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NEWSDate: Mar 18, 2010 Gulf Coast Hockey Continues Rebuilding From The Ice Up
By Leif Skodnick, Mississippi Surge The wind from the hurricane and rising waters from Katrina's storm surge took a heavy toll on the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, damaging the ice plant, boards and nearly everything else, forcing hockey on the Gulf Coast into a two-year hiatus. "When the storm happened, we had to worry about getting our lives back together, and hockey had to take a back seat for a while," said Walby, who remained on the Gulf Coast despite fielding several other coaching offers. "This is our home, and I was committed to being here, as were the majority of the folks behind hockey here." For the first year after the storm, Walby's son Braxton, who was 6
years old at the time, was one of nearly 200 players in the Gulf Coast
Youth Hockey Association who were stuck with nowhere to play. "There was more driving than usual the first year after the storm, because now rather than having games at home a couple of times a season, we were driving to everything," said GCYHA board member Mike Diaz. The kids took it all in stride, with teams in three different age groups taking second in a tournament despite being unable to practice. "As a parent, to see that, it was great, because there was no expectation from us, and the kids were just happy to be playing hockey again," said Walby, a veteran of 11 minor league seasons, including three in Mississippi. "The winning and losing took care of itself." |
