March 23, 2019
Welcome to REN Hockey! My name is Carenna Neely. I am the founder of REN Hockey from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA, and I am very excited to share our experiences with you!
REN Hockey started as just an idea about a year and a half ago as I was finishing my first year of studying for a Masters of Sport Science (Stellenbosch University) in South Africa. We have come a long way in that time. We formed a core group of 7 board members of various backgrounds, a small group of teachers and local leaders to assist with sessions and just over 100 kids who have signed up!
After our fist session in August we faced a few months of setbacks as we tried to solidify a consistent place to play. Now we have signed a contract to be able to train Saturday mornings at a local field. March 9th was our first official session back!
Today we started with the second of two schools we are working with, Seville Primary School in Cite C of Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Nolungile Primary, also in Cite C, came back two weeks ago. Both schools feed into Intlanganiso Secondary School where we hope to continue working with them as they and the program grow. Of the 100 youths who signed up, 79 came to play, and while numbers were smaller today due to school holiday starting, it was a good opportunity for the players to receive more 1-on-1 attention which they loved!
Currently I am the only leader with a hockey background, but the teachers and community leaders are learning quick in order to assist the players! We are all learning a lot as we move forward with planning and implementing these sessions. The kids and leaders are equally excited to experience the impact of REN Hockey!
Thank you for taking the time to see what we are about!
Enkosi! Thank you!
Carenna
