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Ball hockey comes to Vilcabamba!

Whether you are an ex-pat who already has a love for hockey, or are just someone who craves a little competition, exercise and camaraderie in a fun and welcoming environment then ball hockey could be for you! 
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What is "Ball" Hockey? 

For those that have never heard of ball hockey you can watch these videos to see what it looks like at the highest levels. Don't worry though this is not the level of competition that beginner players will find at Vilca Hockey. Basically ball hockey is played just like ice hockey except it is played on a concrete floor in running shoes instead of ice skates. It is played with two teams consisting of five players and one goaltender per team trying to score on goals similar to soccer goals except much smaller. There are modified versions that can be played if there are less players or in smaller venues. It is not played with full contact but there can be some slight physical contact like you'd expect in sports like basketball or soccer. 

but I've Never played hockey before?

No problem, Vilca Hockey is a friendly and welcoming environment for beginners to learn this new sport. Each session will begin with practice drills to work on basic skills and also to familiarize everyone with the rules, positions and game strategy. The culture of Vilca Hockey revolves around camaraderie and encouragement for new members to have fun, build skills, and gain confidence in a team environment. Since hockey is a team sport there is room for players of all shapes, sizes, and skill levels to have fun and contribute in their own way.

Equipment required?

Vilca Hockey provides all of the necessary equipment including hockey sticks, goals, official hockey balls and goaltender equipment. The only things necessary to bring are running shoes and comfortable athletic wear of your choosing. Optional pieces of equipment that are not included are helmets/facemasks, mouth guard, protective gloves, jock strap/cup, shin pads, knee pads, and elbow pads. Generally these extra pieces of equipment are not required in no-contact ball hockey.

Patrick Glenday

Founder

I am a local ex-pat homesteader living on a small farm near Yangana. I am originally from Alberta, Canada but me and my family moved to this area permanently 2 years ago. I played ice hockey all over Canada and the United States at the highest amateur levels and then graduated to Canadian Juniors, Senior AAA, NCAA Collegiate and  professional levels. I also played high level organized ball hockey in the off-seasons and grew up playing ball hockey in the streets with my friends from the time I could first walk. Ball hockey is a Canadian tradition that I would love to share with the community of Vilcabamba and the surrounding areas.
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Programs Offered

Please read about the options below to see what is currently being offered and what is being proposed for the future. 

 Vilcabamba Mens club

The initial program offered at Vilca Hockey will be an adult men's ball hockey club. The intention of this men's club team will be to bring local men together once a week to bond with the guys, let off some steam and get some exercise in a friendly but competitive atmosphere. The weekly session will be a mix of drills and an informal scrimmage for three sessions per month and then a more formal game once per month where a trophy will be at stake and ongoing statistics will be tracked. The Men's club team will hopefully be a training ground for new coaches and facilitators who want to help spread the sport to other nearby communities or to other age groups within the Vilcabamba community.

Introductory Price: $5/session (1st one is free!)    Time/dates: TBD                                                    

Youth & womens clubs

As the men's club grows we will also welcome any interest for a women's club or from parents who are interested in helping to facilitate youth clubs. At the launch of this program the lack of readily available equipment and qualified instructors could be a limiting factor. We will see how much interest there is and if there are any volunteers to help facilitate extra offerings. Feel free to reach out with any ideas for creating opportunities for as many people as possible. We recognize that we will need a community effort to grow this sport in a non-traditional market but we feel like it is such an exciting sport with a tradition of bringing communities together and we hope this is the case with Hockey in Vilcabamba.  

Price: TBD

birthday parties etc.  

Vilca Hockey can also facilitate birthday parties, corporate events or any other large groups who want to add a unique activity to their event. Vilca Hockey will come to the venue of your choosing and we will bring everything required to facilitate a fun hockey experience. All equipment is provided as well as professional instruction and in-game officiation. Each 2-3 hour large group session will include 30 minutes of instructional drills and a game-play tutorial followed by a tournament format competition with a championship game for the grand finale. Vilca Hockey will provide a memorable, and authentic hockey experience for groups of all types and skill levels.       

Introductory Price: $50 (Vilcabamba area) -                                                $75 (Loja)
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Community outreach

The vision behind  Vilca Hockey is not only to introduce an exciting new sport to the Vilcabamba area but also to give ex-pats, their kids and local Ecuadorian adults and youth equal access to the sport. We would love to see the community come together around this sport and give people from all corners of the world a chance to play together with the local people and really get to know each other on and off the playing surface. We will rely on fundraisers such as GoFundMe campaigns, traditional fundraisers, sponsorships and the support of people in the community who can afford to help level the financial playing field for anyone who wants to play this great sport but can't afford it. 

Financial/Equipment donations

The program currently has enough equipment to get started but for it to grow and attract more players we will need to work to provide more basic equipment. We will be working on ways to raise funds for these purchases and donations will be gratefully accepted.

Mule service

Since hockey isn't a big sport in Ecuador the equipment isn't readily available here. We will  need to come up with creative ways to get specialized equipment to Vilcabamba. We would appreciate any help from volunteers who can bring items to Ecuador when they fly in from North America.

Volunteering

To add more programs and services we will need volunteers to help find new venues, coordinate new programs, facilitate tournaments, and help with coaching etc. We would love to build a collaborative community around growing this sport.
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