This season, the Pikes Peak Catamounts have a new teammate thanks to The USA Hockey Foundation’s Hockey Hispana Fund.
The grant, which was established in 2021 by The USA Hockey Foundation, provides grant awards to 8U and 10U Latina hockey players who are registered with associations in Colorado.
The Catamounts’ treasurer, Patrick Polk, said one of this year’s recipients has joined the program’s 10U team, allowing them an opportunity to enjoy playing hockey in an accessible manor. With the Catamounts being a smaller youth hockey organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the program welcomes newcomers with open arms.
Started by coach Jimmy Dawson, the fund seeks to make hockey more inclusive for young Latina girls just starting out in the sport at the early youth levels.
“Hockey is the greatest sport on earth, but it can be pretty expensive, so I wanted to set aside a trust,” Dawson said in an interview with USA Hockey in 2022. “It’s worth investing in and is a great cause.”
At the time, Dawson organized a planned gift so that the grant awards would be able to continue long into the future.
Two players receive the fund each year, this year a player with the Catamounts, as well as the Pueblo Bulls, were the recipients in 2024.
According to Clint Barden, Pikes Peak’s current hockey director, the Catamounts exist to provide a positive and attentive experience for all players.
“We want to be the outlet for people that just enjoy the game, they just want to play hockey, grow, and have those friendships that develop through youth sports,” Barden said.
The Catamounts are primarily run by the families of players either currently taking the ice as Pikes Peak players or those who have been connected with the program over the past 12 years of its existence.
Originally founded in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, by former Boston Bruin Tim Thomas and his brother-in-law, the Catamounts program is going on 12 years now, according to Barden.
Barden is a firm believer in the Catamounts’ mission of “making memories for the kids” ever since getting involved nine years ago when his son, Easton, was 4 years old.
Most of the organization’s coaches are also board members who are parents with children either currently or formerly playing in the green and gold Pikes Peak sweaters.
Some of the team’s current coaches are Catamount alumni who enjoyed their youth experience so much that they came back to coach the next generation, instilling the same love of hockey that they found while playing in the program.
“We’re a small organization, one or two teams at each age level,” Barden said. “No one is here to make a dollar. It’s all truly run by the individual families. We’re all about growing the game and it is 100% about the kids.”
For a nonprofit organization like the Catamounts, the experience is more about making the sport of hockey available to as many interested kids as possible — and making sure to grow the love of the sport within them through positive experiences.
“It’s all about making memories for the kids; getting those kids to really remember the good times,” Barden concluded. “Looking back, I don’t think any of us really remember the scores of the games we played, but we remember the times hanging out with our buddies and having a good time.
“We want to help the kids build those memories through the sport of hockey and help raise good, young human beings. We are able to do that because we are so small, we can really commit the time to each individual child.”
MORE ABOUT THE HOCKEY HISPANA FUND
Grant awards for the Hockey Hispana Fund are used for individual player registration and membership fees, along with funds for hockey equipment.
Individuals applying for the grant must be USA Hockey registered and the deadline to apply each year is July 1.
For questions, or if you would like to donate to the Hockey Hispana Fund, please contact Sheila May at 719-538-1107 or email sheilam@usahockey.org.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
