We hit 125 players (out of 150) yesterday! In fact, yesterday was so busy, we’re up to 129 at the time of writing this email. We’ve got a lot of players – the recruiting team is working hard to make sure we have enough goalies for next season.
In order to play next season, you have to register for USA hockey!
https://www.madisongayhockey.org/usa-hockey-registration-2016/
New folks have already gotten this link, but as a reminder for returning players – don’t forget to register!
For liability reasons, all players must register with USA Hockey.
Registration covers one year of play (September 1 to August 31).
IMPORTANT: You will NOT be allowed to step on the ice at a MGHA skills clinic, practice, scrimmage, game, etc., without being registered with USA Hockey.
How to Register with USA Hockey
MGHA needs the entire email in order to scan the bar code and register you with our league.
Note: If you play in more than one league, you only need to register with USA Hockey once per season.
Today is the final day to secure your spot in the league for the next season! You have until the end-of-day today to submit your deposit or talk to Shelly.
Today is ALSO the day where we have hit 100 players joining us next season. There are 50 spots left.
What Gay Hockey Means to Me
By Kelly Bass
I’ve spent many of my 31 years just existing. There have definitely been times when I’ve felt like I was actively living, but until fairly recently, those moments weren’t the norm. Then, in August of 2015, I joined the MGHA and started living on a full time basis.
The beginning of 2015 was a rough time for me. I was unemployed, living in the house I grew up in, and feeling almost completely aimless. The profession I’d thought I’d spend the rest of my life doing had fizzled spectacularly. I was marathoning 90’s TV shows on Netflix and spending hours scrolling through online job postings. After weeks of increasingly lethal cabin fever, I started taking a lot of really long walks. Being active helped, and I began to think of ways I might supplement those walks.
I’d heard of Madison’s gay hockey league; it’s nearly impossible to identify as gay in Madison and not know about it in some capacity. It wasn’t until I sent a mildly inquisitive Facebook message to a friend who played with the league that I actually considered playing a possibility. The response I received was almost immediate and ridiculously encouraging: “Yes. It’s great. Go sign up. Do it now.” I responded with a noncommittal “I’ll have a look at the site.” Five minutes later, my phone buzzed. “Did you sign up yet?” So I did. I took a survey, got accepted, was assigned a mentor, and bought a carload (no joke – I drive a Civic) of equipment. Presto: instant hockey player. Right.
There aren’t really words to explain the level of anxiety I felt in the weeks leading up to orientation and the skills clinics. I’d skated before, but had never done so while wielding a hockey stick and covered head to toe in protective gear. I’m also a card-carrying introvert, and meeting new people has always been stressful.
On the day of the first clinic, I knew exactly one person who’d be in attendance: my league-assigned mentor (who, by the way, is awesome). What I realized very quickly, though, was that a small part of me already knew a small part of almost everyone else there. While I would never in a million years presume to say I know all of their stories, I began to recognize myelf in a lot of the faces in attendance. For the first time in my life (other than when I was with my family), I felt like I belonged somewhere. I didn’t have to hide or apologize for who I was, I wasn’t self-conscious about my abilities, and I was able to contribute in a meaningful way.
As the season progressed, I got my feet under me both literally and figuratively. My skating improved. I learned about positioning, puck handling, and, finally (with much good-natured, shouted warnings from nearly everyone on the ice), how to not be offsides all the time. Buffeted by the unconditional support and encouragement from my amazing teammates, my self-confidence improved markedly. People outside of the league noticed changes in the way I carried myself. My siblings, who initially thought my announced intention to join the league was facetious, couldn’t stop talking about how fun it was to watch the games. My personal thought on this is that observing so many happy people play hockey together can’t be anything but fun.
My experience with the league has given me so many things that are both tangible and not. It changed me physically, as exercise tends to. It’s made me feel more comfortable in my own skin. It’s made me feel more comfortable inside my own head. When I leave the rink as a sweaty, exhausted mess on Sunday nights, it still feels like I’ve just recharged. I’ve made excellent friends with truly remarkable people. I fell in love with an amazing woman. There aren’t many aspects of my life that haven’t changed as a direct result of my MGHA involvement.
Joining the league was one of the most impulsive, out-of-my-comfort-zone decisions I’ve ever made, but I can’t emphasize enough how happy I am that I made it. Living is pretty great.
Player deposit for next season is now available. The deposit is $75 dollars and due by the end of the business day on Monday, June 27. After that, returning players will be treated as new recruits. If you are unable to pay the deposit by June 27th but intend to play with us next year, please contact Shelly (treasurer@madisongayhockey.org) ASAP.
As a reminder, we will be maintaining 10 teams and expect to fill up. In following with our mission statement, in recruiting and in accepting new players, we will prioritize members of the LGBTQ+ community and other groups with historically limited access to hockey.
As a reminder, we will be sending announcements for when we have 100 players, 125 players, and a full roster.
Looking forward to next season with y’all,
-Recruitment team and MGHA board
The MGHA is hoping to form a team for the upcoming Boston Pride Hockey Summer Classic Tournament, August 19th – 21st.
Cost is $150 until June 17th so sign up today & email Christina or Tylor with any questions.
The new board worked to establish their new roles along with a basic breakdown of responsibilities. We figure the bulk of items will be covered by these areas. If others spring up, we’ll tackle them on a one-by-one basis.
We’ll be there and will be using a special online form to collect contact information for recruiting.
We’ve decided to use Trello to keep the board organized and on task. Hopefully this will help us stay on task and keep the season running smoothly.
A lot of crucial information will be figured out during the workgroup on Sunday, June 5th. We’ll work through a lot of hockey operations items during this session.
A winner of the essay contest will be chosen soon. Stay tuned!
Watch your inbox for the end-of-season survey. We’re working on some final touches and will be getting that out soon.
For the Laughs
I grew up in Texas, a place where football is famously king. Sports in my mind were the height of machismo culture: bigger and stronger meant better, “you got to hit somebody,” and athleticism and hand-eye coordination were essential. The idea of sports was always off-putting to the stereotypical science nerd, choir boy, and boy scout. When my circle of gay friends and I were asked about sports, the conversation usually went something like this
“So, what did you think of the Lakers last night?” ”I don’t know. I heard they beat the Yankees in the Super Bowl, but I don’t really follow soccer, so I could be wrong.” A few years later when I made it to graduate school in chemistry, still singing, and enjoying yoga when I could attend, I had someone propose I take up ice hockey. The idea was laughable. Looking back, I still laugh not only because a person like me loves hockey but also because the idea that anything else would happen was silly.
To be fair, I had reason to believe joining an ice hockey league was a foolish idea for me. It is the sport with the highest rate of concussions, probably partially because it is one of the only sports where fighting is latently encouraged. I joined the MGHA because a friend convinced me to join. The first thing I was told and reminded was that MGHA was a no-check league and that having fun and taking care of one another was always the first priority. Was I terrible at the start? They put a gay Texan on ice skates and gave him a stick. Of course, comedic folly ensued. The only way I knew how to stop was running into a wall. However, all I was given was encouragement and ways to improve. The encouragement was so strong and my desire to improve for myself and my team so great that I jumped into extra practice by myself or in groups over lunch breaks and weekends.
By the time I started with the MGHA, work as a graduate student including large amounts of travel, had removed my strong sense of self and left me with no place that felt like home. Within a couple weeks, I was showing up hours early to games. Hartmeyer became my second home because I was always welcomed and nurtured as family. Hockey was my means of self-improvement and where I could encourage and be encouraged by others. By the end of the season, my team captains declared me most improved. They said it with pride in their eyes.
Do I still fall? Yes, I still fall almost every game chasing a puck like a dog after a car. I laugh every time I do. I know it is right to be happy in that moment for my team and I will make that into a learning experience too. I laugh because it gives me the boisterous energy to get back up just as MGHA gives me the boisterous energy to be myself on and off the ice.
My name is Thomas Dougherty, but to the league I’m known as Tommy, Xena, and Warrior Prince. I’m 22 years old, and I identify as gay/pansexual. In 2013, I moved to Madison, Wisconsin from New York.
Hockey has always been a part of my life ever sense I was really young. When I was 11 years old my uncle Bobby would take me to the New Jersey Devils games so frequently that the Meadowlands Sports Complex became a place that I started to consider a second home. In 2003, I witnessed the Devils defeat The Mighty Ducks and win the Stanley Cup. It was also the day I got to meet one of my idols Martin Broduer and told him that he is the reason I am learning how to be a goalie.
In 2005, my family sent me to Westchester Skating Academy. It was there I played with my first team and learned how to skate better. With my persistence, I learned how to become a goalie even at a camp based around being a player. After graduation from WSA in 2006, I attended a summer program with Army Hockey Camp. Which was hell on ice, intense training for 6 weeks. Eventually, money got tight, and I could no longer afford new equipment, so hockey had to be put on hold.
2012 happened to be one of the toughest and most challenging years of my life so far. After graduating in 2011 from Red Hook High School, located in Red Hook, NY. I moved out of my aunt’s and moved out on my own and started attending SUNY Ulster Community College. I was the only kid in my first year that was taking 18 credits, having class Monday through Friday 7 am to 7 pm, while trying to keep a job, pay my bills, and do my homework. I started to break down, and by the end of my first semester of college, I was at my breaking point, which ended with me in a hospital for 3 months, causing me to withdraw from college. During my hospital stay, my mother had gotten arrested, which I discovered by her photo being front page of the newspaper. Following that, 3 weeks later, my stepfather of 16 years had passed away. Despite all the obstacles that were thrown at me, I continued to try to get a grasp on my life while maintaining happiness.
When 2013 came around, I basically lived with my best friend Kyle. I was a cart pusher for Wal-Mart (WORST JOB EVER). Kyle told me that he was planning on moving to Florida in May of 2013. During the same time, our close friend George and his boyfriend Michael were moving to Madison, WI., which left me wondering what I was going to do with my life. The only opinion I felt feasible was to live out of my car, until I found a place to live. Well, as my best friends, they weren’t going to allow that. Kyle ended up deciding to move with George and Michael, to Madison, and told me I had no choice that I was moving with them and that I had two weeks to pack my things. After 23 hours, with a U-haul and my car attached to the back of it, here I am. I walk into the door to our new apartment with tears of joy.
Being I was new to the area and single, I downloaded the app Grindr, trying to get an understanding about the gay community out here. Patrick Farabaugh contacted me asking if I was interested in playing for the Madison Gay Hockey Association. I was very skeptical when he asked me to meet him for coffee at first. For one, I’m talking to someone on Grindr about signing up for a sports league? When I finally met up with Patrick, my first response was “darn it sounds like a lot of fun, but sadly I have absolutely no money.” After reassuring me that there was a scholarship that would cover the cost of my equipment and physically taking me to get my equipment, I started thinking that this would actually work, and the excitement of me actually playing hockey again became real.
I remember the first day I entered our first practice at Hartmeyer Ice Arena walking in to the locker room not knowing anyone and having to remember how to put my goalie pads on by myself. I remember looking around the locker room as everyone was getting his or her gear on perfectly well, saying to myself “Pull yourself together Tom.” I remember having issues putting on my leg pads by myself, and the person next to me (Sebastian Renfield) saw that I was struggling and offered to help me put on my pads. When I finally made it out on the ice and met everyone I felt instantly welcomed into the group with open arms.
When people ask me to describe what MGHA is the best and only description I have is we are a family that gets together every Sunday to play hockey and encourage each other to strive to do better. There is no judgment. If you fall, you fall; no one will judge you because at one point in the league they were just like you. Then I get the questions like “ Why Gay hockey? What makes it Gay?” Well, I can tell you, we don’t prance around in tights and sing Kumbaya, though if you want to you are more then welcome to… just not during a game.Sorry. Why gay hockey? The word Gay in the MGHA is to show community and acceptance. “Does that mean you only have to be Gay to play on the league?” No, there are plenty of straight allies, along with many different sexual orientations and the league welcomes all genders. We are a group of people that accept equality, and we leave discrimination and ridicule outside the safety zone. What makes it gay? -A bunch of gay jokes, jokes about goalie’s butts in the air all the time, listening to Lady Gaga and Madonna playing over the loud speakers, to me running around doing my Xena Warrior Princess battle cry on the ice. But seriously, we aren’t playing a different sport, we are playing hockey by the same rules. We just make it equal for everyone to have a fun time, not lose any teeth, and certainly, so everyone can have a great time and have fun.
MGHA is stability and it is also a community family that brings everyone together. The only thing is, you get what you put into it, if you just show up for the games and leave, and show no interest in getting to know the other players you wont actually get the full experience. Honestly you will be missing out. Which would be really sad. If you’re questioning if the MGHA is for you, the real question, what are you afraid of? We are here to welcome you with open arms.
This season was my second season with the Madison Gay Hockey Association, it has given me the ability to open up and create an escape from the four jobs I have. I love playing hockey and I love my new family more and more every day.
My name is Thomas Dougherty, I’m a goalie for Blue Bayou, Don’t Ask Don’t Teal. For my family the Madison Gay Hockey Association. My new home in Hartmeyer Ice Arena. I’m a Warrior Prince. I was also a winner of The MGHA All The Way for 2014-2015. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to sign up and join my family!
Thank You For Reading
– Tommy
Oh boy, where to begin. Never before has a split second decision in the middle of the night turn out so well for me before. I had an appointment with my therapist earlier that day and she had suggested that I sign up for gay hockey for at least a month. I had been scrolling through the website for hours before I decided to send a message to the league on Facebook. I was very nervous to say the least. I have never been the most athletic or the one to fit in, I left that to my older brother.
Anyways, I will never forget the new member meeting. I had been emailing my mentor and I had just met her that day. As I sat on the grass outside of the Hartmeyer with the league, we talked about all of the different gender identities and how to be inclusive and respectful. I knew I had found the right group. I had just recently come out and started hormones earlier that year. I had lost so much and I was angry. I went into the league as an angry and scared boy.
As the season went on, I started becoming stressed. My work life, home life, and family life were bringing me down as the sun started not shining as much. I have always felt alone and I thought I still was. I had tried something drastic that failed. When I returned to the league, I was met with overwhelming hugs and love. I realized that I had a family.
I still had my moments of doubt. I was a slow skater, I couldn’t handle a puck to save my life, and I never realized that my shift lasted longer than I was supposed to. Despite all that, I never felt as free as when I was on the ice. The cold air in my lungs, my feet hurting in my skates, and my helmet squeezing my glasses into the sides of my head all seem like they should feel unpleasant. But soon those feelings became feelings of life. I was alive on the ice.
I went into the league as a scared, angry boy with no sense of community and I came out as a whole different guy. Do I still have doubts and fears? Yes. But I don’t feel alone anymore because I know that I am not. Through encouragement on and off the ice, I made amazing friendships and realized how much I can accomplish. I just want to give all of my thanks to the MGHA for the patience and kindness that they have given me.