Program Overview

The Bloomington Blades Youth Hockey Association (BBYHA) is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that operates a youth ice hockey program serving the city of Bloomington and the surrounding counties of Monroe, Morgan, Lawrence, Owen, and Greene. The BBYHA is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and relies upon the support of many volunteer coaches and parents. If you would like to volunteer your services, please contact one of our Board members.

The BBYHA provides an equal opportunity for all children to play organized hockey. Our mission is “to provide a means whereby children ages 4-14 may play the game of ice hockey in a competitive, organized manner, under the instruction and supervision of qualified coaches; and, to aid these children to develop athletic skills, a sense of citizenship, sportsmanship, and fair play.” Emphasis by the coaching staff is on teaching, educating, and developing ice hockey skills in all the players.

A small, but growing organization, the quality of play exhibited by BBYHA teams, at all levels, is/has been outstanding for several years. Last season, each of our teams were champions at the November Evansville Big Bear Tournament; our Bantam’s won Buckeye Travel Hockey League (BTHL) regular season championship; our PeeWee’s finished second in the BTHL, Lower Division, End of Season Tournament; our Squirt’s finished second in the BTHL, West Division, during the regular season; and our Mites fought hard, developed skills, and had a lot of fun all season long.

All BBYHA players must be a registered member of USA Hockey, and all BBYHA U12 and below players must be registered with the City of Bloomington House Hockey program before they participate on the ice with the BBYHA.

Good Evening Blades Families,

I hope everyone has had a safe summer and is excited for the return to Blades Hockey in 5 days!  This email will provide you with some of the season info I'm sure you all need to plug-in to your fall calendar. 

Practice Schedule:

The practice is scheduled to start on 11 August at the Hamilton Ice Arena in Columbus, IN. Our Squirts are on the ice from 5:45-6:45 PM; our PeeWees are on the ice from 7:00-8:00 PM - 8:00 PM; and, our Bantams are on the ice from 8:15 PM - 9:15 PM. The remainder of our practice schedule is on our new website, under the Calendar tab, at https://www.bloomingtonblades.com/, and our new SportsEngine app.

 To get on the ice your player must be registered, which can be done through our website under the registration tab; additionally, the BBYHA has developed a COVID-19 Liability Waiver which must be filled out. When arriving at the Hamilton Ice Arena, please arrive 20-30 minutes early as we will be conducting a temperature check of our players prior to entering the facility. Also, please have your player arrive as dressed as is practical, wearing a face covering, as we will be dressing in the lobby and not using the locker rooms. With regard to practices, and in an effort to control players' germ-circles, practices will be designed to do our best to maintain social distancing when possible. Last but not least, there are a number of items listed in our Return to Play Guidelines, specifically items 3-10 in the guidelines for players, parents and coaches which must be adhered to. Please review all the protocols for players, parents and coaches to help us stay in compliance.

COVID-19 Protocols:

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic remains an evolving situation. The Bloomington Blades Youth Hockey Association’s (BBYHA) top priority is, and will remain, ensuring the health and safety of our players, staff, families, as well as that of anyone attending our practices and games.

The BBYHA, like each of you, has been monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March. In early May, we proactively established a COVID committee to identify any modifications and accommodations which would be required to support the upcoming hockey season. The COVID committee’s initial product has been available for review for the past two weeks, however, as COVID-19 remains an ever-evolving challenge, we have, and will continue, to partner with the Bloomington Blades High School Hockey Association, the City of Bloomington, the State of Indiana, USA Hockey and Mid-AM in order to do our best to create reasonable and understandable guidelines for the good of the organization. As updates emerge, details of the BBYHA Return to Play Guidelines are subject to change. If/when updates occur, they will be posted on the BBYHA website, and/or e-mailed to you via the SportsEngine app.

 SportsEngine:

This summer, the BBYHA developed a new, SportsEngine based web site. The SportsEngine team app, which comes with the new website, will be our lifeline to the season for communication and scheduling. Invitations have been sent to all members to set up a SportsEngine account, and a second invitation was sent out for your “Team Page”. Please download the app if you don't have it. You'll be able to view the team roster and soon we'll start adding season information. Here is the link for parents to get more information: https://training-camp.sportngin.com/mobileapp. If there are any issues, please reach out to your respective team manager.

 Season Schedule 

Through many meetings this spring and summer, the BBYHA Board has debated courses of action for the 2020/2021 season. We have considered many things, and are remaining flexible during these uncertain and unpredictable times.

 Traditionally, we are a member of the Buckeye Travel Hockey League (BTHL). The BTHL operates in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia; however, due to COVID-19, the BTHL may not operate as normal. If interstate travel is not permitted by surrounding state and local authorities, the BBYHA has entered into an agreement to play in the newly created, Mid-AM sponsored, Indiana Hockey League.

 The idea of the Indiana Hockey League grew from discussions held within the Indiana Youth Hockey State Committee, and with Mid-AM, on what to do if our traditional travel leagues are canceled, or have limited schedules due to the impacts of COVID-19. So if the BTHL does not play, the Blades will join Columbus, Evansville, South Indy, Indy Fuel, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Dyer, Hammond and Trine in the inaugural season of the Indiana Hockey League. More to follow as it becomes known.

 Conclusion:

It has been challenging year so far, and most likely will remain so; however, I've enjoyed the challenge and I’m looking forward to working with all of you this year. Most importantly though, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with your kids and hopefully help them reach their potential as hockey players. 

 Please feel free to reach out to your team managers, and/or me, if you have any questions.

Semper Fidelis,

Sean