The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 35 | Friday, September 9, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" MOHA attracting smallest skaters Minor Oaks Hockey Association offers new Jr.Timbits and pre-tyke programs, lowers prices and deals on equipment to first-timers By Kevin Nagel Beaver sports editor The Minor Oaks Hockey Association hopes to answer the needs of its clients -- hockey parents and players -- by introducing and tweeking programs for the 2016-17 season. An initiation program that encompasses three distinct components is being offered to get youngsters on the ice at a discounted price. "We've taken all the feedback from the parents in (the 4-6) age group," MOHA initiation program vice-president Ann Legault said, "and have come up with a new structure." The most obvious change is the inclusion of Jr. Timbits, a program that gets four-yearolds involved in MOHA play for the first time. "It's geared to kids born in 2012," Legault. "We've never had four-year-olds in our program before." Hockey schools and some other sports have programs for that age group and MOHA found that hockey parents sometimes decided to register their four-year-olds out of town. Jr. Timbits is one-day-a-week cross-ice program. Mike Henderson, who runs Henderson Hockey Training, has worked with MOHA and the initiation program for the past two years, preparing weekly lesson plans based on kids' particular skill levels. Legault stresses that the contributions of Whether it's waiting for the Zamboni to finish flooding the ice (right) or chasing the puck (above), Jr. Timbits players have fun in the one-day a week program. Jr. Timbits is being offered by the Minor Oaks Hockey Association for the first time this season.| photos submitted volunteer coaches are much appreciated, but bringing in a head instructor takes the headache of lesson planning away from coaches and "keeps everyone on the same page." Henderson's duties will be expanded this season to include Jr. Timbits teams as well. The initiation program uses traditional cross-ice practices, but parent feedback has resulted in the introduction of a pre-tyke program for the most experienced five- and six-year-old skaters who will play on full ice. Making hockey participation less expensive All players are evaluated on their skating and placed at the appropriate level. Five and six year olds are evaluated Sept. 24 while Jr. Timbits players are evaluated the Oct. 15-16 weekend. The expense of playing hockey has long been a concern of parents. MOHA, in response, has lowered its fees and also offers an equipment purchase pack- age to entice new players to try the sport. The 20-week Jr. Timbits program costs $249 while the initiation program for 5-6 year olds costs $375 for the season. Kids chosen for the pre-tyke division pay an additional $200 to account for higher costs associated with hiring game officials and using the full ice surface. A full-equipment package is offered to first-time participants six and under. For the $99 cost it has everything needed to play hockey including shoulder, neck, mouth and shin protection, helmet, hockey bag, pants, skates, jock, stick and tape. The equipment, bought separately, according to Legault, would be more than $300. There is also a smaller package available at $49 that includes the above equipment minus the skates, stick and helmet. Parents who take advantage of the offer will have their kids visit the North Service Road location of Corbett's Source for Sports on one of three fitting days. "They basically walk from station to station and get fitted to make sure they have equipment that fits," said Legault. "When they walk out of there, they're ready to play hockey." After MOHA watched its numbers drop in the 5-6-year-old age groups in recent years, new measures to draw young players have had the desired effect. The program had fewer than 200 kids two years ago but last year reached 300-plus. With this year's addition of four Jr. Timbits team, the numbers for 2016-17 will be even higher. There are 16 cross-ice teams and six pre-tyke teams slotted for the coming season. "We're definitely listening to what our customers are asking," Legault said. "I think having these three different programs will allow us to answer the needs of the community." Registration forms are available at www. moha.ca. MOHA's annual skate, equipment sale Saturday Still time to register for recreational, The Minor Oaks Hockey Association's annual skate and equipment sale offers hockey families to buy, sell and donate gently used hockey gear. MOHA, with the help of the Town of Oakville, which is donating the use of Oakville Arena for the event, is holding the sale on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 9 a.m.noon. at the 133 Rebecca St. facility. The cash-only event offers skates, shin pads, hockey pants and elbow and shoulder pads along with goalie gear, sticks, jerseys and other paraphernalia. Skates and equipment can be dropped off Thursday, Sept. 8 and Friday, Sept. 9 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the arena. Only items in good condition are accepted; organizers reserve the right to decline any equipment that does not meet their standards. Helmets and jocks/jills cannot be accepted for sale. A $2 processing fee is placed on each item and equipment experts will help sellers price their items for sale. Everything is sold on a consignment basis, with a percentage of the proceeds going to help support local hockey programs. Unsold items must be claimed after the sale (between 1-3 p.m.), or they'll be donated or discarded. The sale is a good opportunity to exchange gear children have outgrown for equipment that fits. It's also a way to contribute to Oakville's hockey community. Unsold equipment will be given to children's programs to support the need for hockey equipment. non-contact men's hockey league Registration is open for the Oakville and Halton Men's Non-Contact Recreational Hockey League fall and winter season beginning in October. The league provides divisions for oldtimers players (27-plus), a masters division (40-plus), and a classics division (47-plus). To register or obtain more information, visit www.hmhl.bizland.com or phone at 905-849-9712. No complete team entries are allowed -- only individual or group registration. The league takes extensive measures to balance teams for competitive play. All games are played in prime time on a player's choice of Sunday mornings, Monday evenings or Wednesday evenings.