a hockey academy in the future that offers skills programs/clinics. He would also like to form an all-girls team at some point.
For more information, visit FishHawk Roller Hockey League on Facebook. If you would like to give a donation to the charity, contact Wes Reid at wes@FishHawkHockey.com.
