USA Hockey Foundation

Nate Clyncke and his wife, Marina, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, aren’t unlike more than 500 USA Hockey Foundation donors. Having started playing in the 1970s, Clyncke has had a lifetime to fall in love with the sport. With two sons playing now, the couple wanted to give back to the game that has taught their family so much. The It Starts With a Stick program was a perfect forum for the Clynckes to do so.

Since he started playing, Clyncke has seen hockey grow in popularity and participation. “My children have significantly more opportunities to play hockey now because of that growth,” Clyncke said. “And the quality of those opportunities will continue to improve as more kids grow up playing the sport.

“The hockey players at every level that I have been involved with, their stick is the one piece of equipment that they identify with,” added Clyncke. “Kids cut the stick, tape it and even wax it in their own special way. To a young kid, the stick is the ultimate enticement.”

While kids might be drawn to the sport through the stick, Clyncke said, as a coach, he loves that the It Starts With a Stick program allows kids to take home their own stick to perfect their stick-handling skills on their own time. “This is the perfect chance for unstructured play to develop the creativity and thought processes that have evolved and improved our game,” he said. “This is a great program that we will continue to support.”