COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Olympic hockey will get a lot of attention in Southern Colorado. More than just fans, a lot of locals like to put on skates and play.
Chasing a puck is a passion for the Byrd family of Colorado Springs.
"I like the speed of it, the physicality," said Elijah Byrd.
"The speeds are great," said his twin brother Liam.
The brothers get a lot of support from their dad, who also plays in the adult league.
"The hockey community is a great community to be a part of here in the city," said Daniel Byrd, their father.
Practices happen two to three nights a week, then games on weekends. Flexibility to get time on ice is necessary.
"Ice is really in high demand. It's either really early, it could be really late," said Daniel.
"I had a lot of later practices last year. The earlier practices were sure nice," said Elijah.
Liam added, "There's not much free time in between sessions on most weeknights or weekends for games and all that."
The adult players don't just talk about their dedication to playing hockey; they show it.
"I do know that there are some adult games that start at 10:00 or 10:15 p.m. on a work night," Daniel said.
It's the reality of the Colorado Springs Amateur Hockey Association. In its 50th year, there are close to 1,000 players, male and female, ages 4 to 74.
"Is hockey a thing in Colorado Springs, and is Colorado Springs a hockey market? Absolutely, it is," said Mike Green, Association Executive Director.
Green and his small staff make it all work.
"Our poor scheduler, he gets challenged putting all these puzzle pieces together," said Green. "If you have 60 teams in an organization, you can imagine the number of games, practices that happen every week."
There is an argument for the addition of more ice sheets in the community.
"I think without question the city of Colorado Springs could handle two more ice rinks," said Green.
He is comfortable saying the sheets would be heavily used during the regular season, and then prove their worth with training camps, special events, and recreation throughout the year.
There are plenty with a vision of more ice sheets in Colorado Springs. Only for now, no one is offering up a budget.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
___
A feature on the I-25 noise wall that you can only notice when it snows
Is the mountain design on the I-25 south wall intentional? It comes out a bit, so when snow falls, it tends to pile up and look like a snowcap.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.